Mr. Popper's Penguins

Bibliographic information: 

Atwater, Richard and Florence.  Mr. Popper’s Penguins.  Dell Yearling Book, 1938, p. 139. 

Brief plot description:

Mr. Popper lives in Stillwater with his wife and two children, and he paints from fall to spring. Popper is fascinated by traveling.  One night, Admiral Drake is on the radio and tells Mr. Popper that there is a surprise for him.  The next day a package arrives: a penguin, which he names Captain Cook.  One day, Dr. Smith sends his sick penguin, Greta, to the Poppers. Soon, Greta starts lying eggs.  The Poppers are running out of money, so they decide to train the penguins to perform tricks.  Mr. Greenbaum offers the Poppers a ten week contract for five thousand dollars a week for their penguin act.  One night, the Poppers go to the wrong theater and end up being sent to the police station. Admiral Drake bails Mr. Popper and the penguins out of jail.  Drake offers to take the penguins to North Pole to start a penguin population, and Mr. Popper accepts his offer.

Brief review:

I like this book very much because it tells of a family that takes excellent care of their pets.  I think that the main idea is that the Poppers will do anything to keep their penguins happy and they are determined to be a happy family even with a limited income.  It could be used when talking about the South and North Pole or when talking about pets.  It is a great book for a read aloud for students in fourth through sixth grade, but can also be read at the individual level.  Both boys and girls will enjoy this book.     

Genre label:

Modern Fantasy

Reading level/interest level:

4^th-6^th grade

Similar materials in style content, theme or characters:

The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle’s Farm by Betty McDonald

Just Grace Walks the Dog by Charise Mericie Harper

Awards:

Newbery Honor Book