No Huddles for Heloise

Heloise likes a lot of things: sledding, giving rocks to her friends, and eating fish popsicles. She does NOT like certain things, like crowds, close-talkers and huddles.

The problem is, huddles are a big part of being a penguin. Everyone gathers together to keep warm and stay safe from leopard seals. But huddles give Heloise the collywobbles! Heloise sets off to find others like her. Along the way, she meets other animals who don’t seem so friendly, and after a close brush with a leopard seal, Heloise realizes that she needs to get back to her community. Is there a way for Heloise to be a penguin and keep her personal space?

Deborah Kerbel is the award-winning author of more than thirty books for young readers, including Fred & Marjorie, winner of the Forest of Reading Yellow Cedar Award and the Red Cedar Award, and Sun Dog, a Forest of Reading Blue Spruce Honour Book. Her books have been shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award, the Canadian Library Association’s YA Book Award and the Rocky Mountain Book Award, among others. Deborah was born in London, England, and raised in Toronto, where she now lives with her family.

Udayana Lugo is a self-taught illustrator of mixed heritage. She is passionate about representation and tries to portray people of different backgrounds and abilities in her work. She works both traditionally and digitally, with a strong preference for watercolors and pencils. She has illustrated more than fifteen books, for both Canadian and foreign publishers. Udayana lives and works on the traditional, ancestral and unceded land of the Musqueam and Squamish Nations, also called Richmond, BC.