Ragweed

A mouse has to do what a mouse has to do. So the golden mouse, Ragweed, tells his mother as he sets off to see more of the world. Rather than the fork to Dimwood Forest, Ragweed heads to the train tracks and rides the rails to Amperville. Mice of all descriptions terrorized by F.E.A.R--Felines Enraged about Rodents--become Ragweed's new friends and soul mates. John McDonough's relaxed pace invites the listener to imagine the mouse world and to savor Avi's rich details. One hears the anguish of each decision Ragweed must make; the "like, dude" speak of Clutch and her fellow musicians; the dejection and vengeance of the cats, Silversides and Graybar; and the creative bustle as Cafe Independent comes to life. McDonough relishes each character of Avi's fast-paced, clever, and engrossing tale of cat and mouse. A.R. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine

May 3, 1999
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.