Poppy's Return (Tales from Dimwood Forest)

In this last book in the Poppy series by Avi, Poppy is called home by her sister Lilly to help her father avoid the destruction of Gray House. Poppy is reluctant to leave since she and her teenaged son Ragweed Jr. have grown apart especially since he started spending all his time with the skunk

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Mephitis and painting his fur black. Poppy decides to bring Jr. and Mephitis with her, and Uncle Ereth follows in secret. When they arrive at Gray House, Poppy is named her father’s successor but she has no intention of filling the role. Meanwhile, Ereth, Ragweed, and Mephitis accidently destroy Gray House before the humans have a chance to, but this ends up being a blessing in disguise. The story is disappointingly uneventful, instead focusing on the repair of Poppy’s relationships with her son and father which may not capture the interest of the intended age group. While the character development is excellent, this does not make up for the lack of plot or the hasty conclusion. Additional selection. Ages 8-11.

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A book in which Poppy's teenage son, Ragweed Jr., serves as a warning to us all. Ereth and others get into a funny situation. The Derrida deconstruction company would be more expected in a "Series of Unfortunate Events" novel, but is funny nonetheless. There is a rather interesting metaphor about

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families and forest paths.

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