编辑推荐:The gruff but good-hearted porcupine of Avi's Poppy tales gets an adventure of his own, along with plenty of opportunities to fulminate. Spouting lines like squirrel-splat soup and phooey and fried salamander spit with a side order of rat ribbon, Ereth stomps away from his musty log convinced that neighbor Poppy and her large family have forgotten his birthday. Back he comes a month later, having survived heavy snows, hunters' traps, a predatory fisher's attack, and a promise made to a dying fox to care for her three kits. Of course, he finds a delicious gift and a much-relieved troop of deer mice waiting. Avi makes Ereth's sometimes-hilarious efforts to mother the hyperactive young foxes both the story's centerpiece and a sharp commentary on absent fathers. The kits' errant but much-admired dad, appropriately named Bounder, checks in after a full week to boot Ereth out; too self-centered to care about anyone else, he abandons the kits again the next day. Though the tale is not free of conveniently overheard conversations and other contrivances, it generally moves along at a good clip, builds to a dramatic climax, comes to a joyful close, and features a lively mix of characters and moods. Like Eeyore (with a temper), Ereth will be a source of amusement for his dark moods and gloomy outlook.
Ereth, the curmudgeonly old porcupine who first appeared in Poppy (1995), is now a neighbor and dear friend of Poppy, Rye, and their family of 11 little deer mice. As the story begins, Ereth feels annoyed because everyone seems to have forgotten his birthday. He rambles through Dimwood Forest and finds a vixen caught in a trap and dying. Promising to look after her three little foxes, he finds that the job taxes his patience to the limit. Throughout the book, a fisher secretly stalks Ereth and, in the end, almost kills him. Young readers will feel satisfaction when goodness is rewarded and justice prevails. Avi does a fine job of presenting the animals' varied points of view, from the thoughtless young foxes to their arrogant father to the prickly but good-hearted porcupine. Ereth, however, may prove to be a difficult hero for young readers to warm up to. His colorful speech is riddled with original and creative curses, such as "Pulsating puppy pimples" and "toe jam on a toothbrush," but the humorous effect tends to wear thin after a little while. Still, a must-read for fans of the series.
内容简介:Erethizon Dorsatum—better known as Ereth, the self-centered, foul-tempered old porcupine—is having a birthday. And he fully expects his best friend Poppy, a deer mouse, to help him celebrate in a grand manner. But Poppy has gone off somewhere with her husband, Rye, and it appears she has forgotten all about it. "Belching Beavers," says Ereth, "I am not angry!" (Though, perhaps he is—and more than just a little.)
Ereth knows his special occasion deserves a special treat—even if he has to get it for himself. And what treat could be more special than tasty salt? But the nearest salt is located deep in the forest, in a cabin occupied by fur hunters, who have set out traps to capture the Dimwood Forest animals. In one of the traps, Ereth finds Leaper the Fox—who, with her dying breath, begs the prickly porcupine to take care of her three boisterous young kits, Tumble, Nimble, and Flip. "Jellied walrus warts!" Ereth exclaims, but reluctantly agrees.
Certainly this day is not going as he planned—and it's only just the beginning! Not only does Ereth suddenly have a rambunctious new family to take care of, but he's being stalked by Marty the Fisher, the one creature in Dimwood Forest who can do him harm. And Bounder, the father of the three little foxes, remembers all too well the nose full of quills he got a while back from the grumpy old animal who now fancies himself the leader of the den. He too sets out to show Ereth who's boss. Throw in an unexpected snowstorm, and all in all, it adds up to one brithday Ereth the porcupine is never going to forget, not even if he lives to be a hundred and twenty-two!
作者简介:Avi is the author of more than sixty books, including Crispin: The Cross of Lead, a Newbery Medal winner, and Crispin: At the Edge of the World. His other acclaimed titles include The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and Nothing But the Truth, both Newbery Honor Books, and most recently The Seer of Shadows. He lives with his family in Colorado.
Ereth, the curmudgeonly old porcupine who first appeared in Poppy (1995), is now a neighbor and dear friend of Poppy, Rye, and their family of 11 little deer mice. As the story begins, Ereth feels annoyed because everyone seems to have forgotten his birthday. He rambles through Dimwood Forest and finds a vixen caught in a trap and dying. Promising to look after her three little foxes, he finds that the job taxes his patience to the limit. Throughout the book, a fisher secretly stalks Ereth and, in the end, almost kills him. Young readers will feel satisfaction when goodness is rewarded and justice prevails. Avi does a fine job of presenting the animals' varied points of view, from the thoughtless young foxes to their arrogant father to the prickly but good-hearted porcupine. Ereth, however, may prove to be a difficult hero for young readers to warm up to. His colorful speech is riddled with original and creative curses, such as "Pulsating puppy pimples" and "toe jam on a toothbrush," but the humorous effect tends to wear thin after a little while. Still, a must-read for fans of the series.
Ereth knows his special occasion deserves a special treat—even if he has to get it for himself. And what treat could be more special than tasty salt? But the nearest salt is located deep in the forest, in a cabin occupied by fur hunters, who have set out traps to capture the Dimwood Forest animals. In one of the traps, Ereth finds Leaper the Fox—who, with her dying breath, begs the prickly porcupine to take care of her three boisterous young kits, Tumble, Nimble, and Flip. "Jellied walrus warts!" Ereth exclaims, but reluctantly agrees.
Certainly this day is not going as he planned—and it's only just the beginning! Not only does Ereth suddenly have a rambunctious new family to take care of, but he's being stalked by Marty the Fisher, the one creature in Dimwood Forest who can do him harm. And Bounder, the father of the three little foxes, remembers all too well the nose full of quills he got a while back from the grumpy old animal who now fancies himself the leader of the den. He too sets out to show Ereth who's boss. Throw in an unexpected snowstorm, and all in all, it adds up to one brithday Ereth the porcupine is never going to forget, not even if he lives to be a hundred and twenty-two!