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Module 2: Mr. Popper's Penguins



Summary:  Have you ever known someone to raise penguins as a family pet?  Well, in the book, Mr. Popper's Penguins, that's exactly what happens.  Mr. Popper is a house painter who is fascinated by a recent exploration of the North Pole, learning everything he can about the region.  On a whim he decides to write a letter to the explorers in the North Pole asking about penguins.  To his, and everyone's, surprise the explorers not only write back to Mr. Popper but they also send him a package.  When Mr. Popper opens up the package, he discovers that the explorers sent him a penguin.  Even though the Popper family is on limited income, Mr. Popper decides to raise the penguin as the family pet and name their penguin Capt. Cook.  He and his family fix their house to accommodate their new pet and quickly become the talk of the small town.  Not too long afterwards, the Popper family bring in a female penguin to keep their pet company.  Naturally, their pets have baby penguins, which the Poppers decide to keep.  However, the Popper family is running out of money that is until Mr Popper takes the twelve penguins out on a tour, where they become a smash hit.  Because of their success on tour, the family's financial struggles are over.  In the end though, the North Pole explorers return to take the penguins back to their natural habitat...oh, and invite Mr. Popper to go with them.

Reference: Atwater, F. & Atwater, R. (1938). Mr. Popper's penguins. Boston, MA. Little, Brown, and Co.

Impression: Initially, I decided to read this book because of the Jim Carrey movie. I've never watched the movie and I most likely never will, but I knew from experience that the book is often better than their movie, so I decided to read the book.  One of the first pleasant surprises I had was finding that Robert Lawson was the illustrator for the book.  I've always enjoyed Robert Lawson's work from The Story of Ferdinand to Ben and Me: An Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin by His Good Mouse Amos, so I was looking forward to reading Mr. Popper's Penguins. I am happy to say that I wasn't disappointed.  From the onset, the quirkiness of Mr. Popper's character was evident with the help of the authors' description and the illustrator's depictions.  As I was reading the story, questions filled my head, like "What's going to happen next?  Are they going to keep the Capt. Cook and, if so, how?  What are they going to do now with 12 penguins?" and How are the penguins going to make money for the family?"  These questions are a compliment to the authors, the Atwaters.  Their characters and story kept me entertained, especially since the idea of having penguins as pets is unheard of.  I couldn't help but picture Dick Van Dyke as Mr. Popper.  With his gangly, lose body to his comedic physical actions, I felt he would have made the ideal Mr. Popper. The idea of having penguins as pets is a unique one, much less writing a story about it; it was funny and endearing then and it still is today.

Professional Review:
When Mr. Popper receives his first penguin as a gift from the infamous Admiral Drake, his life is changed dramatically. Soon his penguin family grows and Mr. Popper goes to great lengths to make them comfortable, from making an ice rink of his floors, to digging a swimming hole in his basement. However, when these home improvement projects become costly, Mr. Popper takes his penguins on the road to perform. This leads to many humorous adventures on trains, in taxis, and in fancy hotels--all places unaccustomed to serving penguins. The delightful illustrations make the story even more entertaining. Category: Award Books; Humor; Read Aloud. Grade Level: Intermediate (4th-6th grade). 1938, Little Brown & Co.. Ages 9 to 12.

Jennifer (year unknown). [Review of Mr. Popper's penguins]. BookHive (www.bookhive.org) Retrieved from  http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:3574/index.php/jbookdetail/jqbookdetail?page=1&pos=2&isbn=9780316058421

Library Uses:  This book would be a great way to introduce a Geography lesson to elementary students to study both the North Pole and the South Pole.  Students could peruse the library for information on the differences of the regions, their habitats, terrain, weather, and discoveries. 

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