Product Description

A complete guide to teaching Mr. Popper's Penguins. Includes an author biography, background information, summaries, thought-provoking discussion questions, as well as creative, cross-curricular activities and reproducibles that motivate students.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #982976 in Books
• Published on: 1997-07-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 16 pages

From Amazon.com
More than 60 years have not dated this wonderfully absurd tale--it still makes kids (and parents) laugh out loud. Poor Mr. Popper isn't exactly unhappy; he just wishes he had seen something of the world before meeting Mrs. Popper and settling down. Most of all, he wishes he had seen the Poles, and spends his spare time between house-painting jobs reading all about polar explorations. Admiral Drake, in response to Mr. Popper's fan letter, sends him a penguin; life at 432 Proudfoot Avenue is never the same again. From one penguin living in the icebox, the Popper family grows to include 12 penguins, all of whom must be fed. Thus is born "Popper's Performing Penguins, First Time on Any Stage, Direct from the South Pole." Their adventures while on tour are hilarious, with numerous slapstick moments as the penguins disrupt other acts and invade hotels. Classic chapter-a-night fun. (Ages 5 to 10) --Richard Farr

Ingram
The 1938 classic tells the story of Mr. Popper, the small-town housepainter who dreamed of exploring Antarctic regions, and Captain Cook, the redoubtable penguin who turned Mr. Popper's world upside down. Reprint. Newbery Honor Book. H. SLJ. NYT. AB.

Customer Reviews

Opus times twelve
I've lived 26 years on this earth. In those 26 years I've learned a lot about children's books. I've learned which ones are considered the holiest of holies and which are to be condemned and spat upon. So I was completely taken aback when I learned that there was a 1938 children's book that absolutely no one had ever told me to read before. "Mr. Popper's Penguins" was a delight to discover. Suddenly I was privy to reading a charming story of a man and his penguins, and I had never even heard a peep about this tale from anyone. What gives? Why isn't "Mr. Popper's Penguins" as well-known and well-read as "Cheaper by the Dozen" or "Stuart Little"? There is no answer to this question. There is only this wonderful book, well-illustrated and magnificently written for the younger set.

Mr. Popper is a house painter, and mostly a good one. True, he does sometimes fall into fits of fancy, dreaming about the Arctic explorers and the ice floes to the North and South. His wife and children don't necessarily understand his dreams, but that doesn't sway Mr. Popper. One day, out of the blue, he receives word that one of the great explorers he wrote, Admiral Drake, read his letter and is sending him a present. As any child who remembers the title of the book might guess, a penguin comes hopping out of a newly delivered crate the next day. Mr. Popper is charmed by the little guest, and names him Captain Cook. Cook is a curious beasty, and the Poppers do everything from outfitting their refrigerator to taking Captain Cook for walks. When the penguin falls into a deep depression it is only the delivery of a second penguin from the zoo, Gerta, that cheers him up. Soon the penguin pair lay some eggs and the Popper household is privy to ten more lovely jumpy penguins. With money hard to come by it takes a clever Mr. Popper to come up with a way to make his penguins not only profitable, but stars.

First of all, make certain that if you are reading a version of this story that you have grabbed one that has Robert Lawson's beautiful illustrations. The same illustrator that's responsible for the lovable picture book, "Ferdinand the Bull" has switched his focus from beef to fowl. These penguins are remarkably well drawn, from their inquisitive little eys to their ugly webbed feet. If you've never seen a Lawson illustration, here would be a good place to start. The writing of Richard and Florence Atwater is extremely readable for anyone of any age. The phrase, "they just don't make 'em like that anymore" is unfair, but also kind of true. There's something to the simplicity of this book that you just can't find anywhere else. It is, all in all, just fantastic. And with Lawson's adept renderings of all the characters and situations, you are left in no doubt that this is one of the best books of this or any other age.

So a great wrong has been righted. I am no longer in the dark regarding "Mr. Popper's Penguins". If you'd like to introduce your kids (or, heaven forfend, yourself) to a fantastic piece of penguin rookery, grab yourself a copy of this l'il number. It's bound to make you a fan.

Made me want my own penguin.
I read this book myself when I was very young and find myself coming back to it time and time again even though I'm much older now. I remember the delight I felt each time the penguins got into some kind of trouble and the sympathy I felt for poor Mr. Popper each time he had to deal with the trouble. Even though the book was written more than sixty years ago it has a timeless feel that all good children's books have. It's a great addition to any child's library, both for the love of literature it can inspire and the lessons it can teach about responsibility and loving kindness. Definitely buy this for your kids and put it on the shelf next to the Dr. Suess.

Penguin power!
Mr. Popper�s Penguins By: Richard and Florence Atwater

Mr. Popper lived with his wife and two children, Janie and Bill.
Mr. Popper was a house painter and only worked spring-winter. Mr. Popper enjoyed reading books about Arctic life (mostly penguins). One day Mr. Popper received a penguin from the Arctic explorer Admiral Drake. Mr. Popper named his penguin Captain Cook. One day Captain Cook looked very sick and lonely. Mr. Popper called an aquarium and they sent another penguin named Greta. Soon Captain Cook and Greta had a family of their own. Now there were 12 penguins. The Poppers were short on money so they trained the penguins to do tricks. Soon the performing Popper penguins became famous.
The main characters of this book are: Mr. Popper, Mrs. Popper, Captain Cook, Greta, Janie and Bill. Mr. Popper is a house painter that enjoys reading about Arctic life. Captain Cook is a kind penguin that doesn�t cause much trouble.
This book mostly takes place in the town of Stillwater. The genre of this book is kind of realistic fiction. What surprised me is the end, because the name of the chapter seemed melancholy but ended up being something different.
What the author did well is naming the chapters. They were good descriptions of what happens. I think the author�s style was kind of humorous. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes to read about penguins.