WESTWOOD—Penguins turned up in classrooms, assemblies, and even family movie night this winter as Brookside and Berkeley elementary schools wrapped up their first shared “One School, One Book” program.
From January into early March, students at both schools read, or were read, “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” (1938), with the PTO/PSO-led effort culminating amid Read Across America Week.
The program brought students, staff, families, and community members together around a single story. Students watched recorded read-alouds by teachers, administrators, board members, and other Westwood participants, and in early February Jenkinson’s Aquarium of Point Pleasant Beach visited with live penguins.
Teachers tied the book into classroom lessons about penguins and polar environments, while the Berkeley Parent-School Organization hosted a “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” movie night for families from both schools.
The program concluded during Read Across America Week featuring a visit from nonfiction author Alicia Klepeis, who presented programs linking the novel to her own books and research on penguins and polar regions.
The community project was pulled together by Casha Eliason, the library media specialist at Berkeley and Brookside schools.
Klepeis told us, “At each school I did three presentations connecting that book with my own work, including the nonfiction book ‘Penguins & Polar Bears: A Pretty Cool Introduction to the Arctic and Antarctic,’ and the hybrid fiction/nonfiction titles ‘Secrets of the Forest: 15 Bedtime Stories Inspired by Nature’ and ‘Secrets of the Ocean: 15 Bedtime Stories Inspired by Nature.’”
She said she shared research involving fairy penguins in Australia and African penguins in South Africa. “I did Amazing Animals presentations with students in grades K–3 and Making Nonfiction Fun presentations with students in grades 4–5,” she said.
Klepeis said the visit gave her a chance to connect her own (adventuresome and prolific) work and her writing process with the schools’ shared reading experience.
“It was a joy. I had never read ‘Mr. Popper’s Penguins’ before, and absolutely loved it. There were so many fun connections between Richard and Florence Atwater’s book and my own research.”
She added, “Even the book’s mention of ‘National Geographic’ made me happy, as that is where I started my own career as a geographer and writer.”
Klepeis writes on her website that her writer’s journey started in eighth grade, in 1985, when she began writing to four pen pals: Zewdu from Ethiopia, Catherine from Ireland, Mei Sien from Singapore, and Akina from Hong Kong. “More than 40 years later, I still write to all four of them. I’ve met three of them in person, and I really hope to meet Akina soon.”
She says, “After letter writing, the next kind of writing I tried was journaling. I started in college. (So much angst!) These days, I mostly use my journal to express gratitude or to remember details from trips I’ve taken. Sometimes my journal provides inspiration for fiction books. Other times, it helps me think through topics to include in my nonfiction books.
“I decided to become a children’s writer long after those early letter-writing days — after working at ‘National Geographic,’ then as a teacher, and later as a stay-at-home mom. It has been more than 15 years since I began this career, and I’m so happy that I get to research, write, and talk to young readers all over the world.”
Brookside PTO co-presidents Danielle Skiba and Erin Podsada told us in part that “More initiatives like this will only strengthen our community and Westwood’s small-town family vibe.”
Brookside Principal Christina Lam, speaking on behalf also of Berkeley Principal Michael Fiorello, said the schools were thrilled by the response to the initiative.
“This program has been a wonderful way to tie our school community together,” Lam told Pascack Press. “There is something truly special about having every student, teacher, and staff member, across both Brookside and Berkeley, reading the same story at the same time. It creates a shared language and a sense of belonging that extends far beyond the classroom walls.”
Lam said the “vibrant initiative” reached into many parts of school life, from painted penguins in the hallways to themed activities in gym and music classes.
She also said the schools were encouraged by the enthusiastic districtwide participation, including recorded chapter readings by staff and administrators. “We had participants from every level, including Board of Education member [president] Jay Garcia, Superintendent Dr. Patrick McQueeney, as well as school principals and teachers, all taking turns filming themselves reading a chapter,” she said. “These videos allowed our students to see the adults in their lives as fellow readers, further strengthening our community’s love of learning.”
We heard, too, from Sarah Stewart, a Brookside parent and Berkeley School teacher who worked alongside Eliason to create the one-school-one book celebration for the Berkeley and Brookside communities.
“I’ve spent the last few years working with Mrs. Eliason to bring in authors and themes into the schools for Read Across America. Last year following our celebration, the idea of growing the reading into something more began,” she told us.
She added, “Being able to foster the love for reading surrounding one book across six grade levels and two schools was amazing.”
Moreover, she said, “The true heart of Westwood was represented in this project… We are brainstorming ways to continue this project next school year.”
There are terrific 2026 Read Across America photos at the Berkeley and Brookside schools’ Facebook pages. Check them out.