Mr. Popper paints houses in little city of Stillwater. Once the house-painting season is over, Mr. Popper settles in for the winter to read his travel books. He dreams of going to Antarctica one day. But one day Antarctica comes to him, in the form of a penguin in a package sent from the Antarctic explorer Admiral Drake. The penguin lives with the Popper family and creates quite a stir in little Stillwater. Mr. Popper and his penguin are photographed together during a stroll around town, and this sparks the interest of the national papers. Soon, another penguin arrives by mail, and to keep them happy, Mr. Popper installs a large freezing plant in the cellar, where the penguins begin laying eggs, and two penguins turn into eight. What will Mr. Popper do with all these penguins? 

Mr. Popper's Penguins is a great book to read aloud with great illustrations and funny imagery. This novel lends itself very well to predictions as you try and figure out what this family is going to do with all these penguins. It also does a great job introducing the problem and solution text structure as the penguins create more and more problems for Popper to solve.

Lexile: 910L 

The story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf tells the delightful account of a young bull named Ferdinand. With the story taking place sometime in Spain, the reader might assume that Ferdinand is destined to be a matador. However, young Ferdinand is unique. While his peers run, fight, and play, "Ferdinand likes to sit under his tree just so and smell the flowers" (Leaf). The simple illustrations by Newberry award winning illustrator, Robert Lawson, might seem plain - but but do not be deceived! Hidden gems and details beg the reader to revise the text. I would love to use this book to study Spanish culture. One of the more interesting ideas I found to accompany this text is a study on cork, which can be found here: https://www.weareteachers.com/8-fun-activities-celebrate-story-ferdinand/

Guided Reading - K

Lexile - AD760L

DRA - 18

AR - 3.7

A very fun and entertaining book.

Since this book was originally written in the 1930s, it has the distinct style of old children's books. It is very unrealistic and silly, but still a very good read.

I really enjoyed the ridiculous plot and funny situations that the Popper family and the penguins find themselves in.

Many of the things are outdated (Mrs. People's focus on tidiness, animal licence and ethnic treatment, people not knowing what a penguin is), but it is still readable today. I would suggest some adult assistance for very young readers to give some historical context on the pre-internet, pre-computer world.

A very good read. Highly entertaining.

I didn't like this one as much as I did when I was a child. That was disappointing. It's still a fun story, though. Just a bit slower than I remember it being. But it still makes me wish I could have a basement full of penguins. :)

The story of Ferdinand is a classic tale about a little bull who does not exactly fit in with the other bulls. While the other bulls like to kick and butt heads, Ferdinand would rather lay in the shade and sniff the flowers. At the end of the story, Ferdinand realizes that he is happy with who he is and embraces it. This is an important lesson to teach students and this book does a great job of teaching the lesson of being yourself. I would use this book as a prompt for a creative writing assignment to talk about what makes them unique. This book could also start a great discussion session. 

The reading level is K-2

Lexile Level - 830L