As another charmer by Avi, this book is good because is features action, adventure and unexpected romance.  Poppy and Rye is another in the series of “Tales of Dimwood Forest.”  This book is about a mouse named Poppy who goes to tell a family of mice about how one of their sons, Ragweed, is dead.  Ragweed’s little brother, Rye, is devastated.  At the same time, the beavers are flooding the brook where the mice live.  This means the mice have to move, and this causes lots of trouble.  Poppy and Rye become friends and fall in love. 

I think Avi is trying to say that great things can be accomplished by working together. The mice family faced a lot of obstacles, but they succeed in the end.  They manage to conquer the beavers, even though the mice are so much smaller. 

This book is short and not too hard to read.  It is entertaining, just like the rest in the series.  I liked Avi’s storytelling ability and imagination.  Avi has written many great books and I’m sure you’ll like them all. 

Fall 2003

Poppy is a mouse who lives in Dimwood Forest.  She goes to Ragweed's nest to tell the family that Ragweed has died.  When Poppy and Ragweed are on a hill, an owl swoops down, catches Ragweed and eats him up.  Rye, Ragweed's older brother, is now the head of the family.  Rye's family has a problem; beavers are damming "The Brook" (the mice don't have a name for it so that's what they call it!).  The mice don't like this because they have to move away from their home that they have lived in for six years.  Rye sets off to defeat the beavers.  Unfortunately, the beavers capture him.  Mr. Canad, a businessman, is responsible for the dam.  He finds a rock which Rye's family lives under.  He wants that rock in order to build a bigger lake.  The mice want to destroy the dam with the rock.  Who will get the rock first?  Will Rye be set free?  Read the book to find out.

Summer 2002