Ragweed (The Poppy Stories) [Hardcover]

Avi (Author), Brian Floca (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: The Poppy Stories

A prequel to Avi's award-winning Poppy , this is the story of Ragweed, the mouse Poppy loved and lost. Long before Ragweed finds his way to Dimwood Forest and to Poppy, he leaves his family and serene country home behind and sets off by train for the big city, a place fraught with cars, buses, music, pleasure, excitement, attitude and danger--chiefly in the form of cats!

Silversides, for instance, is an urbane specimen in a pink polyvinyl collar studded with diamond-like sequins. Founder and president of F.E.A.R.(Felines Enraged About Rodents), an organization dedicated to keeping cats on top, people in the middle, and mice on the bottom. Silversides and club vice president Graybar, stalks her prey relentlessly.

Ragweed befriends hipster band members Clutch, Dipstick and Lugnut as well as Blinker, a timid and vulnerable pet-store mouse. Through these friends, he discovers a world where courage and loyalty are the keys to survival. In so doing, Ragweed learns to trust himself and take charge of his destiny.

Together the mice transform an abandoned bookstore into a cool new club, the Cafe Independent, and plan a blowout--and cat-free--opening night. But with Silversides and Graybar prowling the sewers, just how long can their independence last?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Consummate storyteller Avi outdoes himself in this prequel to Poppy and Poppy and Rye, cutting loose with a crackerjack tale that's pure delight from start to finish. Here Ragweed, the adventurous mouse with whom Poppy is destined for a tragic romance, hops a train and heads for the bright lights of the big city. The hip urban setting hops with adventure and memorable characters, from the punk-haired mouse Clutch, who plays lead guitar for the Be-Flat Tires at the Cheese Squeeze Club, to Silversides, the malevolent puss president of F.E.A.R. ("Felines Enraged About Rodents"). Ragweed is wowed by the excitement of Amperville, with its abundance of "human nests," and quickly evolves from bumpkin to city slicker, picking up the lingo and mastering the "high four" paw slap. But cat-mouse hostilities escalate, with the cats destroying the Cheese Squeeze Club (the mice set up a new hang-out in an abandoned building once known as The Last Independent Bookstore). Ragweed rallies his fellow mice to lead a revolt against F.E.A.R. in a triumphant ending that finds the cats literally all washed up. Fueled with a mixture of outrageous puns and sly witticisms, this is, as Clutch would say, one totally awesome tale. High four! Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6-Ragweed, the golden mouse who appeared briefly in Poppy (Orchard, 1995) before being devoured by an owl, gets an entire book to himself in this prequel. At an early age, he sets off to explore the world beyond the Brook, so he hitches a train and ends up in the town of Amperville. Unfortunately, a fierce house cat named Silversides has created an organization called Felines Enraged About Rodents (F.E.A.R.), and is trying to rid the town of all mice. Ragweed is saved from Silversides's claws by Clutch, a streetwise young mouse who dyes her head fur green, wears an earring, and plays in a rock band. As F.E.A.R. becomes more and more of a threat, Ragweed and Clutch hatch a plan to unite the town mice at their new club, the Caf? Independent, where they stand up against the cats and win. After this victory, however, Ragweed's wanderlust compels him to leave Amperville and travel onward...to Dimswood Forest. Fun and breezy, this adventure should appeal to fans of the series and newcomers as well. It does bog down whenever the focus goes from Ragweed and his friends to the bitter Silversides, and kids probably won't be interested in Clutch's stereotypically bohemian parents (an artist and a poet). The constant slangy jive-talking of Clutch and her pals ("Look, when I say cool, I mean, you know, like, it's good") will either irritate or amuse readers, but the thrilling climax at the Caf? Independent will leave them breathless.
Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st edition (May 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380976900
• ISBN-13: 978-0380976904
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,158,347 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How it all began, October 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Ragweed (The Poppy Stories) (Hardcover)

This book shows what Ragweed did before he got to Dimwood forest. The prequel to Poppy is as fun as ever, with it's own new set of villans, and characters. It also shows how different city life can be from the country. This is a fun, quick read for all ages.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The runaway mouse, March 9, 2001

By 

a;sldfjasd;lfkj (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ragweed (The Poppy Stories) (Paperback)

In the story Ragweed is by the author Avi. It is about a mouse which decides to explore the New World. He wants to see the lights, people, and excitment. He ended up in a city called Amperville. He thought it was a nice town until he figured that many cats live there and are in search for mice. With Ragweed, Blinker, and Clutch they build a new club named Cafe Independent. Read the exciting and adventurous story of Ragweed on his suicide run for the city. If I was in confusing in reading a book, I would recommand this book. It is very well written and high vocabulary. The story was well planned out and I am sure it took a lot of time for the author to think of such a story. The illustrations are incredibly magnificent and helped in the understanding of the bood. This book will fill you with thrills and suspence.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary, March 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Ragweed (The Poppy Stories) (Hardcover)

Ragweed is an extraordinary book filled with suspense and action. In this book Ragweed and his friends fight F.E.A.R. (Felines Enraged About Rodents). Silversides and Graybar are the F.E.A.R. cats. The mice win the battle, and become free of Silversides and Graybar. I recomend this book to any and every young reader.