Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater; read by Nick SullivanBack-of-the-case blurb: Mr. Popper dreams about leaving his boring life and going on an adventure to the Antarctic. When the legendary Admiral Drake sends him a live penguin in response to his letter, he is thrilled. Very soon, he also receives a female companion for his penguin and they have 10 children. But Mr. Popper has enough trouble supporting his human family, and so he has the idea to take his penguins to the stage. Soon, Mr. Popper is up to his ears in adventure as he tries to manage 12 performing penguins and the trouble they inevitably get into.
She is Too Fond of Books’ review: Mr. Popper’s Penguins is considered a classic, first published over 70 years ago. It was, however, new-to-me, so I was especially pleased that this audio edition was as enjoyable to me as it was to my children.
The story is amusing – Mr. Popper writes a letter expressing his admiration to the famous Antarctic explorer, Admiral Drake. In turn, the Admiral thanks Mr. Popper for his kind words by sending him a penguin. Mr. Popper immediately displaces the family’s food supply by drilling holes in their refrigerator and using it to comfortably house Captain Cook, the name bestowed on the penguin who represents all Mr. Popper’s dreams of exploration. And the hilarity continues …
Oh, I misspoke, it wasn’t a refrigerator, it was an icebox. “Old-fashioned” words and phrases like icebox, railroad station (we’re likely to say train station), taxicab (instead of the shorter taxi or cab), etc. are all part of the fun.
It’s not all fun, though. Soon enough Captain Cook begins losing feathers and seems, well, sad. Apparently Captain Cook is lonely, so a local aquarium sends a female companion, Greta, to cheer him up. The two penguins in an icebox aren’t lonely for long; they become the proud parents of ten baby penguins!
You can only imagine the antics of Mr. and Mrs. Popper, their children Janie and Bill, and the twelve penguins that now live with them! In order to raise money to pay for the special housing and food for the penguins, the family trains them and takes the show on the road – Popper’s Performing Penguins!
The story is a delight; I wish I had known it as a child, and am glad I’ve been able to introduce it to my own younger children. The audiobook is read by Nick Sullivan, an actor in film, television, and Broadway, as well as narrator of over 200 audiobooks. Mr. Popper’s Penguins was named a Newbery Honor Book in 1939; I plan to pick up the print edition for our family bookshelves.
Did you read Mr. Popper’s Penguins as a child? How has such a “classic” escaped my attention?!
Mr Popper’s Penguins has a very special place in my heart… it was the first chapter book I read 100% by myself. I still re-read it every few years and love it every time.
I would say if you buy it, go ahead and get the hardcover (still only 18.99). It still has the old cover http://bit.ly/bJan9s The cover they started using for the paperback a couple years back http://bit.ly/9U9dwB is…ahem… not my favorite.
I did not read this as a child, and actually just recently heard about it for the first time. It sounds delightful and I look forward to finding the time to read it myself some day.
This was one of my very favorite books as a child, one that I would read to myself over and over again. I rotated between this one and Dr. Doolittle quite often.
I’m so glad you discovered this book and that you’ve enjoyed sharing it with your children – it is so much fun for me to see an old favorite coming back to light!
Oh my gosh, you didn’t read Mr. Popper’s Penguins as a child? It was one of my favorites – I read it quite a few times. I loved this audio production too.
this book always made me want to concert an icebox for fun!
read this at least 5-6 times as a kid.
not really sure how it misses peoples attention.
my wife has never read it, as well as other folks i know who have been life long avid readers.
I loved this book as a child, and made sure that my kids had a copy too. It’s such a fun read, and I remember it with a lot of fondness.
I. Love. This. Book! My fifth grade teacher read it to us and she was a magnificent reader which really helped me to remember this one fondly. So, of course, my kids had to have it. But I wasn’t have them read it to themselves–I wanted an excuse to read it again. And I still loved it.
I have heard of this book before, but never actually read it (and I’ve been a preschool teacher!) It sounds amusing. You would have to do a bit of explaining it seems to kids for words like “icebox” but, hey, it’s a teachable moment!
I didn’t know this one existed for that long, but after watching the movie, and after seeing my children enjoy the movie that much, I will definitely get it as an audio book for them!