Nights of the Pufflings

Nights of the Pufflings (1995) is a children's book by Bruce McMillan.^[1] It was awarded as the Parents' Choice Picture Book (1995),^[2] American Library Association Notable Book(1996) ^[3] and Hungry Mind Review's Children's Book of Distinction (1996).

Young puffins are known as "pufflings".^{[4] [5]}

Nights of the Pufflings was translated into Icelandic (Pysjunaetur) and German (Nächte der kleinen Papageitaucher).

Awards

In 1995 Nights of the Pufflings was a Parents' Choice Picture Book.^[2] In 1996 it was selected as the American Library Association Notable Book.^[3] In the same year it was awarded as a Children's Book of Distinction by Hungry Mind Review.

Synopsis

Nights of the Pufflings is set to the Icelandic island of Heimaey. The story introduces a local children tradition of rescuing young birds, pufflings. Every August millions of pufflings leave their burrows in the cliffs and take their first flight at night time. Some of them get confused, presumably by street lights, and get stranded in the village streets, where they can become an easy prey for local cats and dogs. The children get ready to take patrols in the night streets, gather the bewildered pufflings in cardboard boxes and later set them free at the beach at daytime. The birds will spend the next year or two at open sea before returning to Heimaey for mating.

Characters

• Halla: the main figure, a school girl and a puffling rescuer.
• Arnar Ingi: Halla's friend

References