Mr. Popper’s Penguins · Garden Heights

Part 4

for Mr. Popper’s Penguins · Part 4 · Chapters 9–10

8 Parts40 min

What Happens in Part 4

The famous promenade rolls on — straight into a barbershop, where Captain Cook reaches a curious beak toward the white lather on a customer’s face and sends the poor man flying from his chair. Escaping out the back, the penguin discovers a treasure better than any nest stone: a back staircase, three whole flights of it — and he toboggans down every one on his stomach, towing Mr. Popper behind him, because penguins will toboggan whenever they get the chance. But after the laughter comes worry: Captain Cook begins to droop. He mopes, loses his appetite, and stands sadly in his icebox for hours. No remedy helps, and the Poppers fear they are losing him — until Mr. Popper writes to the curator of the great aquarium. The answer arrives in a crate: the aquarium’s own penguin, Greta, who has been drooping with the very same illness. The diagnosis was loneliness — and the cure is each other. Two penguins now stand side by side in the Popper kitchen, suddenly, wonderfully alive again.

What We Will Learn

Section	What you will practice
Vocabulary	Words of illness and cures: droop, appetite, remedy, curator, revive…
Literary Elements	Comic set piece, tonal shift, and problem-and-solution plotting
Cross-Curricular	Why social animals need companions, and what aquariums and curators do

Chapter Summary

Ch.	What happens
9	In the Barbershop — a beak in the shaving lather, a customer in flight, and a three-flight toboggan ride down the back stairs.
10	Greta — Captain Cook droops with loneliness; the aquarium’s curator sends Greta, and two sad penguins cure each other.

Part 1

Vocabulary

Study 10 key words from Chapters 9–10, then answer each question.

🧠Knowledge Bank · Penguins Are Never Meant to Be Alone

Lexical Meaning · Penguins Are Never Meant to Be AloneIn the wild, penguins live crowded together in huge groups, sometimes thousands strong, so being alone is unnatural for them. This is real animal science: a colonial bird draws comfort, warmth, and safety from the crowd around it. Because Captain Cook has no other penguin near him, he grows dull and droopy, and good animal keepers know exactly what that means. Zoos and aquariums watch closely for such sadness and often bring a lonely animal a companion of its own kind. When the aquarium sends Greta, the change is not just kindness — it is careful science, giving a social creature what its body and instincts truly need. The cure for a drooping penguin is rarely medicine; far more often it is simple company.

lathern.Ch.9

The white foam made by soap for shaving

“The penguin reached one curious beak toward the shaving lather.”

tobogganv.Ch.9

To slide downhill on the stomach or on a sled

“Given any slope, a penguin will toboggan down it.”

droopv.Ch.10

To hang down weakly; to lose energy and spirit

“Day by day, Captain Cook began to droop.”

appetiten.Ch.10

The desire to eat

“He lost his appetite and left even the shrimp untouched.”

remedyn.Ch.10

A treatment meant to cure an illness

“The Poppers tried every remedy they could think of.”

curatorn.Ch.10

The expert in charge of a museum or aquarium collection

“Mr. Popper wrote to the aquarium’s curator for advice.”

aquariumn.Ch.10

A place where water animals are kept and shown

“The great aquarium kept penguins of its own.”

companionn.Ch.10

A friend who keeps you company

“What the lonely bird needed was a companion.”

revivev.Ch.10

To bring back to life, strength, or energy

“Greta’s arrival seemed to revive him overnight.”

mopev.Ch.10

To be gloomy and without energy

“He would mope in his icebox for hours at a time.”

ⓘ The vocabulary words in this list are selected to help you understand and complete this workbook. Some may not appear verbatim in the original novel.

1The white foam made by soap for shaving is ___.Ch.9

2To ‘toboggan’ is to slide on your stomach or a sled.Ch.9

3The desire to eat is called ___.Ch.10

4A ‘remedy’ is a treatment meant to make an illness worse.Ch.10

5Fill in each blank with the correct word.Ch.9–10

Word choices:curatordrooplatherrevive- some words will not be used

Mr. Popper wrote to the aquarium’s for expert advice.

The once-lively bird began to a little more each day.

6A place where water animals are kept and shown is an ___.Ch.10

7To ‘revive’ something is to bring back its life and energy.Ch.10

8To be gloomy and without energy is to ___.Ch.10

9Fill in the blanks with the correct words.Ch.9–10

Word choices:tobogganappetitecompanionremedy- some words will not be used

Penguins will down any slope they can find.

The cure was not medicine but a .

10The expert in charge of an aquarium’s collection is its ___.Ch.10

Part 2

Comprehension

Show you understood what happens in Chapters 9–10.

🧠Knowledge Bank · Putting Events in Order

Reading Skill · SequencingEvery story unfolds step by step, and understanding it means keeping those steps in the right order. This skill is called sequencing. Words like first, next, then, and finally act as signposts, showing how one moment leads to another. In Part 4 the order matters greatly: first Captain Cook grows sad and weak, then the family worries and writes for help, next the aquarium answers, and finally Greta arrives to lift his spirits. If you scrambled those steps, the cause of his recovery would make no sense at all. As you read, try retelling events in sequence, using your own signpost words. Doing so proves you truly followed the story, and it trains your mind to see how a beginning, a middle, and an end connect into one clear path.

1What does Captain Cook do in the barbershop?Ch.9

2What does Captain Cook discover behind the barbershop?Ch.9

3Captain Cook walks down the back stairs slowly and carefully.Ch.9

4What are the signs that Captain Cook is unwell?Ch.10

5Write the numbers 1–5 in the boxes to show the correct order of events in Chapters 9–10. Number 1 = what happens first.Ch.9–10

Mr. Popper writes to the aquarium’s curator.
Captain Cook begins to droop and stops eating.
Captain Cook investigates the shaving lather.
Greta arrives in a crate and both penguins revive.
The penguin toboggans down three flights of back stairs.

6The Poppers’ home remedies quickly cure Captain Cook’s drooping.Ch.10

7Whom does Mr. Popper finally ask for help?Ch.10

8What was wrong with Captain Cook — and with Greta too?Ch.10

9Greta comes to the Poppers from the great aquarium.Ch.10

10How do the two penguins react to each other?Ch.10

Part 3

Literary Elements

Understanding HOW and WHY Richard & Florence Atwater tells the story across Chapters 9–10.

🧠Knowledge Bank · When the Mood Changes

Literary Craft · ToneThe feeling a story gives you is called its tone, and skilled authors can shift it on purpose. For most of this book the tone is light and funny, but in Part 4 it quietly turns tender and worried when Captain Cook droops and falls ill. This is a tonal shift. Because the earlier chapters were so playful, the sudden note of concern feels stronger, and we care about the little penguin more than ever. Then, once Greta arrives, the warmth and humor return. Writers change tone to keep us feeling deeply and to remind us that even a comic story can hold real emotion. As you read, notice the moment the laughter softens, because that small change is the author gently steering your heart.

Comic set piece

A self-contained comedy scene built like a little machine — the barbershop-to-staircase sequence runs on its own perfect logic.

Tonal shift

A deliberate change in a story’s mood — from the wildest slapstick straight into the quiet fear of a drooping bird.

Problem and solution

A plot shaped like an illness chart — symptom, failed remedies, expert, cure — ending with Greta’s crate.

1The barbershop-and-staircase sequence is best described as ___.Ch.9

2Fill in the blank with the correct literary term.Ch.9–10

Word choices:tonalverbalfinalformal- some words will not be used

The swing from slapstick to sickbed is a shift.

3Placing Captain Cook’s illness right after the funniest scene in the book makes the illness feel ___.Ch.10

4A comic set piece is a scene that depends entirely on earlier chapters to be funny.Ch.9

5Chapter 10 follows a classic problem-and-solution shape. Which step comes just BEFORE the cure?Ch.10

6The line that penguins ‘will toboggan whenever they get a chance’ does double duty: it is funny AND it ___.Ch.9

7Greta’s arrival resolves the problem introduced by Captain Cook’s drooping.Ch.10

8Fill in the blank with the correct literary term.Ch.9

Word choices:set piecesequelprologueepilogue- some words will not be used

A self-contained comedy scene is called a comic .

9The customer fleeing the barbershop and Mr. Popper being towed down three flights both draw on the same comic idea: ___.Ch.9

10Chapter 10 ends with TWO revived penguins where there was one drooping bird. For the plot, this doubling mainly means ___.Ch.10

Part 4

Think Deeper

Four deeper challenges — no single-word recall. Read, weigh the evidence, and reason it out.

🧠Knowledge Bank · Noticing When Someone Is Sad

Social-Emotional · EmpathyOne of the kindest things a person can learn is to notice when another creature is unhappy, even when nothing is said aloud. The Poppers see Captain Cook grow quiet and droopy, and instead of ignoring it, they wonder what is wrong and act. Because they pay close attention, they realize he is lonely and needs a friend of his own kind. That caring awareness is called empathy — feeling with someone else and letting it move you to help. It works the same way with people. A classmate who goes silent, a friend who stops smiling, may be quietly hurting. When you notice, ask, and reach out, you give the very gift the Poppers gave their penguin: the deep comfort of being truly seen.

Think back over the chapters. A barbershop empties in ten seconds flat, and a penguin discovers that back staircases are mountains built for sliding. Then the laughing stops: the brightest bird in Stillwater stands drooping in his icebox, ignoring his favorite shrimp, while a family tries remedy after useless remedy. The cure, when it comes, walks out of a shipping crate on two webbed feet — a stranger who has been exactly this lonely, exactly this long.

Original passage written for Garden Heights — not a quotation from the novel.

1Claim: “Captain Cook’s illness was loneliness, not a disease of the body.” — choose the two details that best prove it.Claim & Evidence

2Chapter 9 — the comedy, or Chapter 10 — the worry? Tap each detail to send it left or right.Sort into two

◄ Chapter 9 — the comedyChapter 10 — the worry ►

3Match each cause to its result. For each cause, pick its result.Cause & Effect

A curious beak reaches for the shaving lather→

Captain Cook finds a three-flight back staircase→

A social bird lives with no other penguin in sight→

The curator knows another penguin drooping the same way→

4Fill both blanks to complete the reasoning.Build the Argument

Sending Greta was a wiser cure than any medicine because , which shows that .

Part 5

Standardized Test

Reading passage · Why Animals Need Company · SAT & TOEFL-style practice

🎯 You already have the skills from the sections above — this is just a fun way to meet real SAT & TOEFL-style questions. Read the passage (the highlighted words are tested below), then answer the questions below. Tap an answer to select it, then tap it again to confirm — you can change your choice until you confirm.

For a long time, people believed that as long as an animal had food, water, and shelter, it had everything it needed. Zookeepers now know better. Many species — penguins, parrots, elephants, horses — are deeply social: in the wild they live their entire lives surrounded by their own kind, and their health depends on it. Kept alone, a social animal often shows a sad, familiar pattern: it grows listless, loses its appetite, stops grooming itself, and sinks into a droop that no medicine can touch. Veterinarians call these symptoms of social isolation, and the prescription they write is unusual: not pills, but a companion. Modern zoos therefore almost never keep a social species alone, and some countries have even made it illegal to own just one guinea pig or one parrot. The transformation when a companion arrives can be astonishing — keepers describe listless animals reviving within days, eating again, playing again. Food feeds an animal’s body. For a social species, company feeds something just as real.

Original passage written for Garden Heights — not a quotation from the novel.

1What is the main idea of the passage?SAT · Central Ideas

2In the passage, a social species is one that ___.TOEFL · Vocabulary

3Which of these is NOT listed as a sign of social isolation?TOEFL · Negative Factual

4In the passage, symptoms are ___.SAT · Words in Context

5What unusual ‘prescription’ do veterinarians write for isolated social animals?TOEFL · Factual Information

6Why do some countries forbid owning just ONE guinea pig or parrot?SAT · Inference

7In the passage, the transformation after a companion arrives refers to ___.SAT · Words in Context

8The passage’s last two sentences contrast ___.SAT · Text Structure & Purpose

9According to the passage, how do modern zoos apply this knowledge?SAT · Detail

10Insert Text (TOEFL). Look at the four squares [1]–[4] in the excerpt below. They show where this sentence could be added:
“One drooping penguin in a Stillwater icebox — cured overnight by a crate from the aquarium — would have made a perfect case study.”

Kept alone, a social animal grows listless, stops eating, and sinks into a droop no medicine can touch. [1] The prescription veterinarians write is unusual: not pills, but a companion. [2] Some countries have made it illegal to own just one guinea pig or one parrot. [3] Keepers describe listless animals reviving within days of a companion’s arrival. [4]

Where would the sentence fit best?TOEFL · Insert Text

Part 6 · Optional

Creative Writing

A bonus challenge to practice your English. Take your time and have fun with it.

About This Section

This writing task is optional and is not part of your auto-graded score. The feedback below checks only the basics — length, spelling, and grammar — not whether your ideas are right or wrong. It is meant for classroom discussion and creative practice, so feel free to use your imagination!

Writing Task — Part 4 “The Letter to the Curator”

Mr. Popper wrote to the aquarium’s curator about his drooping penguin. Write that letter yourself, in Mr. Popper’s voice: politely introduce yourself, describe Captain Cook’s symptoms (the drooping, the moping, the untouched shrimp), explain what you have already tried, and ask for the expert’s advice. Write 6–10 sentences as a proper letter.

You can start with: “Dear Sir, I am a house painter in Stillwater, and I am writing about a penguin...”

0 / 40 words minimum

🗣 Teach It · Just for Fun (optional)

No right or wrong — close the screen and tell someone nearby what happened in this part. Can’t find anyone? Tell yourself out loud. The moment you teach it, you truly understand it.

Part 4 Complete!

You finished Chapters 9–10 of Mr. Popper’s Penguins.

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Your Writing

Your writing was checked automatically for length, spelling, grammar, and whether you included the key parts of the scene. Scroll back to Part 5 anytime to read your feedback and improve your work.

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Independent study guide by Garden Heights. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Richard & Florence Atwater. Contains original analysis only; no text from the novel is reproduced. Reference text: This workbook follows Richard & Florence Atwater’s classic text (the standard Puffin edition sold worldwide). Revised 2023 UK editions change some wording and may not match the vocabulary studied here.