Poppy the Pea’s Year in Review- 2025
Dear friends,
I hope this finds you happy and hopeful as we turn to the final pages of the year. If you’re reading this, there is a good chance that you’ve supported Poppy the Pea in one way or another, and I’d like to thank you sincerely for that. If you’re curious about what Poppy has been up to in her second full year, do read on for a brief overview.
SPRING 🌱
World Book Week - School Visits ✏️
This spring I visited 5 fantastic schools in London and beyond: Maple Walk Primary School, Palmers Green High School, Capel Manor Primary, the Archer Academy and Holy Family Catholic School (photo below). Across assemblies, workshops, pea-planting sessions and book signings, we explored Poppy’s journey and how the book’s themes of courage, resilience, friendship and hope shape both my own life as an author and the children’s lives.
For the younger age groups, I also introduced pea-planting sessions to bring the story and its themes to life in a memorable, hands-on way. A growing set of activity sheets (and Study Guide) support these school sessions and are free to download on the Learning page of this website – where you can also find more school visit information, pictures and reviews.
Thank you to the wonderful teachers, pupils and parents who made this year’s visits so special.
KS2 Courage & Resilience Assembly session, Holy Family Catholic School, Slough - 10 June 2025. You can find more school visit pictures and reviews on the Learning page.
Read & Grow - Collaboration with Gardening For Kids 🪴
A major spring highlight was partnering with Gardening for Kids Ltd (a trusted brand stocked by English Heritage, the National Trust and giftshops and garden centres across the UK) to create a Poppy the Pea Read & Grow bundle: a themed pea-growing kit designed to nurture patience, responsibility and a love of reading and growing.
I’m particularly proud of this initiative given the growing research highlighting the mental-health benefits of gardening for children. After a promising soft launch online, at events and, at the fantastic Finchley Nursery (where the combo is still stocked), the bundle will roll out to select garden centres and gift shops nationally in spring 2026. You can check out the Read & Grow bundle and the wider GFK range here.
A big thank you to GFK for helping bring this collaboration to life - I’m excited for what 2026 has in store for us.
Poppy the Pea Read & Grow Bundle at Finchley Nurseries, Mill Hill
SUMMER ☀️
A Big Leap - Poppy’s Yoto Adventure 🚀
After launching digitally on Yoto last year, Poppy took another exciting step this September, leaping into physical Yoto card format across the UK, US and Canada, where she’s selling strongly. It’s great to see Poppy delving deeper into Yoto’s brilliant screen-free storytelling world and looking forward to expanding into new markets in 2026.
If you’re new to Yoto, their players and story cards offer a wonderful, screen-free way for children (and adults) to enjoy stories. You can learn more and see Poppy’s Yoto page and the Dr. Fuzz Creator Page here.
Big thanks to the Yoto team for their invaluable support this year.
Poppy the Pea Yoto Card - released September 2025
AUTUMN 🍂
Rolling into Retail - Bookshops/Gift Stores 📚
The autumn and winter months have marked the beginning of Poppy’s journey into independent bookshops and gift stores. This is a step I intentionally waited to take after the book had grown more organically through word-of-mouth, school visits, events, markets and online - while also giving it time to receive reviews from trusted children’s book critics.
With this above foundation in place, I started approaching a small number of stores this autumn/winter that I felt would be a good fit for Poppy in spirit and design. I’m deeply grateful to the brilliant individuals and the teams who have welcomed her into the following lovely and, in some cases, iconic locations:
Bookshops:
South Kensington Books
The Notting Hill Bookshop
House of Books (West Hampstead)
House of Books (Crouch End)
Book World Puerto Banus (Malaga, Spain)
Gift Shops:
Hello Love (Holborn)
The Brimful Store (Maida Vale)
Pingo Pongo Kids (Chelsea)
If you’re gift-shopping this Christmas why not visit and support these brilliant independent treasure troves and say hello to Poppy the Pea while you’re there!
Poppy the Pea in good company at The Notting Hill Bookshop - December 2025
WINTER ❄️
Library Love – Poppy at Swiss Cottage 💳
It has been especially meaningful to end the year with community events close to home. On 5 December, I visited Swiss Cottage Library for a reading of Poppy the Pea followed by a Poppy activity sheet and pea-planting session with local children aged 4 to 10.
Libraries remain one of the most important spaces for connection, stories and imagination, so I’m especially proud that Poppy is now stocked in her first Camden library, with many more to come (in London boroughs and beyond) in 2026.
Thanks to the lovely staff at Swiss Cottage Library for having us.
Feedback on the Poppy the Pea session at Swiss Cottage Library, Camden - December 2025. Pictures from the session are available on the ‘Learning’ page.
Community Magic - Markets, Fairs & Events ✨
Nothing beats the atmosphere of a local market or fair - the crafts, the conversations, the food, and the sense of community. This year I took Poppy the Pea to six wonderful fairs and markets across London (King’s Cross, Hampstead, Mill Hill, Queen’s Park) and beyond (Saffron Walden, Essex).
One highlight was this month’s Winter Wellness Fair at Baseline Studios in West Kensington - a free community event for elderly residents, families and those affected by the Grenfell Tower tragedy. I spent the day sharing the book, offering activities and talking with locals of all ages, including aspiring young authors and illustrators (photo below) and those working in education. It was a heartfelt reminder of the strength of community, and the spirit of kindness that keeps it alive.
Thank you to the Lancaster West Neighbourhood Team and to all the organisers who welcomed Poppy at their events this year.
Maksim and Badis -aspiring young authors and illustrators with Poppy the Pea.
Christmas Charity – Read for Good 🏥
This Christmas, copies of Poppy the Pea will be shared with children in 32 hospital wards across the UK through the wonderful charity Read for Good. Their programme, which provides hospitals with a stream of brand new books and regular storyteller visits, brings comfort, distraction and hope to children spending long and often difficult days away from home. I’m honoured Poppy can play even a small part in this.
You can learn more about Read For Good’s hospital program here to see where Poppy is visiting and please also consider donating to support their beautiful work.
Thank you to the brilliant staff and Storytellers at Read for Good.
The Grinch with Poppy the Pea - Christmas 2024
Stocking Filler Reminder 🎄🎁
If you’re still looking for a thoughtful little gift for dreamers young or old, Poppy the Pea is available on this website, through the shops and partnerships mentioned above as well as all the other usual online channels (e.g. Amazon, Apple, Audible, Spotify etc) in hardback, audiobook and eBook formats. Reviews and ratings on these platforms are always deeply appreciated, as they help others discover the book.
LOOKING AHEAD 🔭
Alongside more school visits, wider retail/garden-centre rollout, educational partnerships and new Poppy-themed merchandise (watch this space), the central aim for 2026 is to WRITE - both Poppy the Pea 2 and other stories waiting in the wings!
I know some of you (myself included at times) hoped the Poppy the Pea series would move a little faster, but the reality is that promoting the first book has been a full and rewarding undertaking. And, as Poppy’s debut was the product of a slow, five-year labour of love, it feels only right that her next adventure should be given that same care and patience.
To ease the way, I’ll be turning to what I’ve come to think of as the essential pre-writing tonic: a blend of retreat, rest and recuperation - ingredients I suspect many of us could use at this time of year.
Wishing you a Christmas and New Year filled with these very ingredients, and a generous serving of inner peas!
With love and gratitude,
Farzad (Dr. Fuzz) 💚
STAY TUNED 📺
If you’d like to keep up with Poppy’s journey through the year ahead, follow her on Instagram and explore all links here.