Module 2 - Mr. Popper's Penguins

Courtesy amazon.com

Book Summary:  Mr. Popper's Penguins is a book about a man who dreams about travel, but has never left his hometown.  His favorite places to dream of traveling to are the North and South Poles.  He reads about and sees movies about expeditions to these places.  He ends up writing a letter to one of these explorers and the explorer send Mr. Popper his very own penguin.  The penguin turns his life and the lives of his family upside down.  However, his family gives them their full support.  He receives another penguin, and eventually ends up with twelve penguins.  Not being a wealthy man, Mr. Popper and his wife have to come up with a way to earn some extra money.  He and his family teach the penguins tricks that pretty much follow their natural behavior.  Then end up traveling from town to town.  The audiences love it.  In the end, the Captain who sent him his first penguin offers to take Mr. Popper and his penguins on an expedition to the North Pole.  Mr. Popper's dreams come true.

APA Reference:  Atwater, R., & Atwater, F. (1938). Mr. popper's penguins. Boston, MA: Little, Brown, and Company, Inc.

My Impressions:  Being and animal lover, I loved this book.  I was able to really relate to this book.  Mr. Popper and his family turn their lives upside to allow Mr. Popper to keep his penguins.  Though the penguins provide many trials, the family turn even negative experiences into positive ones.  Mr. Popper prevails in the end getting to follow his dreams.

Professional Review #1: 

Gr. 3-6. Mr. Popper has a penchant for penguins, but when he receives a real one as a gift, it quickly multiplies and the situation gets out of hand. Lawson's droll black-and-white illustrations add to the fun.

Professional Review Reference: 
Larson, J. (2006, November). Mr. Popper's penguins. [Review of the book Mr. Popper's pengins by R. and F. Atwater].  Book Links 16(2), p. 37.  Retrieved from Professional Review #2:

K-Gr. 5. Housepainter Mr. Popper's desire for travel and adventure leads him to adopt two penguins and, eventually, set out on a coast-tocoast vaudeville tour with his family, the birds, and the birds' offspring.

This absurd, laugh-out-loud tale hasn't aged in almost 70 years, and Lawson's droll black-and-white illustrations add to the run.

Professional Review Reference:
Weisman, K. (2006, July).  Mr. Popper's Penguins. [Review of the book Mr. Popper's penguins, by R. & F. Atwater]. Book Links 15(6), p. 9.

Library Uses:

This book would be a good choice for use in a youth reader's club.  It's a chatpter book, but it's easy to understand.  Although it's fiction, it would be a good book to teach about penguins.  Penguin facts are placed through out the story line letting the reader get a good picture of a penguin's life.