Tag: Avi

A couple weeks ago Caramel reviewed Poppy, the book that launched Avi’s Dimwood Forest series. This week he is continuing the series, with a review of the next book in line: Poppy and Rye, written by Avi and illustrated by Brian Floca. As usual, Sprinkles is asking questions and taking notes.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, tell me about Poppy and Rye.

Caramel: Poppy and Rye is a good book if you like mice. Especially if you like battles of mice against bad creatures, like beavers.

S: Well, I never thought about whether I’d like to read about mice battling beavers before. But you are right, this is a book about mice and their fight against a group of mean beavers.

C: And in the lead is a beaver named Caster P. Canad. He is the one who made a dam and it flooded the house that Ragweed’s family used to live.

S: Oh, so Ragweed’s family is in this book? That’s cool.

C: Yes, Rye is his brother, and he is in the title of the book. But this is after Ragweed … oops… I am trying not to give away what happened to Ragweed in Poppy.

S: Yes, but the events in this book happen after all that, right?

C: Yes. Why do you ask?

S: So I am guessing people who are thinking of reading this book should probably have already read Poppy and should already know what happened to Ragweed.

C: Yep, I guess so.

S: So do you think someone could read Poppy and Rye without having read Poppy?

C: They could, but it is probably not a good idea.

S: I agree, I think you would not have a good sense of who Poppy is otherwise. But keep in mind the very first book Ragweed was actually written after Poppy and Rye. So perhaps people do not need to really have read that one just yet.

C: Possibly. But I still think it is a good idea to start with Ragweed. And if you can read Ragweed and Poppy in between, before Poppy, then you can follow these mice all through their adventures in the right way.

S: That is how we are reading through this series, right?

C: Yes.

S: Okay, so you already told us that there are some beavers who have basically destroyed the home of Ragweed’s family.

C: Yes, the beavers make a dam on the brook and then they flood the home of Clover and Valerian, who are Ragweed’s mom and dad. And the family has to move out.

S: So where does Poppy come into this story? Doesn’t she live far away from the Brook?

C: Yes, but she wants to tell Ragweed’s family the news about his … oh, sorry.. She wants to meet them, let me say.

S: Okay, yes, she goes through the whole forest to get to them, right? Who is with her?

C: A porcupine, a bad-mannered porcupine, a very annoyed porcupine. And his name is Ereth.

S: Some people really like Ereth. Did you like him, too?

C: Yeah, I especially love his grumpiness. He is funny! He always grumbles and says things to annoy Poppy.

S: Yes, but he also really really likes Poppy, right?

C: Yes.

S: So what three words would you use to describe this book?

C: Funny, descriptive, adventurous.

S: Hmm, you have used two of those words before for the other books from the Dimwood Forest series, but “descriptive” is new. Why do you say that?

C: There is a lot of description in the story. The author describes Ereth and Rye and all the other characters. And the places they are in. The forest, the brook, the area near the dam, and the rock where Clover and Valerian and their litter of billions of mouse babies move into after their first home is flooded.

S: That is true. And so yes, I agree, your descriptive words are good choices for this book. Again. So let us wrap up this review. What would you tell our readers Caramel?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunnies reviews!

On the second anniversary of the launch of the book bunnies blog (check out our Hello World post for memories!), Caramel is ready to share with our readers his thoughts on Poppy, the first book in the Tales from Dimwood Forest series by Avi. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, this is your first review for 2021. And you picked Poppy for it. Why?

Caramel: Because it is the first book I read this year. I think.

S: Can you tell us a bit what this book is about?

C: It is about Poppy, as you can tell from the title. Poppy is a deer mouse. She lives with her big family (with about two hundred other deer mice) in the Gray House. The Gray House is a big old house, abandoned by its owner who was a farmer.

S: So is the story mainly about Poppy and her family?

C: No, but it is mostly about her and her adventures.

S: You had reviewed another book in this series before: Ragweed. Though it was written after this one, in terms of the story timeline, it is supposed to have happened before. But that was all about Ragweed and his adventures; Poppy was not in that book at all.

C: That is true. Ragweed met Poppy in the second book, Ragweed and Poppy, which we did not review because I read it on the Kindle.

S: Yes, I read that book too. Ragweed tried to save Poppy from a trap in that book. Do we see Ragweed in Poppy as well?

C: Only in the first chapter because he gets … oops, sorry, I should not spoil the plot.

S: Hmm, now I am curious. I might have to read this book.

C: That’s the point. You should read it. It’s a good book. All except the part where Ragweed gets … oops, sorry.

S: Okay, let us move away from the Ragweed topic. Tell me more about Poppy then.

C: The mouse or the book?

S: The mouse.

C: She goes on an adventure and gets into a lot of trouble.

S: That sounds like an exciting read. In fact I remember you not wanting to turn out the lights last night so you could read more.

C: Yeah. I picked up the book and had to finish it. But you made me go to sleep so I woke up in the morning and first thing, I got reading and finished it.

S: So what are three words that you can use to describe the book?

C: Fun, adventurous, cliffhangers.

S: That is funny! In your review of Ragweed, you had also picked similar words: “Adventure, danger, cliffhangers”.

C: I think we can use those same words here too.

S: So what is next? Will you read the next book in the series?

C: Yes. And I will probably review it for the blog. But I can’t believe Ragweed got … oops…

S: Okay, maybe we should end this review before you spill the beans. What do you want to say to our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

This week Caramel wanted to talk about Ragweed, a book by Avi. As usual Sprinkles is asking questions and taking notes.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, this book seems to be a new favorite for you?

Caramel: Yes.

S: What is it about?

C: It’s about Ragweed, a mouse who leaves his home to explore the world.

S: That sounds interesting! And kind of like Ralph, in The Mouse and the Motorcycle.

C: Yes. But Ralph lived in a hotel and Ragweed lives next to a brook.

S: I see. So Ragweed decides to leave his home and travel. Where does he go?

C: He goes to Amperville, I believe. He gets on a train and gets off in a small town named Amperville. Amperville has a part called Mouse Town because that is where the mice live.

S: That sounds good. So Ragweed meets a lot of new mice in this town, right?

C: Yes. One of them is named Clutch.

S: Do you know what clutch means?

C: Nope.

S: Wikipedia tells us that it is a mechanical device connecting and disconnecting parts of a car engine. Did you notice that almost all the Amperville mice in the book had names that were related to cars?

C: Yes. And there is a mouse band called the B-Flat Tires. That’s also about cars.

S: Yes!

C: I think the reason is that they all live in cars.

S: And Ragweed on the other hand is a natural thing, it’s a type of plant, right? Not a car. So from their names you can tell …

C: where they are from! The mayor of Mouse Town is named Radiator for example. Cliutch’s mom is Foglight and her dad is Windshield. And then there is Blinker. I don’t think that is about cars.

S: But look, Wikipedia shows us there are also car blinkers! So even Blinker’s name is related to cars!

C: Yes, that’s interesting!

S: Did you know that Ragweed is part of a series of books but it is not the first book Avi wrote in that series?

C: Really?

S: Yes, apparently Avi, the author, first wrote a book named Poppy, about a mouse named Poppy. And then he wrote Ragweed as a prequel. Do you know what’s a prequel?

C: A book that comes before another?

S: Right. So there is apparently a Ragweed in Poppy, and the author wanted to tell his backstory. So I guess you should eventually read that Poppy book as well.

C: I might read it next then.

S: That sounds good to me.

S: What else do you want to tell our readers about this book?

C: Can I rate it then?

S: Yes, give me three words that describe the book.

C: Adventure, danger, cliffhangers.

S: What do you mean by cliffhangers?

C: Well, it ends in a cliffhanger. Sort of.

S: I guess you will just have to read Poppy then.

C: Exactly.

S: Then let us wrap this up so you can get started. What are your last words for this review Caramel?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunnies reviews!