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[(I Like It When)] [Author: Mary Murphy] published on

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Korean English & Chinese Languages[나는 정말 좋아요]는 영국 [I like it when...]을 번역한 책인데요, 아기펭귄과 엄마(아빠)펭귄의 소소한 일상이 밝고 따뜻한 원색으로 표현되어 다정함이 느껴져요. 지친 일상을 토닥토닥 위로해주는, 그림만 봐도 눈가에 행복이 묻어나는 솜사탕처럼 부드럽고 달콤한 동화랍니다. 두고두고 간직하고 싶은 책 있잖아요. [나는 정말 좋아요]는 아이에게 엄마(아빠)와의 소중한 순간이 담긴 의미 있는 책으로 기억될 거예요. 이 책은 음성파일이 돋보이는데요, 무료로 제공되는 음성파일은 [한국어 + 영어 + 중국어 / 아기-엄마, 아기-아빠] 버전으로 준비되어 있어요. 유아 때부터 자연스럽게 외국어에 노출되니 교육적으로도 더할 나위 없겠죠?

Board Book

First published January 1, 1997

5 people are currently reading
326 people want to read

About the author

Mary Murphy

68 books26 followers
Children's author and illustrator Mary Murphy enchants even the youngest of readers with her bold style, combining eye-catching graphics and a bouncy text that seemingly jump off the pages.

Mary Murphy has an advanced diploma in Visual Communications and has written and illustrated a number of children's books, including her lift-the-flap, pull-the-tab book about friendship, ROXIE AND BO TOGETHER. In addition to creating children's books, she teaches illustration. The author-illustrator lives in Galway, Ireland.

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5 stars
320 (43%)
4 stars
235 (32%)
3 stars
149 (20%)
2 stars
21 (2%)
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5 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews
Profile Image for Théo d'Or .
673 reviews289 followers
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June 17, 2025
Breaking News - Alien are among us ! Yesterday I had the irrefutable proof. They can read 220 pages, " like " 50 reviews and leave 18 comments - and all this even before my naughty cat dared a pitiful " meow " .
Now it's clear - Area 51 is a secret book club.
12 reviews
June 30, 2013
I love this book because it is so simple and yet so bright and positive.
I Like It When... portrays a young penguin and an adult penguin and explores their loving relationship.
The book makes no mention of age, gender or race. It does not even label the relationship between the two penguins, instead it focusses on the things the like to do together.
That the book omits such fine details makes it extremely inclusive. The young penguin could be a boy or a girl. The adult penguin could be a parent, grandparent, or foster carer. A child reading this book could come from any kind of background and find a way to make the characters relate to them.
Adding to the simplicity of this book, all of the illustrations are in black, white and primary colours, meaning that they could be easily emulated by young children.
The repetitive nature of the text makes it appropriate for early readers and could be used as a template for some writing. Children could think of something that they like to do with their parent or carer and write and sentence beginning, "I like it when..."
I think that such positive and inclusive books should be available in every primary classroom but that this one in particular would be perfect in a nursery or reception class.
Profile Image for Stacy.
1,003 reviews90 followers
February 6, 2017
My granddaughter has loved this book for a couple years now. I must agree, it is adorable.
Profile Image for Rebecca.
404 reviews16 followers
May 26, 2019
A great beginners book for toddlers about consent and showing appropriate affection. A must read for all adults and their younger children.
Profile Image for Hendrix Hill.
3 reviews
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February 17, 2025
Read this with my mommy- she tried her best to read the Spanish, but I think we need Auntie Grace to come help us read it right!
Profile Image for Lefruitbat.
13 reviews
April 28, 2008
this is my bedtime story book for sacha and i think its awesome. it doesn't pitch a philsophy but instead goes through a series of family activities like eating, helping, dancing, splashing in bath, reading... all the way to good night.
its simple with bright colors and bold black and white penguins. when i get to the tickle part... i of coarse tickle sacha!!!! i love its simplicity and positivity.
Profile Image for Tracy.
519 reviews10 followers
September 6, 2017
Ok, so a lot of kids' books put words in a kid's mouth, literally, etc. etc. But some of them are really written so those words are what a bigger person would want to hear a smaller person say, and those are kinda grating.
Profile Image for Denise.
483 reviews74 followers
December 20, 2019
Simple repetition of the various acts of care and love children can expect from their parents. The adult penguin and child penguin are both genderless, and their relationship is never labeled, which is great for giving it to any sort of family.
8 reviews1 follower
October 14, 2013
I like it when...

by Mary Murphy


The main character of ‘I like it when...’ is a young penguin. 


Writing in the first and second person, he expresses his affection towards the grown-up penguin, most likely his mother or father. The illustrations by author Mary Murphy show the pair carrying out a range of everyday activities that the little one enjoys. Each page displays a new activity and a statement such as “I like it when you let me help” and “I like it when we splash about”.

The tone of the book is sweet and affectionate, showing a very close and loving relationship between parent and child. 

I would read this book with children under the age of 5 and use it as a basis for discussion and sharing on the topic of people who are important in the children’s lives. This topic can be further developed in art and literacy, with children making their own book, either as a class or individually with the help of an adult. They can draw a picture of their parents or carers and write statements about things they enjoy doing together.


It’s a short book but a nice read for young children and a good starting point for work in other areas of literacy or creative arts.
Profile Image for Janie.
542 reviews12 followers
March 31, 2019
I like it when ... I find a book this good.

I like this book. My toddler likes this book. We like it when we read this book together! (He likes it when other people read it with him too!)

It's positive; it's relationship-based; it's unfettered by roles, including gendering. The language is winning: It is pro-social. It is repetitive yet unstilted.

My kiddo is neurodiverse and is just beginning to express himself in phrases, and there are two that are coming up a lot: "I see ..." and "I like ..." This book came around at the perfect time for us. One of the ways he picks up language is in chunks. He absorbs an entire passage (often, from a book) and then dismantles it to make it work for him in his own life. I have been on the lookout for books with language that is fun and useful for him, and this is just perfect. We can play around with these "I like it when..." phrases throughout the day. I’m going to put library holds on the entire Mary Murphy collection.

We have SO MUCH FUN with the "I like it when you tickle me" page. He loves to be tickled, and he also loves to point at and read the words (he points at "tickle" on repeat ;) and look at the characters in the book sitting on the couch doing just what we're doing.
Profile Image for Erica Nicol.
66 reviews21 followers
November 3, 2011
Mary Murphy's penguins are expressive, fun, and clearly love each other. The text is simple and well-written, and the overall story is engaging, gentle, and comforting. My daughter loves to read this with me, especially now that she's able to see herself doing more of the things that the penguin child in the book does.

I really love that this book shows a child and a care-giver without specifying that the care-giver is a mommy or daddy or grandparent. When I worked in a bookstore a customer asked us for suggestions of books that didn't show a mommy or daddy as the primary caregiver and we didn't have any to give her (we referred her to our children's branch) and this has always haunted me for some reason. I wish I knew about this book back then.
Profile Image for Eileen.
78 reviews2 followers
July 29, 2011
Fighting the immature part of me that wants to review this book as "I Like It When...You Touch Me: an Introduction to Pedophelia; I think this book is pretty great.
It's not another fear-based or moral book and the age-range is pretty broad.

I read this for the first time with my 5-year old and, while the dialect is simple-intended for a younger audience I suppose, the few words with big letters and simple theme let my son see the words better than if he had to pay close attention to the story.
37 reviews1 follower
January 18, 2019
Today I read "I Like It When.../Me gusta cuando..." at bilingual storytime, and it was pretty good! The kids got a little squirrelly toward the end, though. I got the kids engaged by asking what kinds of things they like to do with their adults. All the kids said they like helping! A couple even said they like to help clean their rooms and that of their baby brother! This was a very sweet book, and was good for helping kids make connections with their own lives and make sense of their likes and dislikes.
Profile Image for Katherine Cowley.
Author 6 books233 followers
October 20, 2011
This clever book frames things that children often see as negative (housework, new foods, etc.) in a positive way: "I like it when you let me help", "I like it when we try new foods", etc. It follows a classic picture book arc that is created by taking a day in the life of a child, albeit an anthropomorphic penguin baby. The illustrations had nice bold, contrasting colors that my baby enjoyed. I Like it When... is genuinely like-able.
Profile Image for Cassie.
107 reviews1 follower
March 5, 2013
Ages 1-5. This is a simple story that can help children think about what they like to do with their families. After reading this story you can ask, "What do you like to do with the one you love most?" Very colorful pages, that aren't too busy, and the simple bold text has plenty of white space and helps it stand out. The text bubbles add an additional layer and can help children realize print carries meaning.
Profile Image for Sam Grace.
473 reviews56 followers
April 9, 2016
I really do like this one - all the "I like its" are things that I really do like - when you hold my hand, when you let me help you, etc - and I love that the illustrations let you read it like either the parent or the child is doing the talking AND that the gender of both penguins is utterly obscured. Short, easy to read aloud, opportunities for interaction while reading - but my kid just isn't into it! I have no idea why not.
Profile Image for Ina.
1,268 reviews15 followers
January 19, 2013
Another cute small penguin tells the reader about the things he likes to do with his adult penguin. Simple text and pictures with simple shapes and bold colors make this a perfect book to read to very young storytime audiences. I like it when...you hold hands with me...let me help...dance with me...hold me tight...and (of course!) read me stories. Simple, but engaging.
Profile Image for Tiff.
900 reviews
February 25, 2016
This is a warm and fuzzy book. Parent penguin and baby penguin are the main leads in this story. Baby penguin tells how he/she likes it when...you let me help; we eat new things; hug me tight! Illustrations are contained in red, green, blue, yellow and white backgrounds. Ends with: You're wonderful!
Profile Image for Emily Joyal.
27 reviews9 followers
November 9, 2008
i've been reading this to my non-english speakers at work. we read this one, along with two others, every day. it's amazing how they can learn words, phrases, and concepts in this way! it's a cute little book.
Profile Image for Sonya Feher.
167 reviews12 followers
January 22, 2009
The relationship between parent and child penguin makes this book a sweet read. The actions in the book: helping, eating new things, playing peekaboo etc. are universal so our son recognized himself and even made up motions to act them out. This is a great book for 15 months+.
Profile Image for Anne Miller.
2 reviews6 followers
June 16, 2009
both of my boys have absolutely adored this book. With very little text and vibrant primary colors, its cute. The parent is gender ambiguous, and its really pretty cute. One I havent minded to read 50 billion times.
Profile Image for jacky.
3,495 reviews92 followers
October 14, 2010
This book was a nice mix of fun things (play peekaboo) and good behaviors (hold my hand). I liked how this little book puts a positive spin on some of the subjects parents and toddlers often fight about. Cute penguins, too.
Profile Image for Tamara.
271 reviews2 followers
February 6, 2012
Ember is enthralled with the book. She squirms usually for books but she sits still for this one. It is cute about a penguin and his mom. I think the bold contrasting colors and simple pictures help.
Profile Image for Susan.
2,440 reviews72 followers
September 20, 2015
A sweet, gentle book for very young children. I especially like that Murphy used penguins that had no obvious gender or racial characteristics. I think that makes the book more accessible to a diversity of readers.
Profile Image for Amy.
349 reviews
December 9, 2015
Short and sweet showing a penguin parent and penguin child having fun doing things together. Reminds you of activities that you can do when you are just staring at each other or getting on each other's nerves.
Profile Image for Diana.
1,475 reviews7 followers
February 4, 2016
This one paired up very nicely with "I Am Small" by Emma Dodd for my Penguin storytime. Super cute! I really like the interaction between parent and child and the obvious care they have for each other.
Profile Image for Shannon Tuttle.
9 reviews
April 20, 2019
This is an adorable book. My husband and I would read it together with our daughter with me reading the Spanish and him the English. We were able to teach our daughter some Spanish through this book. She loved this book as a younger child.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews

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