Hi everyone! I wanted to pull back the curtain a bit and share the psychological theory that inspired this
book series.
At its heart, Poppy and Momma Hen is a gentle retelling of attachment theory — specifically the framework Margaret Mahler laid out back in 1960. Her model traces a child’s journey through four phases: symbiosis, practicing and refueling, rapprochement, and the first stirrings of autonomy.
Healthy attachment doesn’t happen overnight. It unfolds over roughly the first three years of life, as a baby slowly learns that their caregiver is someone they can trust and feel safe with. This groundwork matters enormously — a baby who forms a secure bond with a primary caregiver early on tends to carry that security forward, building strong, healthy relationships for the rest of their life. In this book, Momma Hen (Poppy’s mom) is the primary caregiver, but other loving people can be a baby’s primary caregiver. It is the person who shows up time and again for the baby. The one who provides love, care, and security for their little one.
Book One: Meeting Momma Hen and Poppy
The first book keeps things simple. It’s really just an introduction — Momma Hen and baby Poppy, brought to life through Clara Bennett’s bright, beautiful illustrations. It’s built for the youngest readers, ages 0–1, and their caregivers. The story quietly builds anticipation toward Poppy’s arrival, using Clara’s artwork to hook the curiosity of even the smallest audience (though plenty of grown-ups love it too).
Book Two: Attachment Theory in Feathers
This is where things get interesting. It is built for young readers, ages 2-3, and their caregivers. Book Two walks through each stage of attachment, one baby step at a time.
Symbiosis comes first. This is the period — about six months long — where baby and caregiver are deeply interdependent. The baby’s whole worldview boils down to: “I’m okay if my mother’s okay,” because she’s the one who feeds, comforts, and protects. And the mother, bonding just as fiercely, feels something similar in reverse: “I’m okay if my baby’s okay,” because she loves that little one enough that she couldn’t imagine life without her baby. In the book, this shows up as Momma Hen feeding Poppy, watching over her, and building their nest — care so thorough it earns Momma Hen a blue ribbon.
Differentiation: This is the stage–about five to nine months—where the infant breaks out of the symbiotic shell and becomes increasingly aware of the external world and is constantly checking in with the caregiver for reassurance and security.
Practicing and Refueling follows, —-spanning roughly nine to fifteen months. Now the baby’s ready to explore — crawling, scooting, reaching out to look, hear, smell, taste, and touch the world within arm’s reach. But exploration is tiring, emotionally and physically, so the baby keeps circling back to the caregiver for reassurance. This is where the caregiver’s presence really counts: showing up, again and again, to remind the baby you’re wonderful, you’re special. The baby’s inner voice shifts to: “I’m okay if my mom thinks I’m okay.” Poppy lives this out by wandering the coop, getting a little overwhelmed, and scurrying back to Momma Hen for a snuggle — while Momma Hen makes it clear Poppy is her number one.
Rapprochement comes next– roughly ages fifteen to twenty four months. The baby is still curious, still exploring, still trying on new behaviors — but now frustration creeps in too, because there’s a growing gap between what the baby wants to do and what the baby is actually capable of. Poppy captures this by taking on new challenges: hunting down a worm, swinging on the roost, attempting her very own nest. Somewhere in all that trial and error, the baby starts to think: “I’m okay because of everything I can do.”
Object Constancy, or as Mahler would say, the Consolidation of Individuation —comes next, between the ages of twenty four to thirty six months. This is the point where a child starts to internalize their parents’ belief in them as their own belief in themselves. And the toddler understands the mother is a separate, permanent person who still exists when out of sight. In the book, this is the moment Momma Hen slips a first-place ribbon around Poppy’s neck. The final illustration shows Poppy standing tall, confident, sure of herself, by herself. Her inner voice has changed one more time: “I’m okay because I am okay.”
Book Three: Attachment continues with the addition of a new special caregiver.
Now that the baby has had an opportunity to attach to a primary caregiver, the child is able, and often quite willing, to attach to another caregiver. The same process takes place with this caregiver, namely: differentiation, practicing, refueling, rapprochement and individuation. This phase of attachment often moves along faster and smoother if the baby has previously worked through those steps with a primary caregiver. In Book Three, Poppy and Rudy Rooster share special moments together. And in the end, Rudy is the one to slip a first-place ribbon around Poppy’s neck.
I hope this gives you a bit more insight into the characters and the book series — and maybe a little more
empathy for the small, quiet moments that shape how we all learn to feel safe in the world.