Fluff and Billy do everything together by Nicola Killen

Egmont, 2011. ISBN 9781405254250.
Fluff and Billy are two penguins who do everything together - climbing, sliding, screaming, splashing - everything. Whatever Fluff does, Billy copies. And it's starting to aggravate Fluff, especially after he gets a snowball in the chest. So begins a time of them not talking to each other, until . . .
This is a delightful story with simple but enchanting illustrations that will engage the youngest child as a read-aloud. Miss 9-months loved the rhythm and laughed at the pictures, but now Miss 5 has started school and is beginning to read, I'm looking from another perspective as well. This book has power as a beginning reader because of its repetitive text which is made very predictable by the illustrations. Within the space of one read-along she was able to read it for herself, giving her a huge boost of confidence and independence.
When I was in a school situation I had grab bags that parents could borrow for a week. Inside were seven books that were just right for bedtime reading including at least one for little people to share with their parents. It gave them such a sense of empowerment to read a 'real book' not just a take-home reader. Fluff and Billy would be perfect for this, and even if not in a grab bag, it would be on the Recommended Reads table for my beginning readers to borrow. What an amazing lesson they would learn about what the library has to offer them. It's not just for the big kids!
Barbara Braxton