Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Thanks to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for providing me with a free digital review copy of this book.  This book is scheduled for release October 13, 2020.

Summary:  Many years have passed since Mr. Popper and his family raised their penguins in Stillwater, and the town still celebrates his feats.  In the neighboring town of Hilltop, these celebrations have taken on a tackier, more commercial look. Distant relatives Joel and Nina Popper, along with their mother, move into the town’s abandoned petting zoo and discover two penguin eggs hidden in the basement.  When the eggs hatch, the family decides to take the chicks to the Arctic island where the descendants of the original Popper penguins live. They discover that penguins don’t belong in the Arctic, and decide an expedition to Antarctica–with all the Popper penguins–is in order.  Life with penguins has its share of surprises, and Nina and Joel prove themselves to be worthy successors to their penguin-loving ancestor. 176 pages; grades 3-5.

Pros:  Fans of the original Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater will get a kick out of finding out what’s happened to the penguins over the years.  With plenty of illustrations (not seen by me), this would make a good read-aloud or first “real” chapter book. Schrefer introduces some environmental concepts (climate change, invasive species) in a subtle way that is mixed in with plenty of penguin fun.

Cons:  Readers will appreciate this book a lot more if they read the original first.

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