Review: Poppy Makes Pockets

Do you like collecting treasures when you go for a walk? 

And do you have enough pockets to store everything you find?

If not, meet Poppy - a resourceful child who may have the perfect solution for you.

Jemima Parker’s debut picture book (illustrated by Karen Erasmus) highlights a big problem – where can we store all our special things if our clothes don’t have pockets?

Only two of Poppy’s outfits have pockets and they’re winter garments, so they're much too hot for a mid-summer stroll. She can’t possibly carry everything she’s collected – her glossy feather, smooth stone, shiny button and rattling seedpod. There’s too much!

What to do?

Then, Poppy has an idea and sets to work with some old T-shirts, a needle and some thread.

Voila! Three pockets that are the perfect size for treasure collecting.

But what about her friends? Soon Poppy notices that they don’t have any pockets either – or if they do (because some clothes do have pockets), they are not nearly big enough.

What I loved about Poppy Makes Pockets is that Jemima Parker has taken a problem that – let’s face it – we all have and allowed an enterprising child to solve it quite simply and without fuss.

There’s no rumble-tumble action. No try-and-fail cycle. No massive dilemma or meltdown. Just a straightforward story told extremely well – and that’s okay! In today’s fast-paced world, we need more books like this one.

Karen Erasmus’ character-focused illustrations, with their bold yet soft colour palette, match the tone of Jemima’s story perfectly. Karen’s Poppy is instantly someone the reader can trust to solve problems in a calm and thoughtful manner – something we should all aspire to.

And, if you need more pockets in your life (come on, you know you do) but you don’t have a Poppy with her pocket stall in your neighbourhood, make sure you check out the endpapers of this delightful book for some hints on how to make your own pockets.

Highly recommended for the treasure-seekers and ‘look, this dress has pockets’ people who just want a beautiful, heartwarming story they can relate to.

Title: Poppy Makes Pockets
Author: Jemima Parker
Illustrator: Karen Erasmus
Publisher: EK Books, Exisle Publishing $24.99
Publication Date: 14 July 2026
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781921497131
For ages: 4 – 8
Type: Picture Book