Flipping Brilliant

The more you find out about penguins, the more they seem to have in common with another oddly endearing flightless biped. Namely, us. --Flipping Brilliant

Think March of the Penguins meets Life's Little Instruction Book by way of National Geographic.

Award-winning nature photographer Jonathan Chester captures the essence of the Antarctic's most popular residents to illustrate the similarities between penguins' lives and our own. Patrick Regan's clever narrative offers surprising insights and humorously entertaining life lessons.

The appeal of penguins is undeniable and universal. And we can learn a lot from these fat, funny birds. Lessons like:

* The meek sleep alone,

* It's better to be smart than cute, and

* You can be too thin. (After all, the book explains, if the Olsen twins ever get locked in a walk-in cooler for days and are forced to live off their own body fat, they're goners. Penguins? They're good for months.)

Flipping Brilliant includes helpful environmental information about the penguin habitat and the effects of global warming, including Web sites that show how you can help.