This short picture book for young
children tells the story of Opus the penguin who wishes he could fly. But being a penguin, his wings don’t
work. He writes a letter to Santa
asking for new wings and posts it with every confidence that he will be flying
on Christmas morning. On Christmas Eve,
Santa’s sleigh has an accident and Opus is woken in the middle of the night by
a snow duck telling him to come quickly.
When Opus sees Santa standing on his sinking sleigh, he swiftly swims to
bring Santa to safety. On Christmas
morning, Opus is rewarded when hundreds of snow ducks arrive at his front door
and lift Opus into the air and grant his wish to experience flying. The story shows that even if there are some
things one cannot do, there are other things that one can do, and this is an
excellent moral for young children who may be frustrated by their limitations. The color illustrations are particularly
sweet, full of small details that will please the observant reader.