It's a well known fact that my daughter loves everything penguin. She has quite the stuffed animal collection and it has spilled into other things like a watch, necklace, and socks.That, in and of itself, is not a big deal. Many people collect things. The thing that is completely hilarious about my daughter's love of penguins is how she treats them as if they are actually real and members of our family in full standing.
And it's not just her. She has somehow convinced the kids at school and in the neighborhood that they are real as well. When she speaks on behalf of the penguins she uses a special voice (which, as a side note, is extremely annoying.) Just today I heard the neighbor boy (who just finished the 5th grade) talking to the newest addition...a webkinz named Nimble.
The original penguin is Piplup or Pip for short. One day last year, as my daughter bounded onto the playground with penguin in hand, her classmate greeted her, "Hi Irene. Hi Piplup!" It struck me how funny that sounded.
I must be immune to Piplup's appeal, as I am around him all the time. However, there are some adults who I think are very smitten with him. Or maybe they are just charmed by my daughter's undying devotion to all things penguin.
Sketch of Piplup by K. Azada
Piplup!!!! I love him! And honored that you would publish my sketch. May Piplup live long and prosper!
ReplyDeleteBtw, I used to obsessively make penguins and pigs out of clay when I was 8. A harbinger of things to come?