Week One: Mr. Popper's Penguins

Mr. Popper's Penguins

by Richard and Florence Atwater

Summary

    Mr. Popper works as a house painter, a mundane job that pays the bills (barely), but his passion is Antarctic exploration and penguins. When a penguin arrives in the mail, sent from his hero Admiral Drake, Mr. Popper's life becomes much more exciting. 

    The Popper family names their new penguin Captain Cook, who quickly becomes ill with loneliness. The Poppers get another penguin, Greta, to keep him company. Soon they have 12 penguins- Captain Cook, Greta and 10 baby penguins. The Poppers discover housing twelve penguins is expensive. To raise money Mr. Popper forms an entertainment act starring the penguins. "Popper's Performing Penguins" tours the country and the entire family tags along. But when the act performs and wreaks havoc at the wrong theater, Mr. Popper and all twelve penguins are arrested. 

    Admiral Drake, eager to see Captain Cook and his family of performing penguins, bails Mr. Popper out of jail. Admiral Drake suggests the penguins travel to the North Pole and create a penguin colony. Deciding the penguins would be better off, Mr. Popper agrees and prepares to say goodbye to his penguins. However, at the last minute Mr. Popper joins Admiral Drake, Captain Cook and the others for an Arctic exploration, promising Mrs. Popper he'd return in a couple of years. 

APA Reference

Atwater, R. & Atwater, F. (1938). Mr. popper's penguins. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company. 

My Impressions

    I remember my teacher reading Mr. Popper's Penguin aloud in elementary school. At the time, I was not crazy about the story and it did not stick with me over the years. I chose to read  it from the reading list because it's supposed to be one the best children's books and I didn't feel I gave it a fair shot at 8 years of age. 

   I started with an open mind and accepted the outrageous plot. I enjoyed reading of the penguins' funny gestures and the clever, albeit unrealistic, ways Mr. Popper created an environment suitable for the penguins. I had fun reading it, and could see the appeal for children. However, the ending lost me. Mr. Popper left his family with hardly any goodbye or regard for their feelings and needs. I don't see any value or purpose of the character choosing to do this, and I don't think it is a positive message for children. 

Professional Review

   When Martin Jones of Powell's City of Books, located in Portland, wants "comfort reading" he picks up Mr. Popper's Penguins, which he calls "an established classic that will delight." Although the book is "somewhat outdated", the Atwaters tell their story with "a subtle wit" similar to other beloved classics. 

Jones, M. (2004, October 9). Review-A-Day: Mr. Popper's Penguins [Review of the book Mr. popper's penguins]. Powell's City of Books. Retrieved from http://www.powells.com/review/2004_10_09.html  

Library Use

   You could set up a sort of "exploration station." On a computer have a "penguin cam" streaming. Penguin cams are continuous video feeds observing penguins in their environment at zoos or aquatic center. [links: http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/frozen-planet/penguin-cam/ (OR) http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/frozen-planet/penguin-cam/] You can provide books related to penguins in the stations, including fiction (i.e. Mr. Popper's Penguins), picture books, informational non-fiction books and magazine articles. The "exploration station" could coincide with World Penguin Day, April 25.