Fairyones: a little twinkle about myself …
In essence, I never ‘got over’ the magic of children’s literature, the power of imagination and the fun of imaginary play. I grew up in a sleepy, magical part of New Zealand where I spent my childhood venturing off into the sunset on my rusty, pink bicycle, reading books under trees, sending messages in bottles down streams (and imagining the mermaids would read them), writing to penfriends in far-flung foreign lands (and imagining life in Italy etc) and strumming my ukelele to hedgehogs and ladybirds in my mother’s wild vegetable garden (imagining the fairies were listening).
I started off entertaining my two daughters from my cherished collection of children’s books and when a hired fairy for my daughter’s fifth party failed to appear, it seemed the opportunity had magically presented itself and this impromptu, serendipitous fairy performance was the “tippy toe I needed” to ‘take my passion and make it happen’. Rapunzel was my first public performance.
Since then, I have had the pleasure of bringing countless children’s books to life in public libraries and regularly in a bookshop. Now, I have progressed to becoming a literary incursion provider in schools, offering fairytale education sessions and sprinkling the magic of books (linking to curriculum outcomes) and enforcing the magic they have to ‘take us away from the everyday and allowing us to learn, love and leap into adventures’.
In the ten years I have ‘flitted and flapped’ as Fairy Poppilina, the passion has never died and the excitement never waned …
I have the luxury (and blessing) of being able to fly to fairy friends between Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sydney as I work as a freelance psychological report writer (writing up reports on criminals).
I believe that in the midst of gloom all human beings need magical, soul-sticking stories and fairytales more than anything! I am so grateful to have this passion, inviting children to enter the ‘fairy door’ of fascination and wonderment, inhabit the lives of book characters, create a passion for reading and appreciate the wonderment of stories.
“I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a book” [J K Rowling].
I hope to encounter you in my fairy /literary world soon!
Bright blessings,
Fairy Poppilina x
Poppy Stoker is a mother to two daughters, freelance forensic psychological report writer, former library assistant, childcare assistant + a ukelele playing, head standing, hula hooping, rollerskating, cake-baking, human bean + ‘Blue Card-ed’, fully insured AND fully Covid-vaccinated.
