Tag Archives: penguins

A Penguin Asks for Identity and Awaits the Answer

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According to “Every Penguin in the World” (affiliate link), a penguin’s call is its identity. Each call is unique. It’s how life mates find each other in a colony of look-alikes. When a king penguin called to Author Charles Bergman, who was standing on the penguin path, the penguin was announcing and identifying itself, and it waited for Bergman to do the same.

What could Bergman answer? Who was he and what response would be appropriate to give to a king penguin?  In part, “Every Penguin in the World” is Bergman’s response, but it goes deeper for him. This one penguin questioned Bergman, wanting to know who he was and what his responsibility to the colony was. Bergman wanted to know the answer as well.

Identity is a powerful motivator. Who are you and what are your responsibilities to the colony? How would you answer the king penguin?

Too often, we hide behind our names and what we do for a living. Those aren’t who we are, we just gird them on like armor to protect us from the difficult journey that involves questioning ourselves and our place in the world. Our identity gets tied up in groups, politics, hobbies – these allow us to connect, give us a sense of certainty, and when done correctly, bring us joy. However, until we use our power to discover our own unique voices, we cannot be as forthright as the king penguin. The inward journey that requires is tough to make. It is continuous, but the rewards may be trumpeted through our entire being.

Penguins partner with Melting Pot Candy
Penguins in a basket for penguin awareness day

If you like penguins, check out Jenya’s handmade penguins at Etsy.com. A portion of the adoption fees will go to the Royal Albatross Centre in New Zealand for their work with little penguins and other birds.

Polly Penguin Wants to Fly
Polly Penguin Wants to Fly

Shad’s books “There Are No Penguins in Alaska” and “Polly Penguin Wants to Fly” are available at Amazon or when you use a contact form from Penguinate.com. We have a limited number of “There Are No Penguins In Alaska” in hard copy for coloring. They run $8 each plus shipping and handling. A portion of the sale of each “Polly Penguin Wants to Fly” goes to support Tiritiri Matangi Island for their work with little penguins and other New Zealand wildlife.

At Penguinate, we believe creativity happens at the intersection. When two or more fields of knowledge interconnect, you’ll find something new. That’s why we vary our content. However, creativity cannot happen without a core set of knowledge, and that’s why we focus on some topics more than others. Creativity is a meta-skill that everyone possesses, and with practice, you can improve your creative powers.

This site uses affiliate links. If you buy something from an affiliate link at Amazon, it won’t cost you more than if you went there on your own to get it, and we get a small portion for steering you to the product.

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Time to Get Your Penguin Holiday Gifts Ordered

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Jenya has put many of her stuffed penguins on Etsy. Because each of these penguins is one of a kind, it’s important that you adopt your favorite quickly. Jenya puts so much time and love into these penguins; they are hand-crafted with hand-embroidered eyes. The fabric is soft and huggable, and every penguin has its own personality. For every penguin adopted, we make a donation to the Royal Albatross Centre in New Zealand for their work with little penguins and other birds.

If you want something for stress relief, Jenya’s Roly Poly Penguins are just the thing. Hand-knit from the softest yarns, these penguins are cute, and happy for you to squeeze them. The tactile experience will help you feel calmer.

All of these penguins come with their own names, likes and dislikes spelled out on a penguin passport. There are limited number available for the holidays. Adopt one today.

Penguin Books

Looking for something different to read, Shad has written two books about penguins: “There Are No Penguins in Alaska” and “Polly Penguin Wants to Fly.”

There are no penguins in Alaska
There are no penguins in Alaska

“There Are No Penguins in Alaska” is a coloring book that includes several animals that are in Alaska. The ending will leave you with a chuckle. It is available on eReader, though we do not recommend coloring on your eReader. Shad also has a very limited number of IRL coloring books (around 30 are left from the first printing).

Polly Penguin Wants to Fly
Polly Penguin Wants to Fly

Shad wrote “Polly Penguin Wants to Fly” as a book his mother could read to her grandchildren. Newly hatched Polly Penguin is amazed at the birds she sees flying overhead. She wants to fly. But penguins can’t fly, can they? This book is available on eReader, in paperback on Amazon, and directly from Shad (if you want an autograph). One dollar from each copy sold, regardless of format goes to Tiritiri Matangi Island for their work with little penguins and other New Zealand wildlife.

Penguin Flat Friends

Part of the meal on the train
Part of the meal on the train (flat friend: penguin not included)

Only three flat friends are available for adoption. These felt penguins are about two inches tall and two dimensional. They were hand-crafted by Jenya out of felt. They make great ornaments, bookmarks, and decorations. Get them before they are gone.

Sage Penguin Chooses a Book

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The whistle of the kettle rang through the house where Sage Penguin was getting ready to enjoy three of his favorite things: hot tea, pizza with anchovies and a new book to read. Not everyone likes anchovies, but Sage does because he is a penguin, and penguins like fish. Sage walked to the kettle and poured the water over the tea leaves he had put in his mug. The smell of pizza warming in the oven told him that his dinner was almost ready. Now, Sage just had to choose a book.

He went over to his bookshelf where he kept all his unread books and looked at the titles. There were classics, mysteries, fantasies, and science fiction There were stories about sisters and their relationships and how brothers got along. There were stories with older siblings and younger ones. There were stories about only children and their adventures. There stories about families, love, and joy. And of course, there were stories about penguins.

Sage Penguin looked at “There Are No Penguins in Alaska.” The pictures encouraged him to use his eyes to find the penguin. He could even color the pages, but that would be hard to do while eating pizza.

Then he looked at “Polly Penguin Wants to Fly.” All penguins want to fly, he thought, most people, too. He decided to start the evening with Polly and see where her adventure would take him. If it was a good story, he would likely recommend it to Periwinkle Penguin.

The timer for the pizza went off, and Sage Penguin waddled to the oven. He pulled out the pizza, cut it into slices and put a couple of slices on his plate. Then he waddled to his dinner table, put the plate down next to the tea cup, and opened his book. This was going to be a great evening, he thought.

Sage Penguin is looking for a forever family. To adopt Sage you can head to our Etsy page or get Sage here. A portion of Sage’s adoption fees will go to help little penguins (and other birds) at the Royal Albatross Center in New Zealand.

Oliver Penguin Solves a Mystery

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Oliver Penguin sat down at his dining room table, where he had placed a smattering of carrots, some cuts of celery, the saltiest of potato chips (They all talked like they had served on a merchant marine ship somewhere on the seven seas), a couple of flaps of pita bread, and some crispy, homemade tortilla chips that were so flaky, they couldn’t hold a job for longer than a couple of minutes. Still, he had the sneaky suspicion that something was missing from his amazing table.

The salt and pepper shaker sat in the center in all their crystal glory. The two brass candlesticks did their best imitation of gold and looked longingly at the porcelain plates they thought could help them earn a layer of karats or 24. The white, taper candles in the brass candlesticks were lit, they were higher than anything else on the table. A couple of purple lilacs, Oliver thought of them as lilac lilacs, but they were really purple, floated in two bowls of clear, diamond cut, glass bowls that were frosted in such a way, cakes, if there had been any, would have been jealous. The silverware gleamed with reflected candlelight. Yet, Oliver Penguin still thought there was something missing. What could it be?

He took inventory again: carrots, celery, cucumbers (He had forgotten to mention them, but they were there, they weren’t missing), potato chips, pita bread, tortilla chips… “AHA!” He put his wing to his forehead. “DIPS!” How could he forget the dips?

Oliver went back into the kitchen, grabbed the dips, put them in bowls, and brought them out to his table. Then he waited. His friends would be over soon; he couldn’t wait to see what they decided for the evening’s entertainment. Would it be a musical or a mystery? It was already a mystery, but when they decided, would it still be a mystery? Maybe they could find something with elements of both.

Oliver Penguin seeks a family that shares his love of dips, musicals, and true crime. You can adopt Oliver at our Etsy page or here on this website. He’ll bring his scarf with him.

Read another penguin story: Periwinkle Penguin Paints a Picture

Periwinkle Penguin Paints a Picture

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Periwinkle Penguin was painting a picture from a book he read when he slipped and fell into the canvas. Now, you might think that he slipped and fell onto the painting because that’s usually how it happens. People, and penguins, for that matter, don’t slip and fall into paintings, as a rule. However, this time Periwinkle fell into his painting hand-knit sweater and all.

He looked out from the painting and didn’t see himself in front of the canvas where he normally stood. He looked all around him and didn’t see the room he normally saw. Instead, he saw all the colors he had used on this particular canvas. There was even some white space in the corner that he hadn’t gotten around to painting, yet. Periwinkle Penguin could not deny that he was inside his painting.

And what a wonderful painting it was. It had all the colors of the rainbow and several more colors he had mixed from his acrylic pigments, but mostly, it had a lot of blue. Periwinkle loved the color blue.

He decided that he might as well take a walk and see what he had created. After all, this was a perspective, from which he had never seen one of his paintings. He walked past the irises, blue of course, and by the butterflies, red, orange and black, and onto the green grass that was outside a cozy home, the lightest of blues with a red tile roof. Periwinkle sighed. This would make a wonderful house if it were real and not just a painting.

He turned and slipped again, but this time he slipped right out of his painting and back in front of it. The sun was going down outside, and Periwinkle Penguin could see all of the other canvases he had painted. Each one had a version of a place to live, but they were missing the most important element – his family. Periwinkle smiled and looked forward to the day when someone would adopt him and take him on some real adventures.

Periwinkle Penguin is available for adoption on our Etsy website or from us directly. All of our handmade stuffed penguins help real penguins (and other birds) at the Royal Albatross Centre in New Zealand through a donation of a portion of their adoption fees.

Penguin Awareness Day 2022: Cocoa, Books, Stuffed Penguins

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January 20 is Penguin Awareness Day 2022! To celebrate our cute friends from the mostly south, Lincoln City Archery will be giving away a “cup” of hot cocoa with the adoption of any penguin and/or the purchase of “Polly Penguin Wants to Fly.” There is little better than watching funny penguin videos with a cup of cocoa in hand.

Can’t make it to Lincoln City Archery? You can still help penguins by purchasing “Polly Penguin Wants to Fly” at Amazon (affiliate link). A dollar from every copy of the book sold, regardless of format, will be donated to Tiri Tiri Matangi for their work with little penguins and other New Zealand Wildlife.

Or contact us to see which penguins are currently available for adoption. A portion of the adoption fees for every penguin goes to the Royal Albatross Centre for their work with little penguins and other birds.

Our handmade stuffed penguins are packed with personality. They said they wanted to do something good for their friends who live in the wild. When we saw the penguins in New Zealand, we knew what we had to do. In 2021, we raised over $100 for the Royal Albatross Centre. We hope to beat that this year.

Celebrate Penguin Awareness Day 2022 and adopt a new penguin friend, get a good book, and enjoy your cocoa.

What Do We Need to Make Our Store a Reality?

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I was asked what we need to make our store a reality, and the list I came up with was long and filled with all the things you might expect. However, the first thing we need is to learn how to get people to the store. We’ve had a Facebook page, an Etsy shop, a Patreon, an Instagram account, a now-deleted YouTube channel, an Amazon author page, and a website long enough to know that we don’t know how to get people to any of those. We tried ads. We’ve cross promoted. I’ve used all of my SEO knowledge to rank us higher. I’ve taken classes in marketing, gone through five day challenges, and spent a month with a marketing guru; nothing has worked to bring sustained traffic that converts to buyers.

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The Fussy Duck in Salem, Or: Penguinate.com

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The Fussy Duck in Salem, Or is a locally owned, small business that brings together several other small businesses and gives them a place to display and sell their creations and products. Whether you’re looking for handmade items, like penguin plushies, cool wooden signs, snazzy holiday fragrances, or you want a vintage toy that reminds you of when you were child, the Fussy Duck has a treasure waiting for you to find it.

Penguinate.com is one of the small businesses you can find at the Fussy Duck. Our penguins are waiting for you to adopt them for the Christmas Season, read more about them, our books and what the Fussy Duck has done for us!

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August is the Month to Shop on Etsy: Win $5,000

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Etsy and Mastercard are teaming up to give Etsy shoppers $5,000! From now until the end of August, one lucky shopper on Etsy will receive $5,000 as a thank you for supporting small business and handmade items. I suppose I could probably write that information in another way, and psychologists would say I need to write it six times in order for you to remember it and 22 times in order for you to take action. However, I think more of you than psychologists.

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