Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater


Illustrated by Robert Lawson

Copyright 1938

Little Brown and Company

136 pages

Black and white illustrations throughout

Albeit old fashioned in its depiction of gender and familial roles, this delightful tale of a whimsical painter who yearns for artic adventure is a classic for good reason. Mr. Popper and his family find themselves with a dozen precocious penguins as their wards. However, the family struggle through the lean winter months on their own, let alone with the addition of pets with expensive eating habits. The family finds that the penguins are not just entertaining to them, and discover their endearing and jovial behavior could bring them quite an income, but the cost to the penguins might be too dear. Ideal for 8 and up. ****

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