Penguin Days

A 2020 Bank Street Best Book andthe second title in the acclaimed Slug Days Stories, now in paperback .

Laurenand her family drive to a farm in North Dakota to visit relatives and celebrateher Auntie Joss’ wedding. But Lauren finds to her dismay that she is expectedto do more than meet adults who hug her and invade her personal space. Laurenis going to be—horror of all horrors—a flower girl.

Laurenhas Autism Spectrum Disorder, and she sees the world a little differently fromother kids. What makes her comfortable are her routines and her strategies tomanage her anxiety, which can get out of control in no time. So it is achallenge to deal with her rambunctious cousins, try on scratchy dresses, andfollow impossible directions about going down aislesslowly-but-not-like-a-sloth and tossing pretend flowers around. Is it anysurprise that Lauren flips her lid more than once? But while having an extendedfamily seems like a lot of trouble at first, she’s about to learn just how muchthey can care for one another.

In Penguin Days, two award winners revisitsecond-grader Lauren from the acclaimed SlugDays with equal humor and empathy. Drawing on her experience teachingchildren with ASD, Sara Leach creates an energetic character who stompseloquently off the page. And Rebecca Bender''s delightful black-and-whiteillustrations show, in Lauren''s fraught situations and facial expressions, allthe love and assertiveness that could possibly dwell together in one unique,little person.