Poppy the Proud by Emlyn Chand {Review & Book Tour}
Poppy the Proud
by Emlyn Chand
Review:
Last month, I introduced you to Emlyn Chand with her book, Courtney Saves Christmas, and I am happy to bring to you another great story. This time, the beautiful bird we get to know is Poppy, a peacock.
Poppy is, like all peacocks, proud of his colors and his beauty. He is admired by all of the other peacocks and doted on when they bring him food and cover him from the sun. When Poppy suddenly is no longer the center of attention, because another more beautiful peacock comes along, he is frustrated and tries to catch the attention again. After trying several different tactics, he finally learns that beauty is not just what others see on the outside, but what is truly on the inside that matters.
As parents, we see this all too often when our children are the center of our world for some time and then suddenly, they are not. We see them "acting out" in different ways to grab attention. Sometimes, the behaviors are silly, sometimes they are negative. When my boy is acting out at home and seems particularly emotional, we take some time to focus back on him and plan a family activity, like family movie night or a special trip with him. Recently, he has been acting out at daycare and we have discovered that there is a child in the class who is being disruptive in class and takes up all of the teachers' attention. He is struggling because he is not the center of attention and he thinks acting out will get him attention again. Reading this story to him and telling him that being a sweet and polite boy will always gain more respect and attention in the end has really helped.
The story ends with Poppy acting silly to make others laugh and make them feel better. I had to let my boy know that he doesn't need to be the "class clown" to get attention, but I think the basic lesson in the story is a good one. We teach our boy to be proud of his accomplishments and of his good behavior, but he is not the only boy who does things the right way. Instead of standing out and being boastful, he can join in with the "good crowd" and work together.
Emlyn Chand's stories remind me of some of my favorite books as a child, the Serendipity Books by Steven Cosgrove. I loved the stories that were not so long that they needed chapters, but not so short that they were "children's books". They were that in-between stage, not quite tween, but not Kindergarten either.
Poppy is the prettiest peacock in the entire garden, but one day his privileged existence is upset when an all-white peacock is born and promptly named the most beautiful by a smitten flock. Intensely jealous, Poppy no longer knows where he fits in and decides to reclaim his title as the fairest bird in all the land, no matter what it takes.
In a desperate attempt to regain the admiration of his peers, Poppy steals items from the humans that visit his park. He wraps himself in a beautiful silk scarf, wears a series of ornate bangles around his neck, and even tries to dye his feathers with colored dust from a festive Holi celebration. Unfortunately, each of these attempts not only fails to improve his appearance, they actually make it worse. What’s a poor bird to do?
In this compelling tale of self-esteem, pride, and learning what makes each of us special, Poppy the peacock discovers that true beauty lies beneath the feathers.
Emlyn Chand emerged from the womb with a fountain pen clutched in her left hand (true story). When she's not writing, she runs a large book club in Ann Arbor and is the president of author PR firm Novel Publicity. Best known for her Young Adult novels, she is also developing a small, but devoted, following to her children's book series and is beginning to dapple in other genres as well. Emlyn enjoys connecting with readers and is available via almost every social media site in existence. Visit EmlynChand.com for more info.
♦ Emlyn's website and blog ♦ Emlyn on Goodreads ♦
♦ Emlyn's Facebook page ♦ @EmlynChand on Twitter ♦
More from Emlyn Chand
Available on Evolved Publishing:
The Bird Brain Books:
Honey the Hero ♦ Davey the Detective ♦ Poppy the Proud ♦ Tommy goes Trick-or-Treating ♦ Vicky Finds a Valentine
Torn Together
The Farsighted Series
Farsighted ♦ Open Heart ♦ Pitch (coming March 19, 2013) ♦ Vertigo (coming May 21, 2013) ♦ Refrain (coming December 2, 2013)
{Emlyn Chand – Children's books on Amazon}
Thank you for the wonderful review, and sorry it took me so long to come over and thank you–the holidays are nuts. I loved hearing your parenting take on Poppy and that his lesson was helpful for your son <3
Em
Emlyn Chand recently posted..Christmas is in trouble, and only one little penguin can save it! Yes, the latest Bird Brain Book is here!
We really enjoy your Bird Brain books at our house and I’m excited to share them with my readers. I can’t wait to share more of our reviews in the coming weeks.
You know I will! I’m glad your family is enjoying them. I can’t wait to hear what you think about Davey the Detective. That’s my personal favorite.
Emlyn Chand recently posted..Christmas is in trouble, and only one little penguin can save it! Yes, the latest Bird Brain Book is here!