“Content is a very nice thing for a young penguin to be,” Mrs. Popper said.
Yuka blasted the boat’s horn, and with that sound the Poppers waved goodbye to Antarctica. Joel and Nina lifted the penguins so that they could say goodbye, too, which they did dramatically, waving their flippers as hard as they could. Then Yuka sped the boat up, and they were plowing through the waves, heading back home and to whatever adventures it held in store.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I’m so grateful to Florence and Richard Atwater for crafting one of the true classics of children’s literature, full of fun and adventure—and a great respect for animals. The Atwaters created a world in which truly magical events occurred (like a penguin being mailed from the Antarctic!) yet also treated the Poppers’ experience living with penguins realistically and believably. Mr. Popper’s Penguins is full of heart and whimsy, and it was a delight to get to pay homage to their vision. I once stayed up late on a school night to finish Mr. Popper’s Penguins—I wish I could go back and tell that young Eliot what was to come three decades later!
Nikki Garcia, my editor at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers—thanks to you and Alvina Ling for working so hard to get this book across the finish line and into readers’ hands. You and the copy editors and the marketing and publicity team have been marvels.
Thanks as well to people who read manuscripts: Richard Pine (my stalwart literary agent), kid reader James Driskill, and my circle of writer friends: Daphne Benedis-Grab, Jill Santopolo, Marie Rutkoski, Marianna Baer, Anne Heltzel, and Anna Godbersen. Special thanks to Eric Zahler and Barbara Schrefer.
Extra thanks are due as well to the Atwater estate, Kate and Alec Bishop, for trusting me with this continuation of the Popper Penguin story. Your feedback and insights have been invaluable.
Ork!
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