I would like to thank Netgallery and the publisher for sending me an Arc of this books in exchange for an honest review. This is a manga with lots of little stories within it. All the stories are pretty cute and are about his pet penguin, however I did find the owner character very annoying. I did like the other characters in this book. ( )

teen graphic fiction, Japanese manga translated into English - this is a very light series, but the exaggerated antics of Hayakawa's friend Seto always makes me chuckle (pure comedy!), and the cooking illustrations are surprisingly detailed. Pen-chan's daily acts of devotion (whipping up beautiful meals and desserts from scratch, carefully and expertly folding laundry, keeping the house spotless, etc.) are nothing short of amazing and yet clueless, sloppy Hayakawa never seems to notice. This first volume would be suitable for middlegrade kids or even young kids (rated PG). ( )

If you are searching for a very light and fast read and a story that has a cute animal as a main character, well Penguin & House is perfect for you. Basically Akiho Ieda tells the everyday life of Pen the penguin and his friend Hayakawa, who is a human. Pen loves Hayakawa deeply and does everything he can to please his friend : cleaning, cooking, and other many wonderful things that only a super penguin is capable of. But Hayakawa is everything but grateful. And the poor animal is often left distraught after each short individual story.

By using secondary characters, Akiho Ieda reveals the absurdity of the situation : all are amazed by Pen’s capabilities and the only person that does not appreciate them is Hayakawa. I do believe the author wanted to denounce abusive relationships in his story, where the wife or girlfriend does everything in the house and is not acknowledged for it. Using humour as a driver, he describes simple situations that we may all have experienced at least one time in our life. More than once, I was irritated with Hayakawa. It is a cute and fun read, yes, but with many layers of understanding, which makes it appreciable by readers of various ages. ( )