Saving Puff

written and illustrated by Jennifer O’Connell

Due for release in April, 2027

Late one night, Emma rescues a stranded baby puffin on her island in Iceland. When pufflings leave their cliffside burrows, they fly toward the moon’s light on the sea, but the bright lights in the town often confuse them and they fly there instead. The young birds don’t have the strength yet to take off from land. Many of the pufflings are underweight and still have their downy feathers. “Puff,” as Emma names him, is not yet ready to survive in the ocean. Emma takes him home to care for him and feed him. As Puff grows, Emma becomes attached. When Puff finally weighs enough to be released, Emma isn’t quite sure he’s ready yet - or is it Emma who isn’t ready?

This is a fictional story based on the real-life tradition of the children and their families on the island of Heimaey, of the Westman Islands in Iceland. The book includes back matter explaining the Puffling Patrol, as these rescuers are known, the plight of the Atlantic puffins - how climate change is putting them at risk of extinction, the four different puffin species, and a range map of the Atlantic puffin.