Who Can Resist a Puffin? A Poem, Book ‘n Website

Babies, chocolate and puppies are hard to resist. So are puffins – that rotund black and white seabird with expressive eyes and mango-colored feet and bill. In fact, my girls’ favorite poem while growing up featured a muffin-shaped puffin.

“There Once Was a Puffin” by Florence Page Jaques is best recited with a lilting  voice, a staccato cadence and lots of enthusiasm. We even incorporated some exaggerated breathing.

But, no matter how you choose to interpret it, “There Once Was a Puffin”  is a great poem to memorize and recite in unison. We still quote snippets of it when having tea, eating pancakes or even when we’re feeling blue.

There Once Was a Puffin

Oh, there once was a Puffin
Just the shape of a muffin,
And he lived on an island
In the bright blue sea!

He ate little fishes,
That were most delicious,
And he had them for supper
And he had them for tea.

But this poor little Puffin,
He couldn’t play nothin’,
For he hadn’t anybody
To play with at all.

So he sat on his island,
And he cried for awhile, and
He felt very lonely,
And he felt very small.

Then along came the fishes,
And they said, “If you wishes,
You can have us for playmates,
Instead of for tea!”

So they now play together,
In all sorts of weather,
And the Puffin eats pancakes,
Like you and like me.

If you want to learn more about this colorful “clown of the sea,” read “Puffins” by author Colleen Sexton on the Big Universe picture book website. Published by Bellwether Media, “Puffins” is among the Level 2 Blastoff! Readers series book selections for beginners. Level 2 offers early readers simple sentences, but with more text and less repetition of high-frequency words than the series’ Level 1 books.

Puffinpalooza.com also provides vivid pictures  of this cartoonish creature, as well as lots of facts and teacher resources, including lesson ideas, coloring sheets, vocabulary lists and a crossword puzzle. You will find two additional puffin poems on the website’s poem page.

* Photo credit: Tom Curtis/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

One Comment

• Meg says:

  April 6, 2011 at 6:21 am

  Thanks so much for mentioning my site. =) Puffins are wonderful! I try to add new resources often, so come on over!