- Picture Books
- Ages 3–7
- Animals
Jonty Gentoo: The Adventures of a Penguin
Part of Julia Donaldson & Axel SchefflerView the full series
Part of the Julia Donaldson universeOpen the collection
A recent Donaldson/Scheffler animal adventure about a gentoo penguin leaving the zoo to find his true home in Antarctica.
- Best for3–7
- FormatPicture
- Length40 pp
- Read aloud~8 min
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Rhyming
- Repetitive
- Conversational
Tone
- Warm
- Adventurous
- Heartwarming
- Funny
- Inspirational
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
Jonty is a little gentoo penguin living in a zoo, but he longs for the South Pole and a place that feels like his real home. One night he sets off on a huge journey, travelling through the world with plenty of detours, including an accidental trip to the North Pole, before finding his way towards Antarctica. The story has the familiar Donaldson/Scheffler strengths: smooth rhyme, a small determined hero, a journey structure and expressive animal artwork full of details to spot. It also has a slightly more factual-nature flavour than some of the fantasy-led titles, introducing polar landscapes, penguins and the idea of migration or home-seeking in a very child-friendly way. Because it is a newer title, it does not yet have the same cultural weight as the older classics, but it fits neatly alongside The Snail and the Whale as a warm animal journey about bravery and belonging.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- Best fit · 3–7
- Read aloud · 3–7
- Independent · 5–8
Prose load
Light
Visual support
Very high
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Excellent
Works well for
- Reading aloud
- Bedtime
- Reading together
- Gift-buying
- Reluctant readers
Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.
Bedtime suitability
5 / 5 · Bedtime-friendly
Sensitive-child
4 / 5 · Good fit
Graphic intensity
1 / 5 · None
Best for
- Penguins
- Animal journey
- Finding home
- Polar regions
- Beautiful read aloud
Avoid if
- Avoid recent until reviewed
- Very sensitive to lost animal journeys
- Wants joke driven books
Particularly good for children who are…
- Low self esteem
- Moving house
- Reluctant reader
In the classroom
How it works in school.
Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's modern rhyming classics — the gold standard of join-in read-alouds, ideal for prediction, sequencing and performing.
A book children love that happens to support school — never a stand-in for the texts a class is taught with. Reviewed for the classroom · June 2026.
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
The specific charm is the long journey — Jonty the gentoo penguin escaping the zoo and travelling all the way to Antarctica, with a wrong-turn detour to the North Pole along the way. Donaldson rhyme over a proper geography lesson, with the home-seeking penguin at the centre.
- Animal companions
- Adventure and freedom
- Family belonging
Why parents love it
The newer Donaldson with a more factual nature flavour — penguin migration, polar landscapes, the journey-home shape Donaldson handles well. Scheffler's polar art carries it. Useful for any child interested in animals and habitats; pairs well with The Snail and the Whale.
- Beautiful illustrations
- Bedtime appropriate
- Conversation starter
- Educational for adult too
In the series
Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler.
14 books · open the series →
About the creators
About the creators.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Come into this from…
Easier or preparing reads — perfect lead-ins.
Where to go next…
Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.
Buy or borrow
Pick up a copy.
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