Mr. Popper's Penguins, written by Florence and Richard Atwater, was written in 1938. It is a children's classic now.
Richard Atwater wrote the book before he fell ill with a stroke and was disabled, where his wife, Florence Atwater finished and revised the book for him.
The book was inspired after he watched a documentary about Richard E. Byrd's Antarctic expedition.
In the book, Mr. Popper writes to the Admiral who went to Antarctica. The Admiral actually sends him a real, live, penguin, and Mr. Popper names him Captain Cook. He takes care of the penguins, and ends up with 12 penguins in his house. Eventually, he runs out of money and has to send all of them back to the Admiral where they go back to Antarctica.
Mr. Popper's Penguins is a Newberry Honor book, a Young Reader's Choice Award, and a Lewis Carroll Shelf Award book.
