Early Book Review:Chilly da Vinci by Jarrett Rutland

Chilly da Vinci by Jarrett Rutland is a picturebook that is currently scheduled for release on December 4 2018. While others do “penguin” things, Chilly da Vinci is a self-declared inventor penguin. He builds machines that don’t work as intended, at least not yet! Can his inventing solve the problem, that he just might have caused. 

Chilly da Vinci is a cute picturebook. I love the artwork, the penguins are very cute and the yellow/brown paper hinting at Leonardo da Vinci's sketches add a great touch. Chilly's efforts and persistence is another great aspect of the story. His first invention, and second, and third, all cause trouble instead of meeting Chilly's hopes for them. I think showing the invention processes and how much Chilly needed to be himself while not liking how others often treated him because of it is important for readers of all ages to understand. I thought the story could have been a little more involved, or more focused on one or two of the inventions. I liked the illustrations, the animals were cute and the use of yellowish brown paper for the inventions was a nice touch. I liked the perseverance and effort of Chilly, and the discussion about being yourself and empathy that this book might inspire. I just never really got invented in the story, it felt like something was missing. Not that I know what was lacking, if I did I would be making the big bucks, or at least bucks, for all this book reading.