The first thing that drew me to
this book was the cover, a lone red poppy flanked by shadow poppies on a background
of black. It was so striking I wanted to read this book before I even knew what
it was about.
The Poppy is an Anzac story. On 25th
April, 1918, Australian soldiers freed the French village of Villers-Bretonneux
from German occupation. One-third of the Australian solders died. But the
relationship between the village and Australia didn’t end with the sorrow of
the battlefield, it bloomed, like the poppy. After the war, Victorian
schoolchildren raised money to restore the village classroom. In the playground
and in every classroom are the words “Never Forget Australia.”
The people of Villers-Bretonneux
never did. When fires razed the Victorian school of Strathewen Primary, they
raised funds to help rebuild it.
This is a book that answers the
question of whether Anzac Day is still relevant today. Two generations later,
the bond the Anzacs forged is growing even stronger.
Reviewed by Sandy Fussell
Title: The
Poppy
Author/Illustrator: Andrew Plant
Publisher: Ford Street Publishing $16.95 PB
RRP, $26.95 HB
Publication Date: March 2014
Format: Paperback/Hardback
ISBN: 9781925000313
Type: Historical non-fiction
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