The Penguin Problem

By R.K. Fields

The animals have a secret. Kensley has a notebook.

When Kensley Fisher moves into the little stone cottage inside Maplewood Zoo, she figures the strangest thing about her new home will be falling asleep to lion snores. Then, at exactly midnight, the zoo's broken clock tower chimes. A clock that hasn't worked in fifty years, and Kensley learns the zoo's oldest secret:

From midnight to one o'clock, the animals can talk. And only kids can hear them.

Now Kensley has a 112-year-old tortoise for a teacher, a fast-talking raccoon for a business partner, and her very first case. Pip, the smallest penguin, won't go in the water. If he doesn't swim by Friday, he'll be sent away forever. The keepers can't fix him. The vet can't fix him. Nobody can figure out what's wrong.

That's because Pip's problem isn't what anyone thinks it is.

A warm, funny chapter book about being brave when you're scared, and how everything is easier when you're scared with somebody. With 10 full-page illustrations. Perfect for readers 6 to 9, first graders reading ahead, and families who love reading aloud at bedtime.

First in a new series: every animal in Maplewood Zoo has a story, and the Midnight Zoo Club is open for business.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0HFCYDP94
• ISBN13: 9798192668641
• Release Date: August 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 82 Pages
• Weight: 0.21 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 5.3" x 8.0"