“In 1864, life for a half-Aboriginal, half-Chinese orphan would have been tough. In this time of racism, immigration, hardship and the Gold Rush in Victoria, times were hard and expectations high. Wang gives us a glimpse into what this girl’s life might have been like.These books are a fantastic way to make history fun and accessible, as well as being a lovely introduction to the genre of historical fiction for young readers.”

“This was a great book!!!! I mean I just loved it! It was a story of love and hope and I think it was really cool that she had the courage to go out, on her own, and travel far and wide just to get to her brother. When she makes the escape, she comes across many people but luckily her disguise keeps her safe. During her escape to find her brother, she comes across many emotion filled events and is taught how to live on the run. I would definitely recommend this book to any of my friends who were looking for a short but emotion filled read. So if you haven’t read this book, I would recommend picking it up now and just enjoying the sweetness of young Poppy.”

“My name is Siobhan and I am in year 6. I wanted to tell you that I love the Poppy books! They are amazing! I really want to read your other books!”

“I knew from early on that I was going to love Poppy. 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 Poppy’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 Poppy’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.”

“A fantastic story for your middle years. It highlights the injustice and prejudice that children of mixed race faced in the late 1800’s, and one girls determination to find her brother and the truth about her father.This is the first of four stories about a Gold Rush girl who dreams of a better life. We are sure your students will be eagerly awaiting the next book.”