Poppykettle Papers [Hardcover]

Michael Lawrence (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 18, 2001

The Poppykettle Papers is an epic adventure for children and is based on the old tales of the Hairy Peruvians, a community of tiny fisherfolk, who centuries ago sprang to life from sacrificial Inca dolls on the coast of Peru. The Hairy Peruvians had lived on this coast for generations, often at the mercy of El Nino, the temperamental sea god. Over the years, many expeditions set out in flimsy reed boats to see a more hospitable land across the ocean to the west, but none returned. Robert Ingpen's books The Voyage of the Poppykettle and The Unchosen Land, have enthralled Australian readers for two decades. Now young readers around the world will be able to enjoy this fabulous saga retold in The Poppykettle Papers by Michael Lawrence with wonderful illustrations by Robert Ingpen. The Poppykettle Papers recounts the exploits of Aloof the Far-Sighted and his resourceful sister Arnica and their quest to find the Unchosen Land in the company of Andante the Whistler, Astute the Wise, and their grandfather Don Avante. This book has all the ingredients - adventure, danger, bizarre situations, tragedy, triumph, strong characters, and more than a sprinkling of humour - to make it popular with children the world over.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5 Up-When two boys discover a box in their barn, the small bundle of papers within starts an intriguing story. Written in an ancient language that takes an archaeologist to decipher, The Poppykettle Papers recount the adventures of a tiny people called the Hairy Peruvians. It seems that the god El Ni-o breathed life into diminutive dolls and gave each one a special gift. This is the tale of five of them as they sail the ocean in a poppykettle, a vessel used to make poppy tea for the gods. At El Ni-o's instruction, the little people go searching for a special feather and a dolphin's egg in order to be provided with a safe harbor. Along the way, they encounter huge iguanas, a terrifying Cunmerrie (part bird, part dragon), and a man-eating clam. Because of their special attributes, they achieve their goals and live happily every after. This unusual novel blends mystery, high adventure, and fantasy. While there are hints of Gulliver's Travels and Robinson Crusoe, the story is highly original. Readers will find this a fast-paced page-turner with plenty of monsters and creepy creatures. More importantly, the author emphasizes the power of individual talents and the spirit of cooperation to reach an objective. While Lawrence's choice of a name for his characters may be offensive to some readers, each Hairy Peruvian has a distinct personality with which young readers can identify. Ingpen's illustrations are painterly, giving the impression of danger and excitement without scariness. However, their placement is distracting as they don't always coincide with the text.
Barbara Buckley, Jericho Public Library, NY
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

Lawrence and Ingpen offer a mysterious quest tale, featuring small, elaborately detailed paintings and a band of finger-sized adventurers dubbed ``Hairy Peruvians.'' After a great wave washes nearly everyone else away, the five survivorsoldsters Astute, Andante, and Don Avante, spunky young Aloof, and his visionary sister, Arnicaset out across the Pacific in a roomy clay teapot, searching for a safer haven. They immediately encounter the sea god, who gives them an obscure prophecy and a pair of dangerous tasks but promises peace and a new country at the end of their journey. Ingpen depicts the wee folk as dolls made of sticks and grasses, with thin, wrapped limbs and bushy hair, sailing through a natural world drawn with crisp, precise realism. The often-contentious adventurers develop distinct personalities, survive plenty of narrow squeaks, and do reach another shore, to be joyfully reunited with all the folk they had thought lost. Before settling down, they must also meet and treat with Oldshadows, painted aboriginal humans who share their new land. Framed as a series of memoirs, this will enthrall readers who enjoy tales of tiny folk whose courage is as outsized as their world. (Fiction. 10-13) -- Copyright ©2000, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Pavilion Childrens Books (October 18, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1862053847
• ISBN-13: 978-1862053847
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,847,373 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Since his first novel came out in 1995, Michael Lawrence has published over forty books for children and young adults, plus a personal memoir, Milking the Novelty, which covers a year in his life as a young photographer in London, Paris, and at a holiday camp in Wales.

His fiction includes The Aldous Lexicon, a trilogy about chance and reality (published as The Withern Rise Trilogy in the US), which he has issued as Kindle ebooks. He has also re-edited the three volumes into one extensive ebook (equivalent to around 700 printed pages) under the title The Realities of Aldous U, a trailer for which can be viewed on YouTube.

Several of Michael's books have won awards or been shortlisted for awards in England and America.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dreams...The Contents of a Poppykettle, November 19, 2001

By 

Terrie (Little Chute, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Poppykettle Papers (Hardcover)

I love everything about this terrific little book. It has an exciting adventure-filled plot, stout-hearted little heroes and scary adversaries. It has a quest filled with peril and great hope. There are just barely possible tasks to be fulfilled some sorrow and some mystery and some happiness, too. The illustrations are very lovely and filled with details that take you to the heart of this story of the last five survivors of an ancient Peruvian race of tiny folk who must journey to find a new home knowing full well that it is prophesied that only three will survive the voyage. They set off across the vast sea, afloat in an old earthen poppykettle and you will eagerly rock with them upon the waves through many an astonishing adventure. Children will love this and so will any adult with a gypsy soul and a child's heart.