Ereth's Birthday

May 1, 2000
Avi's (Poppy; Poppy and Rye; Ragweed) Dimwood Forest tales continue with this story--equal parts humor and suspense--that puts a non-mouse character in the limelight for the first time. Convinced that his best friend Poppy and her family have overlooked his birthday, Ereth, a curmudgeonly porcupine, wanders off in search of his favorite treat--salt. What he finds instead is an adventure he hadn't counted on: surrogate parenthood. He promises a female fox dying in a hunter's trap that he will look after her three kits until their father returns. Keeping the trio fed and out of trouble proves a Herculean task, one that teaches Ereth much about the ties that bind even as it softens some of his rough edges. His steadfast if grumpy devotion is rewarded when the three save him from an attack by a cunning fisher (a furry, four-legged creature with a hankering for porcupines). Avi delivers another crackling good read, one shot through with memorable descriptions (snow "sleeved tree branches in white") and crisp, credible dialogue. Above all, showcasing Ereth allows the author free range with his cantankerous character's trademark asides ("Babies. Nothing but poop and puke, puke and poop") and outbursts ("Sour snake sauce on spaghetti!"), many of which will have readers chuckling. Ages 8-12.

Avi's engaging titles about the creatures of Dimwood Forest continue as Ereth the Porcupine sets out to find himself a birthday present. A ramble toward the human world leads to suspenseful adventure, from snowstorm to steel trap to fox's den. Little does he know he will find, not salt, but friendship. John McDonough is the perfect narrator for the gruff and prickly Ereth, who does not know how to be close to the kits he is tending. Each of Ereth's endearing and exasperating epithets is underscored by great bluster and a twinkle, I'm sure, in McDonough's eye. McDonough brings personality to the supporting characters--calculating Marty the Fisher; self-centered Bounder, the kits' father; and the bouncy Flip, Tumble, and Nimble. Listeners will be charmed. A.R. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine