Cornbread and Poppy at the Museum written and illustrated by Matthew Cordell is his third story about these interesting friends. The opening pages reveal Cornbread, who loves the local museum, gets a fancy piece of mail from the museum. It’s an invitation to a special celebration at the museum for him and a guest. It also says, “Fancy attire is required.”
He invites Poppy, his best friend, to go with him but when he picks her up, she is not dressed for the occasion! “Do I have to go to this stuffy old thing, Cornbread?” He pleads with her and even says he will go camping with her if she does not enjoy the museum experience. Poppy relents and goes upstairs to find the proper attire. She finds her great, great auntie Twick’s fancy hat. It’s perfect! And off they go.
At the museum there is an unveiling of the new private collection of Ms. Agatha Twicksby Moses Bagoo including her hand carved hairbrushes, a solid gold ice-cream scoop and the never-before-seen portrait of the founder of the museum Agatha Twicksby Moses Bagoo----and Poppy looks exactly like her! The wonderful illustrations of everyone’s astonishment including Poppy’s and Cornbread’s when they see Poppy’s resemblance are full of fun. Cornbread wanders off, picks up his favorite item, the Vase of Bagoo, and accidently drops it! The clever illustration of the museum guests as they SHRIEEEEK can be heard loud and clear. Ever-thinking Poppy saves the day, however, by going back to her attic with Cornbread and finding another, identical vase.
Cornbread and Poppy at the Museum written and illustrated by Caldecott Medalist and terrific storyteller Matthew Cordell has three fun-filled chapters designed for readers 6-10 years of age. (Little, Brown and Company) 2023.
The Children’s Bookshelf is a production of WCMU. Links to the podcast and activity questions can be found at Children’s Bookshelf dot org.
Activity Questions for Cornbread and Poppy at the Museum
Poppy finds many items in her attic handed down from one family member to another. Look at that picture and find the following items: an old lamp, a mirror, books, two airplanes, a chest with a lock, five clothes bags, and a beautiful porcelain vase that is a companion vase to the one Cornbread accidentally broke.
Do you have a room in your house where family treasures are stored? Think about what you have or might find there. Then draw a picture of one item that you own that you would want to store there for the future.
Have you ever broken something that made your mother, father, or a sibling angry? If so, did you apologize? Has a brother or sister ever broken one of your treasures? How did it make you feel? How did Cornbread feel when he dropped the Vase of Bagoo? Look in a mirror and make a face that tells how he feels.
