Author: Richard and Florence Atwater
Lexile Score: 910
Genre: realistic fiction (OK fine, not-so realistic fiction.)
Maturity level: 3rd grade
Pages: 137 Chapters: 20 Average Chapter Length: 7 pages
Theme: Dreaming big, travel, science themes of penguins or antarctic exploration
Project ideas: Study penguins, mail-order a live one and keep it in the refrigerator
First Line: It was an afternoon in late September. (um, no offense, but maybe not the best first line ever? How about, "Mr. Popper filled an ice-cube tray, jamming it into the freezer amongst all the frozen fish." Just off the top of my head. OK that's pretty boring too, but you get the idea.)
Main Character: Mr. Popper, and Captain Cook the Penguin
Review in 25 words or less: Stands the test of time, the story moves along nicely, lots of good juicy words and imaginative scenarios.
Grade: B+
I have read this book five times now with 3rd graders. For some reason, I always dread rereading it. But then, during the story, I get back into it. Some stories are like that I guess. Some are Re-readers and some are not.
A few things I somehow forget between readings I would like to write here and hopefully remember for next time:
1. Mr and Mrs. Popper live in Stillwater! They also visit Minneapolis. A study of major cities and states would not be entirely out of place paired with this book. The penguins visit Boston, Chicago, Milwaukee and New York. i asked the students what states these cities were in as we read, and I did not get a lot of correct guesses.
2. The book is filled with fabulous alliteration! Making note of this early on gets the kids looking for it as we read and cements the concept for them. Popper's Performing Penguins
3. This time through, I paused when the penguins made noises: "gook!" and "ork!" were some of the more common ones. On cue, the students would make the sounds. It really kept them on track following along, and they seemed to really enjoy attempting the sounds in various intonations. (How does a penguin ask a question said as "ork?" versus making an exclamation of "ork!")
4. A few years ago, I attempted to read the entire book as though it were "Mr. W's Penguins." Each time it read the word Popper, I substituted my last name. Well, I ended up forgetting fairly regularly, and the kids were more concerned with reminding me than with comprehending the story. I guess they were paying attention at least.
A great book for book club; not a lot of deep, high level themes to pore over. A good 3rd grade starter book, perhaps.
answer this question if you can this is about the book called mr.poppers penguins. Question: What kind of trouble would you get in if you were captain cook?
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Hello,
It is a nice story, i really loved it.I would surely get it and refer all my friends as well, I am sure they would be highly benefited.
Thanks for your share !!
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