''The Poppykettle Papers'' is an epic adventure for children written in 1999 by Michael Lawrence and illustrated by Robert R. Ingpen. It 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. 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.

Plot summary

This is the tale of five Hairy Peruvians, the last of their kind, and an epic journey from the shores of old Peru to a new land at World's Edge, where the sun goes down. These are no ordinary adventurers, however, but "people of sensible size", which to us Tall Ones is very small indeed.

Background

In 1980, Robert Ingpen published '' The Voyage of the Poppykettle'', a children's book. He later published '' The Unchosen Land'', its sequel. These stories were so popular in Ingpen's home,

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

, that a fountain and an annual Poppykettle Festival celebrate the mythical landing of the "hairy Peruvians". ''The Poppykettle Papers'' is an updated re-telling of the original two books.

Historical and folkloric references

The book ties into various historical and folkloric stories of Australia's early settlement. One such story is the discovery in 1847, by Governor

Charles La Trobe Charles Joseph La Trobe (20 March 18014 December 1875), commonly Latrobe, was appointed in 1839 superintendent of the Port Phillip District of New South Wales and, after the establishment in 1851 of the colony of Victoria (now a state of Aust ...

, of a set of keys embedded in the earth near

Corio Bay Corio Bay is one of numerous internal bays in the southwest corner of Australia's Port Phillip, and is the bay on which abuts the City of Geelong. The nearby suburb of Corio takes its name from Corio Bay. Etymology When Hamilton Hume and Will ...

. These keys, known as the Geelong Keys, are believed by some to have been dropped by Portuguese explorers some hundreds of years previously, but the Poppykettle Papers suggest another origin—namely, that the Hairy Peruvians left them there.

References

Children's fantasy novels Australian children's novels 1999 British novels 1999 children's books History of Australia before 1606 {{1990s-child-novel-stub