Mr. Popper's Penguin's Giveaway WINNER!

I have randomly drawn a name, and the winner of the Mr. Popper's Penguins book is

Sarah Bailey!

Congratulations, Sarah!

To see the Twenty-Six-Letter Imagination Blog's review of Mr. Popper's Penguins follow this link.

Mr. Popper's Penguins GIVEAWAY!

Because, overall, Mr. Popper's Penguins is such a great book....

The Twenty-Six Letter Imagination is holding a giveaway!

Mr. Popper's Penguins

by Richard and Florence Atwater

Originally Released in 1938

From Little, Brown and Company
See the book review HERE.

Giveaway Rules:

1. You must be (or become) a follower (either on Google, Twitter, or Facebook) to enter.

2. You must comment below to receive one (1) entry.
3. The giveaway will close on Saturday, July 30th, 2011 at 5 pm. EST.

4.. Winner will be randomly chosen.

5. Winner will be announced on the blog and will have one week to provide a mailing address before the book is given away to a different winner.

 6. Residents of the U.S. only, please.
 

In order to receive extra entries and increase your chance of winning, you may consider the following...

* You may receive one (1) additional entry for posting a link to this giveaway on Twitter using the hashtag #26letterpenguins or tagging @26letterblog

* You may receive one (1) additional entry for posting a link to this blog on Facebook, as long as you tag "The Twenty-Six Letter Imagination: A Children's Book Blog" group page.

* You may receive (5) additional entries by posting about this giveaway on your own blog and providing me the link to your blog entry in your comment below.



Which is your favorite penguin from Mr. Popper's Penguins?


Note: I have been informed that Blogger is giving people trouble when they try to comment on this post using their openID, LiveJournalID or URL.  I'm sorry for the inconvenience.  Please still post using your Blogger name, your personal name, or as anonymous (if posting as anonymous, give me some way in your comment to identify you if you win). Thanks!

Mr. Popper's Penguins

Title: Mr. Popper's Penguins
Author: Richard and Florence Atwater
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Publication Date: (Originally published in 1938)

There's been a lot of discussion about Mr. Popper's Penguins and the new movie with the same name in the past few weeks.  Let me just preface this review by saying that the book is NOTHING like the movie.  At all.  Pretty much the only aspect that they share is the fact the main character gets a penguin.

Unlike the selfish, haughty character that appears in the movie, the Mr. Popper of the original book is a selfless and kind family man who daydreams of traveling and loves everything exploration.  He has a wife and two kids (whom he loves dearly), and they live in the days-gone-by in a modest house on Proudfoot Ave.

And then one day out of the blue, Mr. Popper—the humble painter—becomes the most popular man in the small town of Stillwater.  However, the reason behind his popularity has nothing whatsoever to do with his own merit or personal gain.  His favorite Antarctic explorer, Admiral Drake, sends him a surprise in response to a fan letter.  The surprise turns out to be life-altering—the Popper family soon has snow all over their house and a large freezing plant installed in the cellar--not to mention twelve additions to their family of four!  But Mr. Popper’s unique visitors could not have come at a more opportune time; the Poppers are in financial trouble and his friends can save the day.

Positive elements:
The Popper family is always respectful of each other in their conversation. Family values are also held in high-esteem--something that the literature of this day could use a heftier amount of. The penguins are trained to be polite.  Despite the fame that his penguins give him, Mr. Popper remains humble and seeks to only do what is best for the penguins instead of seeking his personal monetary gain. Flexibility and patience abound. Admiral Drake gives of himself to help Mr. Popper in a time of need. The text is easy to read and well-composed, showing rather than telling; the book won the Newberry Honor Award in 1939 for its excellent literary quality.  The characterizations of the individual penguins are specific and funny despite the fact that the authors could not use dialog to make them so.  The authors present even adult-like concepts (such as the Popper's money problems) with grace and clarity such that even children will be able to sympathize with them and find joy in the solution.

Negative elements:
Typical of the day in which the book was written, Mr. Popper smokes a cigar while reading the paper.  The conclusion seems a short and a bit stiff compared to the rest of the manuscript (but still brings a smile and satisfaction). 

Otherwise, Mr. Popper's Penguins is an excellent example of the a well-composed children's book (that could also serve as a great family read-aloud), and it receives five stars from me!

How do you feel about the differences between the movie and the book?