Together the mice transform an abandoned bookstore into a cool new club, the Cafe Independent, and plan a blowout-and cat-free-opening night. In so doing, Ragweed learns to trust himself and take charge of his destiny. Avi elaborates on the 'city mouse, country mouse theme in this rousing prequel to Poppy, starring Poppys ill-fated beau. Through these friends, he discovers a world where courage and loyalty are the keys to survival. Purchase: IndieBound Amazon Barnes & Noble Ages 8 to 12. Ragweed befriends hipster band members Clutch, Dipstick and Lugnut as well as Blinker, a timid and vulnerable pet-store mouse. Medal-winning author Avi, with illustrations from Caldecott Medal-winning artist Brian Floca. Silversides and club vice president Graybar, stalks her prey relentlessly. Founder and president of F.E.A.R.(Felines Enraged About Rodents), an organization dedicated to keeping cats on top, people in the middle, and mice on the bottom. Silversides, for instance, is an urbane specimen in a pink polyvinyl collar studded with diamond-like sequins. So he says goodbye to his family and friends in the Woodlands and, following the advice. Long before Ragweed finds his way to Dimwood Forest and to Poppy, he leaves his family and serene country home behind and sets off by train for the big city, a place fraught with cars, buses, music, pleasure, excitement, attitude and danger-chiefly in the form of cats! Ragweed the mouse is four months old and anxious to see the world.

A prequel to Avi's award-winning Poppy, this is the story of Ragweed, the mouse Poppy loved and lost.

Ragweed by Avi