1939 Newbery Honor Book. Mr. Popper is a house painter and a dreamer who loves the antarctic and wishes he had traveled before settling down. Though his work barely brings in enough money to buy food for his family, they are happy. But Mr. Popper is a dreamer of big dreams, and when an explorer sends Mr. Popper a penguin from the South Pole, one turns out to be not enough. But how will the family manage 12 penguins when they can hardly feed themselves?