I enjoyed this picture book about party penguins. I think it would be the perfect addition to any home library for kids.

This is a beautifully illustrated, sweet and funny story.
I appreciate the references to healthy ways children can learn to self-soothe when they’re feeling nervous. The breath work & child pose are simple but very effective skills a parent can teach their child.
I think the introduction of affirmations is genius. It is when we young that we start to really embed lifelong beliefs about who we are & what we can do in this world. A lot of adults may laugh at affirmations, but for kids these can easily be incorporated into their growing sense of selves as long term core beliefs. It’s wonderful.
Depicting the characters partaking in a yoga class is also a great prompt for kids to learn about a new activity that can be fun, & benefits their mind & body.
I thought the sequence where the characters showed each other their favourite activities like break dancing was fun.
I hope the author goes into more depth in future books. Maybe a section at the back for parents with instructions on breath work, mindfulness activities for children, & easy yoga positions that can help their kids. I think a book focused around affirmations for kids with her characters would also be beautiful. I can’t wait to see more!

This is such a cute story. Thank you to NetGalley for sending me the ARC by Samantha Ahearne. My grandson asked me to read it over and over again. He loves the penguins!! I definitely recommend this book!!

Pete and Suzie and the Party Penguins is a quirky and silly children’s book bursting with vibrant colors and charming illustrations. The story follows Pete and Suzie as they prepare for a lively diving competition — but this year, penguins are invited too! At first, the other birds are unsure about letting these different, waddling guests join the fun. But as the story unfolds, everyone discovers just how awesome and talented the penguins really are. Full of humor, heart, and a dash of yoga-inspired fun, this book is a joyful celebration of friendship, acceptance, and embracing differences. Perfect for kids who love colorful characters and a good laugh!

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a honest review. I promise my review is 100% accurate to me.

Cute picture book that mixes self confidence with not judging others

Joyful look at our differences and talents, as the bird diving competition - normally the exclusive domain of puffins and seagulls - ends up accepting penguins. The old-timers scoff at the newcomers, but when they prove to be aces at the yoga, to the extent of doing headstands, one puffin and one seagull become friends with the youngest penguin - and so learn what they really can manage to do... This has a fair bit of the old "Happy Feet" approach, of course, but with added Busby Berkeley aquatic choreography. The art is really strong, too - not just when demanding of itself that it shows you things you've never seen before. Should this be marked down for having such an obvious and common moral? I don't think so - I reckon this is a healthy four and a half stars, and certainly deserves to do very well.

I'm not quite sure how to summarize this book. Its a children's book about many bird species that do random things. This book did not grab the attention of my 6 year old, though the illustrations pulled her in from time to time. I see this as a book that you read once but never read again. A children's book needs to be funny, to rhythm, have a cadence, and/or a lesson. This had none of those.

~3.25 Stars
4 Stars for illustrations
~2.75 for the accompanying text
A good idea and premise, the writing just needs a little more focus and clarity for the target audience. A good start, just a bit more finish. Awesome artwork.

LibraryThing Early Reviewer

Discover the greatest diver of all time at the Hazy Bay Sports Day. Will it be a pelican, a seagull, or a penguin? The debate continues with Pete Peligan, Suzie Seagull, and the Party Penguins. Readers will continue to turn the page to find who shines during the competition. The importance of being open-minded and receptive to a message is shared: "You can't judge a bird by its feathers."

This book was a little odd. The illustrations look like someone layered dozens of clip art photos all over the page. Inconsistent in style and awkwardly overlapping.

The story was also interesting. It really did not capture the attention of my pre-schooler-schooler. The intent was clear - moral of the story not to judge someone at first glance, but the addition of breakdancing, yoga, and affirmations on top of diving and swimming and suddenly wearing hats and sunglasses was unnecessary for the story line.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sam Ahearne for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

It's so sweet, I love it. I thought it was all written, it's thoughtful and had a great message, the illustrations are great. I think it's very relevant in today's society. It's so important in this world today when most of our focus is on our differences to understand that being different didn't mean we are not equally worthy of kindness and fairness.

"Pete and Suzie and the Party Penguins" is the second book in the "Pete and Suzie" series, but so far, it isn't a requirement to read them in chronological order to be entertained or understand the underlying message in the story. Pete the Pelican and Suzie Seagull are best friends, preparing for a friendly competition with the penguins. They've never met the penguins before; therefore, they are unsure and jump to conclusions. After meeting Puffy the penguin, they realize that they shouldn't judge a bird by their feathers!

"Pete and Suzie and the Party Penguins" is a cute story that is written for a younger audience, but the message is appropriate for everyone. The author introduces the calming techniques of yoga and affirmations for readers to learn early to help them achieve calm and positive experiences. The illustrations are bright, colorful, and full, making them a joy to look at on each page!

Thank you to NetGalley and Samantha Ahearne for the eArc in exchange for an honest review.

Nice pictures, but the story was nonsensical -- with a weird obsession with yoga -- and told in lifeless, simplistic prose.

Good looking penguins can't carry the day, but they made a herculean effort all the same.


Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the author through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.

A wonderful book with a really great message. Pete, the pelican, and Suzie, the seagull, and all their friends are very excited about the upcoming Hazy Bay diving competition. They find out that this year penguins will be joining the competition .... they just aren't sure what a penguin is exactly. When they finally meet a young penguin name Puffy and the other Party Penguins who they will be competing against, Pete and Suzie are the only ones who embrace getting to know Puffy and they find out that penguins are really awesome. The other seagulls and pelicans don't like the way they look and are sure that, if they can't fly, they certainly can't dive! The message of the book is an important one about how, just because someone may be different than you, they can be really great, too, and good at all sorts of things. It also illustrates how showing kindness is the best way to treat others. The book is well written, has a great message, and the illustrations are terrific.

This was a cute charming story with some great lessons on inclusion and not prejudging. I read this to my 4-year-old, but he had a hard time paying attention overall. He did enjoy Puffy the penguin and thought he was cute! As a parent, I enjoyed the themes of yoga, positive affirmations and self-belief. Overall, I would re-read this book to him in the future! Thank you to Samantha Ahearne & NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book!
All opinions are our own.

Publisher: Published by Samantha Ahearne
Publication Date: June 3, 2025
Pages: 36
Genre: Children’s Book


Star Review:
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

I had the pleasure of reading an ARC of Pete and Suzie and the Party Penguins by Samantha Ahearne thanks to NetGalley, and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to experience this children’s story with my kids.

Pete and Suzie and the Party Penguins is a beautifully crafted picture book that invites readers to engage with being a little different from others but showing that being different isn’t always a bad thing. This story engages with Pete the Pelican and Suzie the Seagull who find out there will be Penguins at this years diving competition. Suzie, Pete and all their pelican and seagull friends have never met a penguin so they didn’t know what to expect. Not being able to fly was definitely not something they ever thought of when thinking of another bird. This causes for all the pelicans and seagulls to doubt a penguins ability to be in the Annual Diving Competition but much less dive period.

The illustrations by Julie Sneeden are an absolute standout. Each page is brought to life with expressive artwork that perfectly complements the tone and rhythm of the text. The visual storytelling deepens the emotional resonance of the book and will likely be a favorite feature for both children and the adults reading with them.

I especially appreciated how the book touches on affirmations, briefly, and that you cannot always judge a book by its cover — or rather a “bird by his feathers”, making it not only an enjoyable read but also a valuable tool for discussion and learning.

💬 Final Thoughts

Pete and Suzie and the Party Penguins is a cute story but my children, age 5 and 8, but had a hard time paying attention overall. They laughed at times and found Puffy to be extra cute, however, I don’t see them asking for me to read this to them in the future.

📖 Thank you again to Samantha Ahearne, Julie Sneeden, and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

A mess of a book with outstanding artwork! The story had good intentions with a great message to children about not judging others until they get to know them. Unfortunately, the author lost that intention in the presentation. The book rambled and never really got the message across successfully. Additionally, it seemed like the author had to add unrelated materials to the story (e.g.: what did yoga have to do with the story of a diving contest?) to make the book longer/ I felt it had no bearing on the story and interfered with the main story. While some children may enjoy the pictures, it would be a hard sell for parents reading the story to them to make sense of the story for the kids. However, the artwork was wonderful and bright, sure to delight any child. Sorry to say, but there are better children's books out there to get the same message across.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Cute But Sadly Didn’t Hold Kids’ Attention

Overall: 3⭐
Plot/Lesson:° 3📍
Smiles: 3😁
Illustrations: 3 🖌️
Suggested Ages: 0 - 3 y/o

“Mom's” Review:
This was a pretty cute story, but something felt rushed or disjointed to me as the parent reading the story. There’s the start of some great bits in here - prejudice, prejudging, insecurity, etc. But some of those elements aren’t followed through upon. Some aren’t well addressed.

I can see the foundations of a great little learning book for kiddos (I’d say this would best reach littles under 4) but I don’t think it was the best executed.

The illustrations seemed copy-pasted throughout the story to the point where the same ‘poses’ for the various birds were repeated exactly multiple times. Yes, I understand birds don’t have the widest variety of poses, but when the exact same color, pose, leg lifted, expression, etc., repeats, even the kids notice and it visually doesn’t hold the attention of the littles who aren’t reading yet.

The exact same ‘derpy’ seagull showed up on multiple pages, which was fun for the kids to initially look for (had it been on every page ala “where’s Waldo” but it wasn’t, and when it was, it was the EXACT same image just slightly smaller, or flipped.)

“A” was able to read the whole story no problem, but at the same time, “A” is ready for early chapter books. “C” did want to see the [big reveal**] at the end over and over - that was sweet.

"A's" Review:^ I really liked when Puffy went POOF! And when everyone did [an activity**] together! The [surprise act by the penguins at the end**] was really silly! And Derpy The Seagull (her name!) was really funny! I looked for him on every page, but I don’t think he was always there.

"C's" Review:* The penguins were really fun! They’re like the penguins from Madagascar and I LOVE penguins! (Said as she cuddles a Emperor Penguin chick stuffy as big as she is)

Thank you to Samantha Ahearne & NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book!
All opinions are our own.

° = Our Plot/Lesson rating is how well the kiddos picked up on the morals/lessons learned or well received the facts were.
^ = A, "Ready to Read" level 3, voracious reader
* = C, learning her letters, but memorizes stories well!

** There are a few little Plot Reveals that I edited to a [generic description in brackets] to keep the surprise. :)
NOTE: I paraphrase the kids’ opinions 90% of the time, but will call out their direct quotes.

This is a cute story about a diving contest between the sea birds and the penguins. Can you guess who wins? The main themes of the story are about friendship and accepting others different than yourself. The punny theme is: You cannot judge a bird by its feathers. The story was a little cheesy, but I loved the illustrations. My favorites were the funny faces on the seagulls. This would be a good book to read with toddlers or preschoolers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orion for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I read this with my 8 year olds and they really enjoyed it. They love animals and birds so really enjoyed seeing the different types of birds interacting in this book. The illustrations were great and really brought the story to life. I really enjoyed the positive message this story gave about not judging people and being friends with everyone.