7 copies

Mr. Popper is a house painter from Stillwater. When he inherits two penguins, one from the zoo and one from a man he admires, Admiral Drake, his life and the lives of his family get turned upside down. Next thing you know, they have 12 penguins to feed. When times become tough, he takes the penguins on the road and tries to have them perform for money. Ultimately, he realizes the penguins belong in the Arctic and returns them to their habitat.

An odd little story. The only thing I liked much was the story of how it came to be. ( )

My son's wedding gigs got more numerous and later for a time. A catch up from the dearth of such gigs last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, my 9-year old grandson did a few sleep overs with us. In previous years, I would read mostly picture books to him at bed time. I wondered if I could step up the level. It seemed that I could. We got through about half of Mr. Popper's Penguins the first night we was here, and he looked forward to finishing it up for his second night here. I was rather happy to revisit this gem from my childhood and that of my own children.

So, Mr. Popper is a house painter who spends most of his spare time reading about and dreaming about exploration in the Antarctic and Arctic. He even writes letters to the explorers, or to Admiral Drake in the Antarctic at any rate. One day, a large box from Adm. Drake appears on Mr. Popper's doorstep. It's a penguin from the South Pole. Mr. Popper names him Capt. Cook.

Capt. Cook fits into the family rather nicely, but after a time becomes rather despondent and sickens. Mr. Popper writes to a museum that is supposed to know something about penguins. It turns out the museum has a despondent penguin of their own. They send it to Mr. Popper in case he can figure out a cure. The new penguin, Greta, and Capt. Cook strike up a friendship and heal miraculously.

But then, they start having babies, ten in all. Mr. Popper forms his twelve penguins into a traveling act, which is quite a success. Well, other things happen, but I'll stop here. All in all, it's a rather charming story with a comfortable ending.
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I enjoyed the book. I don’t like how it ended. ( )