There Have Always Been Puffins was written to answer the wide range of questions about horned and tufted puffins posed by visitors to the Kenai Fjords in Alaska. It features three integrated but separate strands. Illustrations with imbedded text tell the story of horned puffin Al Corniculata's return to the rookery for his first season as a puffin parent. On the bottom of each page is a ditty patterned after the classic Florence Page Jacques’ poem, “There Once Was a Puffin,” and following the story line on the page. The ditty was written to be read to the very young and young at heart. The third strand – dedicated to those readers who want the facts – presents clear, factual information about horned, tufted and Atlantic puffins. The entire book is done in a picture book format showing both the caricaturized world of Al and Cid and the real world of three major species of puffins.