Meet Poppy

Our Australian Girl - Poppy #1

by Gabrielle Wang, Lucia Masciullo (Illustrator)

It's 1864 . . .
and Poppy lives at bird Creek Mission near Echuca. Poppy hates the Mission, especially now that her brother, Gus, has run away to pan for gold. What if Poppy escaped, too? Would she survive alone in the bush? And would she ever find Gus, whom she loves more than anything in the world?

Meet Poppy and join her adventure in the first of four stories about a Gold Rush girl who dream of a better life.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Australia, Middle Grade, Childrens, Fiction, Historical

132 pages, Paperback

First published January 27, 2011

About the author

Gabrielle Wang is an award winning children’s author born in Melbourne of Chinese heritage. Her great grandfather came to Victoria during the Gold Rush, settling in the town of Wahgunyah on the Murray River. In her twenties Gabrielle lived in China and Taiwan where she studied Chinese language, traditional painting and calligraphy. After working as a graphic designer she discovered a love of painting pictures with words. Since then she has written 16 books for children and young adults. Gabrielle’s stories are a blend of Chinese and Western culture with a touch of magic. She has twice won the Aurealis Award for Best Children’s fiction, and her books have been named Notables in the CBC Awards and highly commended in the Prime Minister's Awards. She is also published internationally in US, UK, China, Korea and South America.

Reviews

[Madeline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super short, super easy to read, Meet Poppy is a fun beginning to a Gold Rush-era Australian story. And a pleasant surprise: the main character is half Chinese, half Aboriginal.

I hadn't expected much from Meet Poppy and was just reading it so I could get rid of it, but I may actually continue with the quartet.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to find out more about the Our Australian Girl book series by Gabrielle Wang and happily began with Meet Poppy.

Each Australian girl features in four different, easy to read stories so that if I wanted to follow Poppy's adventures on the Victorian Goldfields in 1864 the book titles are listed the back of the Meet Poppy. All other Australian Girls are introduced there too which makes it easy to help choose your next story.

On the basis of my reading of Meet Poppy I would happily recommend the Australian Girls series to children 8 years and older.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew from early on that I was going to love Polly. Not only does she embody Gabrielle's background in the Chinese Ancestry that I get the feelings she (Gabrielle) has always had to defend from idiots who think her connection with Australia can't possibly be as old as it is, but then there's Polly's Indigenous heritage, and her connection to the peoples from the very area that I've live in since I was nine: this is the country in which I learned to know about the country's people; and to have Beechworth as the focus of Polly's goal, even though we never see Beechworth itself, it's got the potential to have such a clash of cultures about it. It's actually something I want to keep thinking about in terms of this series of books, and I'll be interested to discover where it's going.

This story is focused on the part of Australia that I suspect I will always consider my ultimate home: North-East Victoria. I'd barely opened the book and I encountered the names of the peoples who are FROM here, the ones whose connections to the land keep getting overpowered by the claims of the Yorta Yorta, claims that don't entirely seem to fit. But that's to me. That's the influence of Uncle Eddie and his insistence on the claims of the Pangerang, the Jitmathang and the Duduroa to this area. (I miss Uncle Eddie.)

It all ends up getting so very personal. I don't know how to review a book about my own part of the country objectively. It's like reading the parts of Bill Bryson's Down Under that quoted people my Dad knew and implied that a twelve hour drive was in fact a three hour drive. I can find it awesome and fabulous and yet there's an emotional tie.

Which isn't to say that there are inaccuracies in "Meet Polly". Just that almost every place name mentioned made me sit up, because it's somewhere I know. Wahgunyah or Rutherglen or Tocumwal or Beechworth. These are the places I've lived since I was nine years old. In an entirely different way to that of the Indigenous peoples of this land, this is my country.

I'm hoping I can get to reading the second book this weekend. It's already on my shelf: it will depend on how busy I am with cleaning, shopping, and other household tasks.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eleven-year-old Poppy and her older brother Gus live in an orphanage, the Bird Creek Mission, in Australia in 1864. Their Aboriginal mother died when Poppy was a baby and they do not know what happened to their Chinese father, who was away at the time. Gus hates the mission and keeps running away, which gets him into trouble. When Poppy learns that Gus is to be sent far away to another mission, he decides to run away to the goldfields, promising to return for Poppy once he has made enough money.

Shortly after Gus leaves, Poppy learns she is to be sent away to work as a servant for a family that is moving to Sydney, which is far away from the mission. Poppy doesn't want to go because she is afraid that Gus will be unable to find her when he returns, and they will never see each other again. So she decides to run away in hopes she will find her brother.

This book is the first of four books about Poppy from the Our Australian Girl series, which is about young girls during different times in Australian history. Poppy was a very likable character, she is smart, brave, and determined. I found the history in this book to be very interesting as I don't know a lot about Australian history, the only other books I have read set in Australia were some of the books from the My Australian Story series. I'm sure young girls living in Australia who are interested in their country's history will love this book, but as an adult living in America, I really enjoyed it too!

[Judy Wollin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poppy’s brother Gus has tried to escape from the mission they are kept at but failed. He is brought back in disgrace and locked in an underground cell as punishment.

Gus sets out to run away again and tells Poppy to stay at the mission so he knows where she is and can come and get her once he has a job and house.

Poppy overhears news that sends her into a panic. She must escape the mission too. How will she survive? How will she find Gus? How will Gus find her when she not at the mission anymore?

I liked the historical setting of the story and the foundation of real events.

Recommended for Middle Grade readers.

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was really interesting. Especially in the middle part when Poppy tries to find her brother Gus and goes on a big adventure with people. The first book in my opinion was more interesting because the scene was set in that book.. But if you want a good ending, you should read all 4 books to find out more.

[Summer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story that gave me and my daughter lots to talk about (e.g. why some people are treated differently just because of skin color ). However, I did not like how there were a couple of curse words in the book, especially considering the intended audience.

[Sean Harding · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of another four book sequence in the Our Australian girl series, and another fine if brief read in the series. They have been consistently solid and this is no exception, solid story telling with a good dash of Australian history, making our past come alive through the eyes of young girls.

[Emme McLean · Rating 3 out of 5]

i love it

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Continuing our Australian unit study with my youngest son and still enjoying these wonderful books.

[Hayah Breiss · Rating 3 out of 5]

i loved this book!! it was short easy and easy to read but it wasnt the best for me.

[Dr Dabbler · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant read, albeit a bit young for me. I might read the next one. So far I have liked what Gabrielle Wang has written.

[Zandri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story! I may get the rest of the books to find out what happens :)

[Anna Davidson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great story of an Aboriginal-Chinese girl who escapes from the mission to find her brother who has headed for the goldfields.

[Jill Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s 1864 and Poppy lives at Bird Creek Mission near Echuca. She hates life there, only her brother Gus, living there too, makes it bearable. They are both part aboriginal, their mother died and their father disappeared, leaving them to cope with Mission life. Gus teaches all the kids how to look for bush tucker, he often gets in trouble. One day Gus tells Poppy he plans to leave to look for their father. Poppy is scared for him, but, he promises to return for her before her thirteenth birthday, when she’s old enough to be sent out to work. Not long after Gus leaves, Poppy discovers she is to be put into service much sooner. She decides to go after Gus, and that’s when her adventure really begins.

‘Meet Poppy’, to escape the Mission Poppy dresses as a boy and she heads for the river following her brother’s journey. She is makes a friend in a dog she calls ‘Fisher’. Very hungry stumbles across a camp being robbed, then shares a meal with a bush ranger. Finally she stows away on a paddle steamer but still finds herself on the wrong side of the river.

This is just the first in the four book series, check out 'Poppy at Summerhill', 'Poppy and the Thief, and 'Poppy Comes Home'.

Merged review:

It’s 1864 and Poppy lives at Bird Creek Mission near Echuca. She hates life there, only her brother Gus, living there too, makes it bearable. They are both part aboriginal, their mother died and their father disappeared leaving them to cope with Mission life. Gus teaches all the kids how to look for bush tucker, he often gets in trouble.

One day Gus tells Poppy he plans to leave to look for their father. Poppy is scared for him, but, he promises to return for her before her thirteenth birthday, when she’s old enough to be sent to work. Not long after Gus leaves, Poppy discovers she is to be put into service much sooner. She decides to go after Gus, and that’s when her adventure really begins.

‘Meet Poppy’, to escape the Mission Poppy dresses as a boy and she heads for the river following her brother’s journey. She is makes a friend in a dog she calls Fisher, she shares a meal with a bush ranger and she stows away on a paddle steamer.

[Melina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meet Poppy is actually an introduction to the third girl and time period in the Our Australian Girl series (also including Grace, Letty and Rose). Set in 1864, we are introduced to Poppy, a young orphan who is living with her brother at the Bird Creek Mission. When her brother runs away and she discovers that she is to be sent to a family in Sydney, before the usual age of 12, she decides to pretend she is a boy and set out to find her brother.

I know Heidi loved this one for many reasons, including the setting. That would be one of my few grumbles with this series – all the stories centre around New South Wales and Victoria – it would be great to see more diversity in locations to include Queenland, Tasmania, South Australia or Western Australia. These areas seem to be missed in children’s historical fiction, which is one of the reasons Georgiana was a pleasant surprise.

Poppy is an incredibly likable character, even more than Grace. She’s brave and resourceful and takes pride in her achievements. There’s a lot of learning which could be connected to this book as well, from the Missions to Bushrangers and the Gold Rush – it was a busy time in Australian history and that is reflected in the book.

While it’s not my favourite of the books (I adore Meet Rose), I thoroughly enjoyed this and can’t wait to read what happens to Poppy next.


This review originally appeared at Adventures of a Subversive Reader

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but for me a HUGE step down from the first Rose book, which was a shame. I suppose I just found Rose a more interesting character, and personally her story to also be more interesting. (However I did really enjoy the second Poppy book, which I read immediately after this one. The introduction just seems a lot slower.)

Poppy is an orphan in an Aboriginal mission, half Aboriginal and half Chinese. Her older brother runs away and she soon follows, leading to a thrilling solo flight through the Australian bush - masquerading as a boy. She even dines with a real, live bush ranger! I loved that part :D And generally fends for herself very well. However, by the end of the book she still has a LONG way to go, is still apart from her brother, and she has been injured as well, so it's still nice and realistic.

[Velma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an introduction to a half Aboriginal and half Chinese girl, Poppy, who runs away from a mission in order to find her brother. Historical fiction for primary years students. Easy to read in less than an hour. Exciting and engaging.

[Faye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great short book, about our history in Australia. Great for young children to learn about the history of Australia. I believe this is a series. Might try to read another in the series. Quick read.

[Nella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Readers' Cup read. Not a stand alone so will have to read the rest

[Jen Pollard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this 'Our Australian Girl' books, as all the other ones. Read the 4 in Poppy's series - should all be joined together as they are really one book!

[Jaq · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well told introduction to the life of Poppy.....I think what frustrated me was how brief the story was - I wanted more. Suitable for the early independent reader.

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this series about Poppy, an Indigenous girl living on a mission. This was different to the other books in this Australian girl series. Different perspectives of Indigenous and Chinese characters included, as Poppy sets out on a quest.