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Table of Contents
About The Book
From Sibert Honoree Colleen Paeff comes a quietly powerful picture book about one young girl’s courageous mission to save a baby puffin, or puffling, with the support of her community on the Icelandic Westman Islands, exploring themes of environmental conservation, animals, family traditions, and girls in science.
While most of the world sleeps, Freya and her family embark on a late-night rescue mission like no other. On Iceland’s Westman Islands, families gather at midnight to save lost baby puffins, or pufflings, guiding them safely back to the sea.
Freya has always dreamed of rescuing a puffling on her own, just like her older siblings. But every time she tries, the tiny birds slip through her fingers—beaks nip, claws scratch, and they escape.
When one puffling tumbles into the deep clamshell bucket of an excavator, out of reach from everyone else, Freya is faced with a choice. With her family ready to head home, she must find the courage to climb in and save the little bird—all by herself.
This fictional story is based on the Puffling Patrol, a real rescue that takes place every year on the Westman Islands of Iceland. Both the author and illustrator joined the Puffling Patrol and rescued birds themselves.
While most of the world sleeps, Freya and her family embark on a late-night rescue mission like no other. On Iceland’s Westman Islands, families gather at midnight to save lost baby puffins, or pufflings, guiding them safely back to the sea.
Freya has always dreamed of rescuing a puffling on her own, just like her older siblings. But every time she tries, the tiny birds slip through her fingers—beaks nip, claws scratch, and they escape.
When one puffling tumbles into the deep clamshell bucket of an excavator, out of reach from everyone else, Freya is faced with a choice. With her family ready to head home, she must find the courage to climb in and save the little bird—all by herself.
This fictional story is based on the Puffling Patrol, a real rescue that takes place every year on the Westman Islands of Iceland. Both the author and illustrator joined the Puffling Patrol and rescued birds themselves.
About The Illustrator
Linda Ólafsdóttir is an award-winning illustrator, painter, and author working in publishing and fine art. She has been nominated for a Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award twice, and she has won numerous awards for her illustration and design work. Linda draws, paints, and writes from her backyard studio in Reykjavík, Iceland, where she lives with her husband and two kids.
Product Details
- Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books (June 9, 2026)
- Length: 40 pages
- ISBN13: 9781665980227
- Grades: P - 3
- Ages: 4 - 8
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Raves and Reviews
An engaging blend of personal narrative and environmental education.
– Kirkus Reviews
An engaging blend of personal narrative and environmental education.
– Kirkus Reviews
Thickly stroked and hatched gouache and colored pencil illustrations embrace a wide palette of icy blues as well as shimmering greens and yellows; scenes consistently capture lightly sketched figures, portrayed with various skin tones, coming to the rescue of their feathered finds. It’s a sprightly portrait of cross-species care.
– Publishers Weekly
Thickly stroked and hatched gouache and colored pencil illustrations embrace a wide palette of icy blues as well as shimmering greens and yellows; scenes consistently capture lightly sketched figures, portrayed with various skin tones, coming to the rescue of their feathered finds. It’s a sprightly portrait of cross-species care.
– Publishers Weekly
Paeff’s narrative, supported by Ólafsdóttir’s warmhearted and intimate illustrations, seamlessly blends one fictional girl’s persistence with community activism and solid science, concluding with suggestions for further inquiry and a partial bibliography.
– The Horn Book
Paeff’s narrative, supported by Ólafsdóttir’s warmhearted and intimate illustrations, seamlessly blends one fictional girl’s persistence with community activism and solid science, concluding with suggestions for further inquiry and a partial bibliography.
– The Horn Book
Resources and Downloads
High Resolution Images
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Book Cover Image (jpg): Pufflings Fly Free!
Hardcover 9781665980227
