Erethizon Dorsatum--better known as Ereth, the self-centered, foul-tempered old porcupine--is having a birthday. And he fully expects his best friend Poppy, a deer mouse, to help him celebrate in a grand manner.

But Poppy has gone off somewhere with her husband, Rye, and it appears she has forgotten all about it. "Belching Beavers," says Ereth, "I am not angry!" (Though perhaps he is--and more than just a little.)

Ereth knows his special occasion deserves a special treat--even if he has to get it for himself. And what treat could be more special than tasty salt? But the nearest salt is located deep in the forest, in a cabin occupied by fur hunters, who have set out traps to capture the Dimwood Forest animals.

In one of the traps, Ereth finds Leaper the Fox--who, with her dying breath, begs the prickly porcupine to take care of her three boisterous young kits, Tumble, Nimble, and Flip. "Jellied walrus warts!" Ereth exclaims, but reluctantly agrees.

Certainly this day is not going as he planned--and it's only just the beginning! Not only does Ereth suddenly have a rambunctious new family to take care of, but he's being stalked by Marty the Fisher, the one creature in Dimwood Forest who can do him harm.

And Bounder, the father of the three little foxes, remembers all too well the nose full of quills he got a while back from the grumpy old animal who now fancies himself the leader of the den. He too sets out to show Ereth who's boss.

Throw in an unexpected snowstorm, and all in all, it adds up to one birthday Ereth the porcupine is never going to forget, not even if he lives to be a hundred and twenty-two!

The Dimwood series are fun and short, and very wordy. Ereth is by far one of the best characters in the entirety of the book series, and him getting a book is great. Ereth's speech is often punctuated with fourth wall breaks("elephant ears", "pull the chain and grab five mops") and it's the worst part of him in every book. It's very distracting, beyond his other phrases which make sense, rabbit earwax, nit nose, tick-brain. The fact he knows things impossible for him to know in his alliteration does get old.

Avi stays true to his Dimwood series, mostly in something has to die nearly every book, some terrible fate happens, blood, death, and of course, the ending that wraps each book up seemingly find on its own. Ones which always imply the character ages and dies and tells you their end subtly should there not be a next book.

The foxes are adorable, but rude, and Avi also stays true in writing animals as jerks, prudes, bad parents, and just selfish beings, if not for Ereth breaking the fourth wall ten dozen times, this book would be perfect. As is, out of the few Dimwood books, it's already pretty much the best. A book about a porcupine is always a neat book to give a read to! ( )

Finally a book in this series that I like! Ereth is crabby and crass, and I probably wouldn’t mind so much if it weren’t for his ridiculously foul mouth. Ridiculous because most of it is made up animal related silliness, but it’s still foul, and the fact that the kids he’s around laugh at his words make it even more obvious that this is the point of it. I’ll be the crabby mom that complains because I have a hard enough time with my kids using unkind or obnoxious words that I always consider it in a book before I’ll pass it along to my kids.

The rest of the book, however, is awfully likeable. Crabby Ereth is upset because his best friends have apparently forgotten his birthday. He wanders off to find himself a gift and it leads him to foster parenthood, danger, and worst of all, deep feelings. He shows his true colors by consistently choosing decency and kindness when it would be easier to turn a blind eye to those in need, and all his bluster and crabbiness is just to cover up how he really feels about the fox kits and his other friends. His friends see thru his gruff exterior, and they show their love and devotion to him, much to his own surprise. ( )

Avi mixes the anthropomorphic bits with the realistic bits very well in this book. It's a nice change from "Ragweed" in that way. There are some parts which are actually quite funny, and others which are sad. And, as is usual with Avi, there is some gooey sentiment and awkward phrasing. Oh, well. I was prompted to look up all sorts of interesting facts about porcupines, fishers, and now foxes as a result of reading this book. ( )

A little simple at first, got more interesting further on. Very quick read. ( )