User:Paulm27/Sandbox
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| Ragweed | |
 Ragweed |
|
| Author | Avi |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Brian Floca |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Fiction |
| Publisher | Harper Trophy |
| Publication date | 1999 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 178 pp |
| ISBN | 0-380-80167-1 |
Ragweed is a piece of fiction by Avi, a well known author of children's books. Ragweed, is a young country mouse with dark orange fur, round ears and a not very long tail, who leaves his family and sets his sights to travel to the big city, where he finds excitement and danger and sees other mice and cats.
Published in 1999, the book is an addition to the Tales From Dimwood Forest, a series of books which is set around various characters in or around Dimwood Forest.
[edit] Plot summary
Template:Spoiler The story starts in the Brook, Ragweed's home, where he is saying his goodbye's to his family as he is about to set off on a journey to nowhere in particular. His parents and family then watch as he goes off up a hill and into the distance. Ragweed continued until he encountered a fork in the road, where he was given advice by a vole to go east to Dimwood Forest, or south to a railway which leads to Amperville. Ragweed is excited and takes the more adventurous route to the city where he hops into an open boxcar and proceeds.
Silversides, a large, seven-year old cat with white fur is living her life in Amperville. The tag on her collar read "Amperville 30", which she wore with pride. Low numbers were admired by the Amperville cats. Silversides had started a group called Felines Enraged About Rodents, or simply F.E.A.R. This group (consisting of only one other cat, Greybar) was dedicated to keeping the mouse population minimal in Amperville, but the story is quite different as the mice of the city have their own area called "Mousetown" which is in a run down area of town. The group usually patrolled the railway area, scaring off mice who just arrive in town. She lived with a girl who had recently bought a new mouse named Blinker. Blinker had pure white fur and was bred for scientific purposes with no memories of his parents.
The train traveled through the night past small towns and woodland areas until it came to a stop at Amperville. Ragweed decided to get off at Amperville and proceed into the unknown. He was about to get off when he met face to face with Silversides, who continued and tried to scare him away. Ragweed panicked and jumped off the train and was chased by Silversides until he was saved and taken into a run-down car by another mouse. This mouse was named Clutch, a female mouse with grey fur except for the top of her head which was dyed green. She had a blunt nose with poorly groomed whiskers. Clutch talked with lots of slang that was unfamiliar to Ragweed. She also tells Ragweed about F.E.A.R., and that he has to watch out for cats who will want to kill him. Clutch speaks to Ragweed about the Cheese Squeeze Club, where all the mice hang out and where she and her band the Be-Flat Tires, play rock music.
Across town Silversides made a poor attempt to capture Blinker and consequently infuriated the girl. Silversides continued over to Greybars home (a sewer) where he tells her about the Cheese Squeeze Club and that they should reack havoc upon it. Back at the girl's home Blinker decided to to leave the girl's room and explore the outside world. Blinker was well educated and read the girl's books when she wasn't home so, he knew about about the outside world.
