Puffin the Architect

Puffin, Penguin Random House NZ, July 30 2018 | Pencil, photoshop

Puffin is an architect who always exceeds her clients’ expectations, until, that is, she takes on the toughest clients ever – her own pufflings!
Puffin takes her tricky new clients on an inspirational tour of her builds. Together they visit all kinds of cleverly designed spaces - Otter's floating home, Pig's toolshed on wheels, Painter Goose's light-filled studio and Platypus's cosy underground bakehouse.
The pufflings are unimpressed.
Her clients really are a challenge! Will Puffin come up with a puffling-perfect home design?
This gorgeous story, with endearing animal characters, intriguing house designs, ingenious mechanisms and storage solutions to pore over on every page, will spark a brand new generation of architects, engineers and interior designers!

NZ$20.99

Buy a signed copy

Puffin the Architect Series Bundle

NZ$80.00

Buy all four books as a series bundle and save ($20.00 each, normally $20.99 each). Published by Puffin, Penguin Random House New Zealand.

From the world of Puffin the Architect and her friends - this bundle includes Puffin the Architect, Hound the Detective, Moose the Pilot and Goose the Artist.

Meet Puffin, a clever architect who always creates the perfect home for her clients. But her newest clients are VERY hard to please!

Meet Moose, a bush pilot who lives in a treehouse. He's had a VERY busy day when he gets a radio call for one more job - a RESCUE mission!

Meet Hound, a brilliant detective who ALWAYS solves his case. But this latest trail of clues has him perplexed - could it be that he's missed something important?

Meet Goose, a passionate artist who wants to create a PERFECT portrait and win the village art competition.

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Awards & recognition

WHITCOULLS TOP 50 KIDS' BOOKS 2019

WINNER - Russell Clark Award for Illustration 2019 - NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.

SHORTLISTED - Picture Book Award 2019 - NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.

LISTENER TOP 50 BOOKS 2018

WINNER - NZ Booklovers Award 2019 Best Children's Book

SHORTLISTED - NZ Booklovers Award 2019 Best Children's Book

Storylines Notable Picture Book Award 2019

Praise for Puffin the Architect

"To see a book completed in flawless rhyme, building page by page while subtly reusing the elements of designs... is rather astounding and worthy of a very long round of applause... The illustrations are fabulously drawn and coloured"
The Sapling – August 16, 2018

This is such a perfect book for young ones for so many reasons. It will join the ever-growing group of books about makers and designers, offering ideas and solutions. The read aloud qualities are many. The large format size will enable an audience to participate as the rhyming text flows beautifully. There is a lot of detail in the visuals, which will be studied by inquisitive readers again and again. This is an exciting new publication. An absolute must for school and public libraries, and for private collections.
Liz Derouet - June 30 2018

It is absolutely gorgeous… we don’t have a lot of picture books for kids about professional roles for women… It’s just so beautifully done. The illustrations are lovely. Is it because of the illustrations that it is so beautiful?… Partly… there is also rhyme which is always good in a picture book… It’s just warm and lovely.
Joan Mackenzie review for Whitcoulls - June 30 2018

With so much interest in designing and making and appraising the results as we encourage our students to be creative and think laterally, this is a book that could be used in so many ways within the curriculum. Children could be encouraged to choose another creature and consider their needs so they could then design a home for them; they could investigate the purpose and construction of cross-sections and how to draw and label them; or they could explore other books where the text is cumulative. Different, distinctive and a valuable addition to your collection.
The Bottom Shelf - August 23, 2018

Puffin the Architect is a gorgeous offering by another talented writer/illustrator combo.
Create Hope Inspire - September 5, 2018

In this ingenious little book, Puffin takes her clients on an inspirational tour of her designs.
EastLife Magazine - September 2018

This book is a delightful tale of a mum trying to create the right home for her pufflings... To see a book completed in flawless rhyme, building page by page while subtly reusing the elements of designs... is rather astounding and worthy of a very long round of applause... The illustrations are fabulously drawn and coloured, with a lot of detailed work for the plans throughout.
The Sapling - August 16, 2018

Pre-schoolers will love the double page spreads with detailed pictures of the interiors of each clients home, pointing out all the design features and talking about what makes each one so special for its owner.
Grownups - August 20, 2018

Kids are going to love pouring over the designs, and detailed colourful double-page spreads, as well as the clever space-saving gadgets incorporated into the homes.
KidzBooksNZ - August 3, 2018

A beautifully illustrated and intelligent story for budding little designers and architects.
Little Treasures - November 1, 2018

It is the first picture book that Kimberly Andrews has both written and illustrated and it's definitely a triumph... It's challenging to create a story in rhyme with an authentic voice and Kimberly has carried it off with panache... Her rhymes are clever and not overdone. She's done a terrific job I look forward to her next venture!
Magpies Magazine NZ - September 2018

Named in the top 50 books of 2018, Books & Culture, Ann Packer
The NZ Listener - December 1, 2018

...the Homes inhabited by the various animals in Puffin the Architect boast ingenious fold-out, drop-down, collapsible and underfloor storage to maximise every sliver of space and skerrick of material.
The NZ Listener - September 29, 2018

The artwork provides plenty of interesting details for children to pore over, while the rhyming text trips off the tongue easily. There are some great repetitions in the descriptions of the houses, which add to the read-aloud fun.
Otago Daily Times - August 9, 2018

...we need more books like Puffin the Architect. It could well spark a whole new generation of architects, engineers and interior designers.
Weekend Herald - August 4, 2018

The text is mostly rhyming, and cleverly arranged... The architecture depicted is engaging and the illustrations provide plenty of detail for children to pore over.
Scoop Reviews of Books - August 11, 2018

This book would be a perfect way to look at the use of different visual language features.
NZ Book Council - October 3, 2018

The exquisite illustrations in [Puffin the Architect] will capture children's attention and they will find interesting topics for discussion each time the book is read to them.
The Reader - Booksellers NZ - November 2, 2018