Poppy and Rye - Hardcover

Avi

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0380976382 ISBN 13: 9780380976386

Publisher: HarperCollins, 1998

Synopsis

The fourth book in the beloved Poppy series by Newbery Medal–winning author Avi, with illustrations from Caldecott Medal–winning artist Brian Floca

Heartbroken over the death of her fiance, Ragweed, Poppy the deer mouse journeys west through the vast Dimwood Forest to bring the sad news to Ragweed's family. But Poppy and her prickly porcupine pal Ereth arrive only to discover that beavers have flooded the serene valley where Ragweed lived.

Together Poppy and Ragweed's brother Rye brave kidnapping, imprisonment, and a daring rescue to fight the beavers. At the same time, Rye—who has lived in Ragweed's shadow—fights to prove himself worthy of Poppy's love.

About this title

About the Authors

Avi is the award-winning author of more than eighty-two books for young readers, ranging from animal fantasy to gripping historical fiction, picture books to young adult novels. Crispin: The Cross of Lead won the Newbery Medal, and The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and Nothing but the Truth were awarded Newbery Honors. He is also the author of the popular Poppy series. Avi lives in Denver, Colorado. Visit him online at avi-writer.com.

Brian Floca, in addition to being the illustrator of the books in Avi's Poppy Stories series, is the author and illustrator of the acclaimed picture books Locomotive, winner of the Caldecott Medal; Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11; Lightship; The Racecar Alphabet; and Five Trucks. You can visit him online at www.brianfloca.com.

From the Back Cover

Poppy, the bold, charming deer mouse introduced in Avi's popular and highly acclaimed book by the same name, won the hearts of young readers, parents, and educators alike. Now the beloved mouse returns in a daring new adventure.

Poppy and Rye

Heartbroken over the loss of her beloved fiance, Ragweed, Poppy is making the long journey west to bring the sad news to his family, whom she's never met. There is no way Poppy can know that Ragweed's brother Rye is traveling east on his own quest for answers....

Coming across a beautiful green meadow in the forest, Poppy closes her eyes and begins to dance. Suddenly, she opens her eyes and, for one indescribable moment, thinks she sees Ragweed standing before her. Without a word, the strange new mouse takes her paws and the two dance in a graceful, magical duet. And then he is gone.

Has it all been a dream? Or has something truly extraordinary occurred? Poppy isn't sure. But when she finally reaches Ragweed's family, she discovers great trouble. Beavers are constructing a giant dam and flooding the home of the mouse family. The mice have turned for help to Rye, who has always lived in the shadow of his older brother. Now, Rye longs to prove himself to his family...and to the beautiful deer mouse who captured his heart in the meadow.

Before the battle is over, Poppy and Rye are drawn together in a dangerous showdown with the cruel and relentless dam builders. Braving kidnap, imprisonment, and a daring rescue, they carry out a brilliant plan, and with Poppy by his side, Rye dares rise to meet the expectations of his family and the mouse he loves.

Reviews

Still grieving over the loss of her beau Ragweed of Poppy (1995), the intrepid deer mouse decides to bring the sad news to his family in this uneven, heavy-handed sequel. Setting out from Dimwood Forest with her hopelessly infatuated porcupine friend, Ereth, Poppy arrives just in time to help Ragweed's parents and numerous siblings avert eviction. Led by ruthless Caster P. Canad, a crew of beavers has dammed up the nearby brook in preparation for a housing project. The mice have already been flooded out of one home, and their new one is about to be threatened. Saddened--but also secretly relieved to be out from under his brother's shadow--dreamy Rye dashes out to see what he can do against the beavers, and is quickly captured. Having fallen in love with him at first sight, Poppy organizes a rescue, urging the meek mice to fight back; they do. The bad guys silently depart, and Poppy and Rye set a date. Avi develops his characters to a level of complexity that provides a distracting contrast with the simplistic story, an obvious take on human land-use disputes, and easily distinguishable victims and villains. In language more ugly than colorful, Ereth chews over his feelings for Poppy in several plot-stopping passages, and is last seen accompanying the happy couple back to Dimwood. Readers may wonder who to root for in this disappointing follow-up to one of the best animal stories in years. (b&w illustrations) (Fiction. 10-12) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Grade 3-6AThis novel tells the story, as promised in the final pages of Poppy (Orchard, 1995), of how the courageous deer mouse met and married her husband Rye. Picking up Poppy's story after her victory over Mr. Ocax the owl, Avi chronicles her quest to find her late fianc?'s family and tell them of his death in Mr. Ocax's claws. The couple meet early in her journey, but their growing love is temporarily thwarted by Rye's imprisonment within the lodge of clich?-spouting, indefatigably eager beavers. He is also hindered by his fears that he can't live up to Poppy's memories of Ragweed, who was Rye's sometimes admired, sometimes despised older brother. Unfortunately, the mouse's conflicting feelings about his brother are never clearly resolved, and Rye remains a less-developed character than Poppy, whose growth from timid to brave is one of the previous book's chief delights. Poppy and Rye also loses steam during a distracting subplot featuring Ereth the porcupine's cranky (and unrequited) love for Poppy, but it will still appeal to fans of the first book.ABeth Wright, Edythe Dyer Community Library, Hampden, ME
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The spirited mouse star from Poppy must now face life after Ragweed (her fiance who was killed by an owl). Poppy and her curmudgeonly porcupine friend Ereth leave Dimwood Forest in search of Ragweed's parents to tell them the sad news so that Poppy can "get on with her life." When they finally reach their destination, they discover it's hardly the "dullsville" that Ragweed had described. In fact, his family has been forced to leave their comfortable nest and move to higher ground: a clan of development-mad beavers are flooding out the residents in their efforts to turn the pastoral backwater into "Canad's Cute Condos." Along the way, Poppy encounters Ragweed's dreamy, poetic brother Rye, and before long the two mice are head over paws in love. When a showdown between the scheming beavers and the reluctantly heroic mice puts Rye in danger, Poppy risks everything to save him. Of course, all's well that ends well in this rollicking tale, which Avi infuses with generous helpings of adventure, romance and humor. He juggles multiple story lines effortlessly, and his characterizations are particularly engaging, from the blustering Caster P. Canad ("Bless my teeth and smooth my tail!"), head of the beaver coterie, to the smart-mouthed Ereth ("Look here, you pickle-tailed fur booger"). This thoroughly enjoyable sequel is sure to please old fans and will likely win some new ones. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 4^-6. In this sequel to Poppy, a Youth Editors' Choice '95, the intrepid deer mouse Poppy persuades her curmudgeonly porcupine friend Ereth to accompany her on a trek to tell Ragweed's family how her beloved golden mouse had met an untimely death. Although Ereth grumbles his way west, the pair eventually reach "The Brook," where the golden mouse family lives, only to discover that the family has been forced to move because the brook has been dammed by beavers ("Canad and Co. `Progress Without Pain,' that's our motto"), and the mouse family's home has been flooded. With Poppy's planning and help, the golden mice manage to defeat the beavers, driving them away and breaking the dam. In the process, Poppy and Rye, Ragweed's brother, fall in love. The battle against the beavers is exciting: Rye is captured sneaking into the beavers' lodge and held prisoner; Poppy makes her way by raft to the lodge and enters through a vent hole and almost drowns as she escapes. As he took on the politics of power in Poppy, Avi here tackles the advance of progress for the sake of progress, no matter the consequences. With the exception of Poppy and Ereth, characters lack the fine development of those in the first book, but Poppy's fans will welcome her return and cheer her on in her new adventure. Sally Estes

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0380976382
• ISBN 13: 9780380976386
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Floca Brian
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192