Happy Feet: The Essential Guide

Happy Feet was one of the more enjoyable animated feature films that came out in 2006. The Essential Guide from DK books is not only an outstanding guide to the characters and story of the movie, but also quite educational for younger readers. Kids will not only have the chance to relive the fun of the movie but also learn about the life of penguins in the frigid Antarctic. Each of the main characters like Mumble, Gloria, Memphis, and Norma Jean get their own pages devoted to them with info about their likes and dislikes, favorite quotes, and more. Mixed in with the film info are fold out pages that give the reader lots of interesting facts about penguins such as how male penguins keep the eggs warm while the mother penguins are out finding food. From there you'll meet the other stars of the film including all the Adelie Penguins including the riotous Ramon, played wonderfully by Robin Williams. Kids will also visit places and events from the film such as the local school where poor Mumbles struggles to find his heartsong. And then there is the encounter with the alien invaders, otherwise known as the human whaling ships. The Essential Guide is jammed full of dazzling color pictures from the movie as well as photos of real life penguins. It's short at just 50 pages but kids who loved the movie will love the book as well. Who doesn't like looking at penguins! Reviewed by Tim Janson