Poppy

I usually love owls, they are majestic and brave and wise.....I can't really say the same for the antagonist in this lovely tale. Mr. Ocax is a great-horned owl that I can't really say I like. He is a marvelous antagonist. Not my favorite, but still one of the best I've encountered in my many years of reading.

Poppy is a very brave heroine. She is small, scared and mistaught all her life. She loves deeply and grieves extensively for her boyfriend Ragweed who was sadly eaten by Mr. Ocax on the night he proposed to Poppy...he was actually about to receive her answer when he became Mr. Ocax's next meal. Because she and Ragweed broke some stupid rules laid down by Mr. Ocax, her family is denied permission to move into a second dwelling show more outside of Mr. Ocax's domain.

Mr. Ocax calls himself the king of Dimwood Forest. All the mice believe this statement to be true. Ragweed never believed it for a moment, and now Poppy doesn't either. She believes there is another reason for Mr. Ocax's refusal towards her father's request for their family to move. In order to discover what it is, Poppy leaves her family to go see New House. Her adventure takes her to the other side of the forest and across a bridge to a more recent dwelling place of humans. What did she find there? Well, if I said.....where would the adventure be in that?

An adventure of Epic proportions (especially for a deer mouse), Poppy will leave you with a new perspective on the potential for courage,hope and love. A must read. Beautiful descriptions in the forest and ongoing excitement, Poppy does not disappoint. =) show less

As ruler of Dimwood Forest, Ocax the hoot owl has promised to protect the mice occupying an abandoned farmhouse as long as they ask permission before "moving about." Poppy, a timid dormouse, is a loyal, obedient subject-until she sees Ocax devour her fiance and hears the owl deny her father's request to seek new living quarters. To prove that the intimidating ruler is really a phony, Poppy embarks on a dangerous and eye-opening quest, which ends with her one-on-one battle with Ocax. While the themes about tyranny and heroism are timeless, Avi leavens his treatment with such 20th-century touches as Poppy's jive-talking boyfriend and Poppy's own romantic vision of herself as Ginger Rogers.

Poppy knew she was taking a risk following her beloved Ragweed to Bannock Hill, but a night of dancing with the handsome golden mouse was just too tempting. So when Ragweed is scooped up by the sinister owl, Mr. Ocax, who rules over Dimwood forest, she's devastated. Her whole life she was warned of Mr. Ocax's evil ways...how could she have been so foolish to put herself and Ragweed at risk?

To make matters worse, when Poppy attempts to move with her family to a different part of the woods where the food supply is richer, Mr. Ocax refuses to let them go. Despite what she's been led to believe for years, Mr. Ocax is not as strong as he wants the mice to think he is. Armed with the bravery, gumption, and wit of a hero, Poppy embarks on a show more dangerous quest--joined by the irascible but lovable porcupine, Ereth--to defeat Mr. Ocax and lead her family to a better home. show less

There's something to be said about a book with a porcupine, which is amazing in itself.

There's also something to be said about a book full of murder. Yes, you read that right. Complete with pulling a boyfriend's earring from the remains. What a ride!

While the ending is abrupt, the book reads pretty dang good. Wouldn't say it's for young kids, however.

Another from the Battle of the Books that sounded good.

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It's the story of a brave little mouse's adventures outwitting the local owl despot.

Does anyone know why so many authors tell children's stories with critters instead of people? It's a cuddly-looking trap. At one extreme you have the full-on fantasy of [b:Winnie-the-Pooh|99107|Winnie-the-Pooh|A.A. Milne|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1298440130s/99107.jpg|1225592] which includes stuffed animals talking and eating and living in their own little houses and it makes no sense but it doesn't have to because everyone recognizes that there is no reality at work (I'm more fond of this sort). At the other extreme you have [b:Charlotte's Web|24178|Charlotte's Web|E.B. show more White|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1347446919s/24178.jpg|987048] where, for the most part the animals behave like animals, although they enjoy the convenience of inter-species communication which works with everything except humans, but here is where the truth about short, nasty, and brutish comes in. These stories mostly don't work for me as an adult reader because I know that sooner or later that charming pig is going to be delicious bacon. The writer of talking-animal stories is trapped by the reality of animal lives and the utter lack of internal logic. Case in point: why would any critter that sleeps curled up in a ball with its nose under its tail bother to make itself a pillow? A bed, sure, why not? That's just a soft place to sleep. But a pillow exists to support a head that is out of alignment with the shoulders due to those silly collar bones.

Okay, sorry. This book has a clever owl subjugating a large family of mice to its will, keeping them handy for snacks. Our plucky little heroine's life is thrown off when her fiancee is devoured by the owl who then denies the family's request to relocate some of its number. The other mice are vexed with her for angering their owl, so she starts to ask why the owl denied their request, and then she journeys out into the world to learn the truth. She joins forces with a salt-loving porcupine, and learns important information from a cat too old to bother pouncing. The owl is defeated, the mice are freed, and the acquire a cornfield to pillage. The author skillfully avoids commenting on the winter months in which the mouse-traps and/or a more aggressive cat will no doubt make an appearance.

As an adventure story goes, I rather liked it. The swashbuckling battle between mouse and owl was exciting, and I liked that Poppy did sometimes stop to think things through. I'd have enjoyed it more, though, if I could maintain my suspension of disbelief, which is harder for me to do when the critters have pillows.

Give it this: unlike the last Battle of the Books title I read, the writing style itself is clear and unobtrusive, the action is clear and thrilling, and the mystery is actually solved by thinking and testing. If I could actually take away a star from that book and give it to this one, I would.

Library copy. show less

Poppy is a likeable mouse, and her changing perception of the manipulative owl Mr. Ocax makes for an interesting story. Ereth the porcupine is excellent: his love of salt, his grumpiness, the whole deal.

The 7-year-old and I both found Poppy engaging. I kept feeling like there could be ... more ... somehow, but I don't have any particular complaints to lodge: perhaps it just felt a bit slight?

I thought about reading this one a year or so ago, and I'm glad I didn't: the death of Poppy's boyfriend at the very beginning (and some tense scenes when Poppy is in danger) would have really bothered him then, and ruined the book. So, for those of you with sensitive readers: there's some scary stuff in here.

Personal Response: I absolutely loved this novel! I thought it was richly detailed and was quite humorous throughout the book. It was easy to pick up and read and I actually read it in two days. I thought the illustrations were nicely done and I liked how realistic the drawings were. Poppy was an exciting character since she is independent and has the inner sense of justice.

Curricular Connections- The owl Onx was a negative bully throughout the novel. It would be great to use in upper elementary classes and would provoke good discussion on how and why he was a bully. The literary concept of personification can be addressed as well in that there are countless examples in how the animals acted like humans. There could also be a science show more connection with the how animals behave. What is the connection or relationship between owls and porcupines? show less