The Voyage of the Poppy Kettle by Robert Ingpen


The Voyage of the Poppy Kettle
Title : The Voyage of the Poppy Kettle
Author :
Rating :
ISBN : 0698400259
ISBN-10 : 9780698400252
Language : English
Format Type : Hardcover
Number of Pages : 48
Publication : Published May 19, 2005

Set in ancient Peru, there is a village of miniature people who lead a peacefullife sailing and fishing. But when the Spanish invade, the little community has to find a new home. The intrepid fishermen transform an old tea kettle into a ship and set out on the high seas to find the land beyond the horizon. They dodge ferocious iguanas, crash onto reefs, and nearly sink in a terrible storm, but finally the kettle comes to rest on a strange new land the little Peruvians can call home.

Robert Ingpen has vividly captured this modern Australian folk tale with rich illustrations and a fun sense of detail. This is an imaginative story about setting off into the unknown.


The Voyage of the Poppy Kettle Reviews


  • Beverly

    This was a fairly interesting story of Borrower-sized people looking for a new home. But, at one point in their voyage, one of their number (which began with 7 people) is washed overboard. By the end of the book, all 7 people are depicted again, with absolutely no explanation for how #7 rejoined the group. Very confusing. Possibly, the dolphin rescued #7 and returned him to the others, but this is not made clear at all in the text or illustrations. The illustrations, of course, are gorgeous.

  • Laure Hittle

    Beautiful art and fanciful story. i love thinking that it might be true.

    The storm scene immediately put me in mind of Rembrandt’s painting of the storm on the Sea of Galilee.

    Spoiler: One of the Hairy Peruvians was washed overboard, and the text says “They we’re afraid he was lost forever.” i suspected he’d be recovered somehow, since this wasn’t a definitive statement, and later on the pictures show seven Hairy Peruvians again, but zero acknowledgement of why.

    Still a good book.

  • Emily

    A strange and mysterious story. It reads like a Peruvian legend.