Please welcome my guest author, Maria Gianferrari, with a book list about puffins! She has a new nonfiction picture book out that explores the life cycle of puffins.
Puffins! by Maria Gianferrari, illustrated by Maris Wicks
On the edge of the sea,
There is a nesting island as loud as a city,
Where two puffins mate, burrow, and lay their egg.
They splash into the ocean
And dodge nearby predators,
Searching everywhere to find food for their hungry puffling.
Follow one adorable puffling as she eats, grows, and learns how to survive on her busy, bustling island in this thrilling and action-packed nonfiction tale. [nonfiction picture book, ages 4 and up]
We are giving away a copy of Puffins! to a US resident. Please leave a comment to enter.
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Tomorrow is National Puffin Day—HOORAY!
And I’m here to celebrate the only puffin species living in the Atlantic Ocean, the aptly named, Atlantic Puffin! And we are so lucky that they live in North America, and in the US! The book’s setting is Eastern Egg Rock Island in Maine, a nesting colony for puffins and other seabirds.
So let’s hear it for Atlantic Puffins, also fondly known as “sea parrots” or “clowns of the sea!” I know you’re going to chuckle when you see Maris Wicks’ vibrant (so many pops of neon orange!), hilarious, guano-covered art for Puffins!, publishing April 14th from Macmillan/Roaring Brook Press. And we all need a good laugh these days!
Though I only saw Eastern Egg Rock from a puffin tour boat way back in 2016, Maris actually spent a couple of weeks there more recently, in 2024, absorbing the sights, sounds (birds are loud!), and smells (and stinky!) She helped the scientists with chores and was able to observe puffins and other seabirds first-hand, while sketching away. Check out the back matter in the book for more details!
Alas, there are too few puffin picture books, so I am happy to fill the void with our new book. Here’s the list I was able to come up with.
The first book on the list is one that I have not yet read:
Pufflings Fly Free!: A Rescue Tale from Iceland by Colleen Paeff, illustrated by Linda Ólafsdóttir
Publishing in June, Paeff’s book is a fictionalized account as Freya and her family help to rescue lost pufflings (baby puffins) and guide them to sea. It’s based on a real-life rescue effort called “Puffling Patrol” that takes place annually on Iceland’s Westman Islands. Looking forward to reading it! [narrative nonfiction picture book, ages 4 and up]
Puffin by Martin Jenkins, illustrated by Jenni Desmond
Jenkins’ puffin life cycle picture book is conversational, inviting readers in with a close-up look at nesting Atlantic Puffins, beautifully depicted in Desmond’s tranquil art. I love the endpapers—they would make wonderful wrapping paper. [nonfiction picture book, ages 5 and up]
The following two books chronicle the success of Project Puffin and the restoration of the Atlantic Puffin population on Eastern Egg Rock Island:
Project Puffin: How We Brought Puffins Back to Egg Rock by Dr. Stephen W. Kress and Pete Salmanson
Though this book is quite dated (1997), I am including it here as a historical account of Dr. Kress’ success in restoring the Atlantic Puffin population on Eastern Egg Rock Island. The once flourishing local puffin population was decimated, as settlers hunted them both for food and for the making of feathered hats, fashionable at the time. By the early 1900s, there was only one breeding pair of puffins left. Despite the passing of the Migratory Bird Treaty in 1918, puffins were not able to recover on their own. Kress and his team began by relocating puffin chicks from Newfoundland, Canada, and used wooden decoys to lure puffins back to the island, where they return each year during mating and nesting season. Thanks to the success of their efforts, there are now thousands of puffins and other seabirds that nest here and on other nearby islands in Maine. [nonfiction middle grade picture book, ages 9 and up]
This truly was quite an amazing achievement! If you want to know more about this inspiring project, I highly recommend Kress’ book for adults, Project Puffin: The Improbable Quest to Bring a Beloved Seabird Back to Egg Rock.
The Puffins Are Back! by Gail Gibbons
Gibbons’ book has been recently updated. It too is an account of chronicling the Atlantic Puffin restoration on Eastern Egg Rock Island and its habitat, including their nesting, behavior, life cycle, anatomy, adaptations, and more, all told through vibrant and cheerful watercolor art. The puffins are indeed back! [nonfiction picture book, ages 4 and up]
Again, because of the paucity of puffin books, I’m including the following two titles:
Little Puffin’s First Flight by Jonathan London, illustrated by Jon Van Zyle
London’s book is set in Alaska and features another puffin species, the horned puffin, who dwell in and along the Pacific Ocean and its coast. Named for the black spike above their eyes, horned puffins have beaks not quite as colorful as their eastern counterparts, and they nest on cliff tops rather than in burrows. It’s an informative life cycle book enhanced by Van Zyle’s life-like art. [nonfiction picture book, ages 5 and up]
Penguins vs. Puffins! by Jennifer Beer
Using a boxing-match structure and graphic/comics format, Beer’s book humorously highlights the battle of the superlatives—best dressed, best turf, best parents, most photogenic, and more. As these contenders metaphorically duke it out, readers learn an assortment of fun bird facts in this highly entertaining way.
We hope you enjoy our book! Don’t miss the back matter and learn a lot of cool puffin facts!
Want to know just how big an Atlantic Puffin truly is? Maris created this delightful surprise for readers of Puffins!: slip off the book jacket and see the life-size Atlantic Puffin on the cover! So fun! [nonfiction picture book, ages 6 and up]
Puffins! Giveaway!
Thanks to the generosity of Roaring Brook Press, we have one copy of Puffins! for a lucky Pragmatic Mom reader. All you need to enter is a US mailing address. Leave a comment to enter.
Congrats to Donna H. She won the giveaway!
Thanks for letting us celebrate Atlantic Puffins & Eastern Egg Rock Island, Mia!
And Happy National Puffin Day, everyone!
Maria Gianferrari is a picture book reader/writer, animal-lover, and bird nerd. She writes books that honor our bonds with creatures both domestic and wild, and that celebrate urban ecosystems and the natural world around us. Maria’s newest releases are Just One Oak and Puffins!, both published in April 2026. Other recent titles include Rain and the Reading Horse, To Dogs, with Love, Fungi Grow (a Boston Globe Horn Book Honoree), Thank a Farmer, You and the Bowerbird, as well as the companion books, Being a Cat & Being a Dog. Her book, Be A Tree!, won a Massachusetts Book Award Honor and has been translated into 16 languages. She grew up in Keene, NH, and lives with her family in Worcester, MA, where coyotes, bobcats, and bears traverse her backyard.
Maris Wicks is a writer and illustrator whose work has taken her all over the world, from the warm waters of the Caribbean to the frozen ice of Antarctica. Most recently, she got to hang out with all the incredible seabirds on Eastern Egg Rock, and she is not exaggerating about the amount of poop. Find out more at mariswicks.com
p.s. Related posts:
All About Hummingbirds: A Unit for Kids
A Flock of Children’s Books about Birds
Birds of North Captiva, Florida, Saved From Extinction!
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Thanks for spreading the puffin love, Mia!
I didn’t know there was a national puffin day! Fun! I’ll definitely look for these books at my library. Thanks!
Thanks for commenting, Jen!
Congratulations, Maria, on your latest picture book. I know very little about puffins, and I look forward to learning more by reading your book!
Thanks so much, Patricia!
Congratulations Maria! This looks like another stunning nonfiction picture book that children will adore!
Thanks for the kind words, Jennifer! I hope you are well!
This Giveaway looks like so much Fun!
🙂
These books about Puffins look amazing. I have been wanting to do a unit on puffins and I hope that I win the giveaway!
I’m so happy to see “Pufflings Fly Free!” included here (thank you!) and I can’t wait to read Maria’s puffin book!