Poppy (novel) facts for kids
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| Author | Avi |
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| Illustrator | Brian Floca |
| Series | The Tales Of Dimwood Forest |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Published | 1995 (Orchard Books) |
| Pages | 192 |
| ISBN | 0380727692 |
| Preceded by | Ragweed (prequel; 1999) |
| Followed by | Poppy and Rye (1997) |
Poppy is an exciting children's novel written by Avi and illustrated by Brian Floca. It was first published in 1995 by Orchard Books. This book is the first one published in Avi's Tales From Dimwood Forest series. However, in the story's timeline, it's actually the second book. The whole series includes Poppy, Poppy and Rye, Ragweed, Ereth's Birthday, Poppy's Return, and Poppy and Ereth. In 1996, Poppy won the famous Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for fiction.
How the Story Began
Avi got the idea for Poppy when he was living in Corvallis, Oregon. His wife was teaching at Oregon State University at the time. At a university bookstore, he found a book by a naturalist. This book described how the naturalist rescued a baby owl and helped it grow strong enough to return to the wild.
Avi found this story "fascinating." He first thought about writing his own book about an owl named Mr. Ocax. But as he worked on the story, he became more interested in the mouse that Mr. Ocax wanted to eat. This mouse eventually became the main character of the book. The book and the mouse were originally going to be named Pip. However, Avi found out there was already another children's book about a mouse named Pip. So, he decided to change the name of both the book and the character to Poppy.
The Adventure of Poppy
In the Dimwood region, a big family of mice lives in an old farmhouse called Gray House. Poppy, a young deer mouse, loves to dance with her boyfriend, Ragweed, a golden mouse. They often dance on Bannock Hill. But Mr. Ocax, a large great horned owl, rules over the mouse family like a strict boss. He tries to catch Poppy and Ragweed while they are dancing. Ocax only manages to scratch Poppy's nose, but he catches and eats Ragweed.
When Poppy returns to Gray House, she learns that her family needs to move. They want to go to New House, where there is more food. However, Mr. Ocax refuses to let the family move. He says it's because Poppy and Ragweed didn't ask his permission to go to Bannock Hill. His refusal makes Poppy very curious. She decides to travel to New House by herself to find out why Ocax is so against it.
In Dimwood Forest, Poppy meets Ereth, a porcupine. Mr. Ocax had told Poppy's family that porcupines eat mice. But Ereth is friendly and doesn't eat mice at all! Ereth agrees to protect Poppy from Ocax. In return, he wants Poppy to help him get to the salt lick at New House, which he can't reach on his own.
Ereth takes Poppy to the edge of New House. There, Poppy discovers that Ocax is actually afraid of a large fake owl statue. Poppy has one of Ereth's sharp quills. She confronts Ocax about the fake owl, but accidentally reveals that it's not real. Ocax then attacks Poppy. Poppy bravely fights back and stabs him with the quill. In a desperate attempt to get rid of the quill, Ocax crashes into the salt lick pole. This defeats him and causes the salt lick to fall to the ground. Ereth then gets his salt lick.
Poppy goes home to tell her family that they are now free from Ocax. They can finally move to New House. A few months later, Poppy meets and marries Rye, who is Ragweed's brother. They have eleven mouse children. Every night, they freely dance on Bannock Hill, which they now call their dance floor. This is also the place where Ragweed was taken.
