Poppy

My next story is about a character who rules over others with fear and death. It is also about a character that will not let the norm go unchallenged. This story is about a mouse that lives in a house with many, many members of her family. These mice have been told by an owl, Mr. Ocax, that they are not to leave a certain area because he cannot assure the mice protection outside of this area. He warns them that there are porcupines out in the world that love to eat mice. If the mice do not listen to him and wind up being seen outside of the acceptable area without his permission, Mr. Ocax will try to eat them.

The story begins when Poppy is searching with her boyfriend, Ragweed, up on a hill outside of their territory. Mr. Ocax sees the two mice and swoops down for the kill. He manages to eat Ragweed, but only scares Poppy. When Poppy returns home, she is chastised by her father for going against the owl. Poppy has seen that there is a new house across from the house they are in now. She goes to ask Mr. Ocax for permission to go search the new house, but is denied. Poppy sets out on her own to find out what the new house is like. She just has to be careful not to be seen by the ever vigilant Ocax. On her way, she meets a porcupine who turns out to be a little bit different than she had been told about.

Poppy is an exciting story with great characters and suspense. It also blends in some humor when Ereth the porcupine is introduced. It is not a terribly long story, so it can be read quickly. The climax is very exciting, leaving the kids cheering. Avi wrote 5 stories that include this cast of characters. Poppy is the second in the series.