Mr. Popper’s Penguins

Back-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?!