I am sure that most of you will think of the recent movie staring Jim Carey when you see the title of this post. I saw the movie while on a flight earlier this year. It was an interesting movie, but in my opinion the plot was lacking. I think that they relied more on the comedy of Jim Carey than on telling a good story.

But, this post is not about the movie so we will move on to what it is really about.

This post is about the book Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater. This fantastic book was published in 1938 and was a Newberry Honor book in 1939. The book has remained popular through the years. The picture above comes from a copy that I have on my shelf. The book is not in the best shape as it was used for years in my mother’s classroom. However, it caught my eye several weeks ago as I have recently started a quest to read the books that have won Newberry awards.

The book tells the story of a house painter, Mr. Popper, who is obsessed with polar exploration. He reads all that he can find about the very popular polar expeditions. You must remember that the great polar expeditions of the early 1900’s were fresh in the mind of many people at the time this book was published. Mr. Popper had sent a letter to Admiral Drake who was leaving on an Antarctic expedition. In his radio broadcast Admiral Drake told Mr. Popper to expect a gift from him. Soon a crate arrived with a male penguin and the fun begins.

The first penguin is soon joined by female that is sent to  him by a zoo, and of course Mr. Popper soon has a whole family of penguins to take care of. Greta lays an unbelievable 10 eggs that soon hatch. Of course, the penguins are eating Mr. Popper and his family out of house and home. However, they get the great idea of creating a stage show and soon they are touring the country entertaining packed theaters. While at their last stop on the tour in New York City, Mr. Popper and the penguins are thrown in jail due to a mix-up. They are soon bailed out by Admiral Drake who offers Mr. Popper and the penguins a spot in his next expedition to the North Pole.

The story is beautifully illustrated by Robert Lawson. You may see more of Robert Lawson in the future as I recently read another book that was both written and illustrated by him.

A Waddle of Penguins

Mr. Popper’s Penguins is one of those instances where the book is much better than the movie. When reading the book, I thought about my own trip to Antarctica and the penguins that I saw along the way. The picture above was taken in the Falkland Islands. Did you know that a group of penguins is called a waddle? Of course it makes sense once you see a penguin waddle your way :-).

Steven