Midwest Book Review’s take on the second book in the Poppy Pendal series.
Poppy Pendal and the Wondrous World Around Us celebrates differences with the experience of a young girl who comes home wondering why she’s the only girl in class with red hair, which makes her feel odd and different.
Though her wise mother tries to emphasize that differences are good, Poppy doesn’t think so—she just feels strange. Her mother points out that if everyone looked alike, the world would be not only far less interesting, but more confusing.
De Anna Moyes does an excellent job of describing Poppy’s dilemma and thinking, aided by the bright, large-sized drawings by Ksenia Logovaia and Maria Vyasene. As Poppy explains and explores her feelings, young readers can readily understand her experiences and their impact, absorbing related topics such as kindness, tolerance, acceptance, and similarities and differences.
The examples her wise mother gives Poppy that support san appreciation of differences are especially pleasingly diverse, geared to a young child’s experiences with the world:
On their way home, Poppy stopped to sniff a flower. “Why don’t you make a bouquet,” Mama said. “But only use one flower in the same color.”
The result is an appealing, involving story that teaches the very young not just about self-acceptance and value, but a different approach to diversity that embraces all kind of accompanying values.
Libraries and adults looking for uplifting, educational picture books that support positive thinking about the world will find
Poppy Pendal and the Wondrous World Around Us not just a celebration of differences, but of life.