Cornbread & Poppy at the Museum

Cornbread & Poppy #3

by Matthew Cordell

This third book in Caldecott medalist Matthew Cordell's bestselling early reader series tells a story of precious artifacts and priceless friendships.

Cornbread LOVES spending time inside. Poppy does not. Cornbread ADORES in-depth research. Poppy does not. Cornbread is THRILLED to visit The Moonville Museum. Poppy…is not. But Cornbread and Poppy are the best of friends, so when Cornbread is invited to attend the Founders Gala to see the unveiling of a surprise new exhibit, Poppy agrees to be his guest. Their evening is full of spectacular treasures, including hand-carved hairbrushes, diamond-encrusted perfume sprayers, and a solid gold ice cream scoop. What other wonders will these mice discover? 

Celebrating both partnership and the value of what makes us individuals, young readers will find this classic odd couple irresistible as they encounter relatable issues with humor and heart. 

Publishing simultaneously in hardcover and paperback.

Don't miss the other books in the
Cornbread & Poppy
Cornbread & Poppy at the Carnival

Genres: Childrens, Friendship, Animals, Fiction, Picture Books, Chapter Books, Kids

80 pages, Hardcover

Published September 26, 2023

About the author

Matthew Cordell is the acclaimed author and illustrator of the 2018 Caldecott winner Wolf in the Snow. He is also the author and illustrator of Trouble Gum and the illustrator of If the S in Moose Comes Loose, Toot Toot Zoom!, Mighty Casey, Righty and Lefty, and Toby and the Snowflakes, which was written by his wife. Matthew lives in the suburbs of Chicago with his wife, writer Julie Halpern, and their daughter, Romy.

Reviews

[Kirsten Caldwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cordell is at it again with another installment to the Cornbread and Poppy series. This time, Cornbread and Poppy go to a museum because Cornbread LOVES museums and research. Poppy prefers to be outside but goes with Cornbread to be a good friend. These two make some discoveries, see some interesting treasures, and maybe accidentally destroy one of the items on display. They work together as friends to replace the broken item and agree to do things together that the other one enjoys. The watercolor and pen and ink drawings are charming and expressive and add to the entertaining text. With four chapters, early readers will love taking their time reading about Cornbread and Poppy's new adventures and this tale of a beautiful friendship.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

First sentence: One crisp, clear winter's day, an exciting letter arrived. It was a special invitation for Cornbread, plus one guest of his choosing.

Premise/plot: Cornbread and Poppy are friends. But are they more than friends? I am not suggesting that this book is not age inappropriate by any means. I just think that Cornbread likes likes Poppy. In this one, Cornbread wants to take Poppy to the museum. For him it is thrilling and wonderful. For her, well, it is less so. Not that she dislikes his company, mind you. But well, the museum isn't thrilling, fun, amazing, wonderful. She could think of a lot better ways to entertain herself. She wants Cornbread to go camping with her. (He doesn't want to go camping.)

My thoughts: The "plot" of this one is just as boring--in my opinion--as my summary suggests. Cornbread is distracted by all the "wonderful" "exciting" exhibits and Poppy is uninterested and just biding time. The day isn't uneventful, by any means, just a bit unevenly paced. It felt pretentious instead of quaint and charming. Still, these two mice are adorable.

I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first two books. But I still like these characters.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cornbread loves the museum and all the interesting things there to research and learn about, but Poppy is more fond of adventure. He convinces her to come to the museum gala with her, and he has a little mishap with a priceless vase, but as always, the two friends find a solution. There is a lot of humor, whimsy, and sweetness in this first chapter book series for your readers. Preceded by Cornbread & Poppy at the Carnival and followed by Cornbread & Poppy for the Win.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cornbread and Poppy's friendship takes them to the museum. Cornbread is a patron of the local museum and has been invited to their gala, he brings Poppy his best friend. She's sadly underdressed and unsure she wants to go. Cornbread gets her to get gussied up as he's wearing his favorite tweed suit and they make their way to the coolest museum... to him.

Lo and behold, Poppy is RELATED to the biggest donor of the museum and has a specific vase in her attic, one she brings to the museum after Cornbread breaks the one that was in the museum when he was feeling sad for himself that Poppy was getting the attention.

A sweet story of loving weird museums and keeping promises and having nice friends.

[Meg Line · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cornbread and Poppy is such an excellent book series. This particular book is not my favorite of the series so far, BUT it was still great. The way Matthew Cordell does the callbacks to the characters’ likes, dislikes, and past interactions is masterful. The artwork is BEAUTIFUL. I would put it right up there with Toad and Frog, George and Martha, and Henry and Mudge.
If you have kids in 2nd to 5th grade, these are great books to have your child read. If you have any other aged child, this would be a really fun read to your children. It uses excellent vocabulary and allows them to predict what will happen next based on what they already read.
If you have no children, this would be a really fun series to take off the shelf of the library, sit in a comfy chair, and enjoy. ☺️

[Amy Pickett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Edelweiss and Little, Brown and Company for providing access to an advance e-galley of Cornbread & Poppy at the Museum! It's another delightful installment in the adventures of Cornbread and Poppy, two best friends who are opposites in many ways, but always support each other when it matters most!

[Melki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes even the best of friends don't have EVERY interest in common. And, so it goes for Cornbread and Poppy. Cornbread LOVES the museum, while Poppy would rather be outdoors. A compromise is in order, and, it turns out, also a rescue.

This was a little on the dull side compared to the duo's other adventures, but still a fun read.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommended for 'humor' theme. Not much funnier than the average 'mismatched friends' leveled reader, but charming nonetheless (and so far this is the funniest). One thing different is that the animals are both their animal selves and people simultaneously somehow. I will continue reading the series because I appreciate the heartwarming effect.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very sweet easy to read about two friends (mice) similar to frog and toad. It combines humor with a nice plot and plenty of repetition for our beginning readers. Kind of a Mo Willems, Lobel and Richard Scarry vibe.

[Coro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need personal copies of this whole series, it’s so cute!! Amazing illustrations, interesting stories, and of course I love anything with mice as the main characters. Cornbread and Poppy remind me of me and me and my partner too :)

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute. This odd-couple friendship continues to be one of my very favorites.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite early reader series? Quite possibly. I adore Cornbread and Poppy.

[Awjtf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love these books!

[Greg S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute!
Cornbead wants Poppy to come to the museum and Poppy reluctantly agrees. They discover something halfway through the book. Cute little chapter book about two opposites being friends.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet story of two unlikely friends. Recommended for early readers ready for chapters.
See GR review by Kirsten Caldwell.
Reading level: M

[Jenn]

Another silly, funny, charming winner.

[Johnea · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love this wholesome series!

[Jojobooks Higgins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not love this book and this series any more! It’s definitely a big favorite of mine! If you ever enjoyed Frog and Toad give Cornbread and Poppy a try!

[Maegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

early reader chapter book

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good children's story.

[Brooke Delahunty · Rating 2 out of 5]

After loving the first book I was excited to read this book with my daughter. The museum vocabulary & the family name is unnecessarily difficult for a beginning reader. Pass on this one!

[Kelly Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poppy doesn't care about museums despite her own important family history 😂

Bagoo bagoo!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our book club kids really enjoyed chatting about this sweet story and had a lot of positive things to share. This story was a ‘thumbs up!’ all around.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars
Cornbread who loves the museum want Poppy, who does not, to come to a special event. Of course, a mishap derails the fun and an unexpected twist saves the day.

[Shanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute edition to the series.

Mia’s 2nd Year of Books: Day 58

[Emma Demopoulos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was cute! I think I would have really liked this series as a kid.

[Themountainbookie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two friends have a trip to the museum. One likes the museum the other would rather be camping. They go through the friendship dilemma of doing something you don’t like for a friend. They also navigate jealousy. Cute story but I wasn’t a fan of all the made up words.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite new offerings in the advanced beginning reader category are the characters, Cornbread and Poppy. This is their third adventure as friends and Poppy is much more of an outdoor girl and Cornbread loves museums proving friends can have diverse interests and still be friends. Divided into four chapters every page is filled with Cordell’s pen and ink drawing with watercolor filling the pages. Lots of animal people in these illustrations. Another winner in this series.