Poppet

Dick King-Smith's Poppet is a gentle animal story for 6 year olds about a baby elephant who's been warned to keep away from mice.

What happens

Poppet is born into a forest of enormous grey legs. His mum Ooma and a crowd of aunties peer down at him, and an auntie says what a poppet he is. So that's his name.

On his very first day, Ooma tells him about the only two creatures that can hurt an elephant. One is people, who hunt elephants for their tusks (Poppet is safe from them, because the herd lives on a reserve). The other is a mouse. A mouse, she says very seriously, will run up inside your trunk.

Poppet has no idea what a mouse looks like. So he starts asking. Are you a mouse? A giant millipede is very offended. Beetles, lizards and frogs all get asked too.

Then one hot afternoon a small brown animal with big ears says yes. His name is Momo. His mother told him the very same story, and he never believed it. He'd love a quick look up Poppet's trunk, please. Just to check.

Would you let him? Poppet isn't sure either!

This is a very short book, in eight little chapters, so it's lovely for reading aloud or for a reader just starting to go it alone. The animals talk like funny, grumpy people. Momo is cheeky and chatty, with a VERY grand way of speaking when he wants to impress. Ooma and the aunties agree with each other about everything, which will make grown-ups smile.

It's also about something every child knows. Grown-ups tell you things, and sometimes they're wrong. It's quite hard to tell them so! Poppet grumbles that grown-ups never let children explain. Momo points out that he's a grown-up himself (a very small one).

Ooma does lose her temper once and stamps flat the patch of grass where Momo was hiding. For a moment Poppet thinks his new friend is dead. It's over in a couple of lines, and Momo pops up with nothing worse than a headache.

What to read next

If your reader warms to Poppet, Funny Frank is another Dick King-Smith story about a young animal who won't take no for an answer. He's a chick who stands by the duck pond every day, wishing he could swim.