National Geographic to Release Companion Book to March of the Penguins  9/27/05

National Geographic to Release Companion Children's Book to Hit Film "MARCH OF THE PENGUINS"

CHAPPAQUA, NY -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 09/27/05 -- Just in time for the holidays, the summer's surprise hit movie "MARCH OF THE PENGUINS" will be captured in a children's book combining images from the movie with charming text drawn from the popular documentary. Publication is coinciding with the DVD release of the film in November.

"MARCH OF THE PENGUINS" (National Geographic Books) tells the inspiring story of the emperor penguins' yearly Antarctic odyssey and the long months of endurance, self-sacrifice and love as they raise a new generation of chicks. Written to delight children ages 5-9, the book is illustrated with vivid color photographs, most by "MARCH OF THE PENGUINS" cinematographer Jérôme Maison.

Everything about the "MARCH OF THE PENGUINS" movie is extraordinary -- the birds themselves, their arduous trek in single file through the world's most forbidding landscape of blue-white ice swept by blizzards and gale-force winds, their elaborate courtship, and the almost unimaginable ordeal each penguin couple endures as they safeguard a single, precious egg.

In this dramatic and scientifically accurate companion volume to the movie (already the second most popular documentary in American motion picture history and the highest-grossing natural history film of all time), filmmaker Luc Jacquet uses images from the film to accompany text geared for younger readers. "MARCH OF THE PENGUINS" is a tale of love and dedication -- between penguin mates and between parents and the single downy chick each must nourish and protect.

Luc Jacquet is a prize-winning filmmaker, biologist and photographer renowned for his nature and wildlife documentaries that draw on his scientific background and gift for film narrative. His first visit to Antarctica sparked an enduring fascination with the remarkable, moving epic of the emperor penguin; his hit movie now shares its enchantment with us.

Jérôme Maison has spent 10 years documenting the wildlife of Antarctica and Australia. He spent 13 months on the ice to capture the extraordinary images in this book.

"MARCH OF THE PENGUINS"

National Geographic Books

November 2005

32 pages

ISBN 0-7922-6183-6