Ereth agrees to protect Poppy from Ocax in exchange for the salt lick at New House that he can't obtain on his own. In Dimwood Forest, Poppy stumbles upon Ereth, a porcupine. His refusal makes Poppy curious, so she decides to travel to New House herself to investigate. However, Ocax refuses to give the family permission to move to the area, citing Poppy and Ragweed's refusal to ask his permission to go to Bannock Hill. When Poppy returns to Gray House, she learns that the family must relocate to New House, where the food is more abundant. Ocax, a great horned owl who acts as a tyrannical ruler over the family, attacks them and kills Ragweed. Poppy, a young deer mouse, dances with her boyfriend Ragweed, a golden mouse, on Bannock Hill. In the Dimwood region, a large family of mice inhabit an abandoned farmhouse called Gray House. Both the book and the mouse were originally named Pip, but after discovering that another children's book existed about a mouse named Pip, he decided to rename the book and the character to Poppy. Ocax planned to eat, and the mouse eventually became the primary focus of the book. While developing the story, however, Avi's interest shifted towards the mouse that Mr. Avi found the book 'fascinating' and decided to write his own novel about an owl named Mr. At a university bookstore, he found a book written by a naturalist, who described his experience rescuing a baby owlet and nurturing it back to health and into the wild.

In 1996, Poppy received the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for fiction.Īvi conceived the idea for Poppy while living in Corvallis, Oregon, when his wife was a visiting professor at Oregon State University. The complete series is composed of Ragweed, Ragweed and Poppy, Poppy, Poppy and Rye, Ereth's Birthday, Poppy's Return, and Poppy and Ereth. Within the narrative sequence of the series, it is the third book. Poppy is the first-published of Avi's Tales From Dimwood Forest series. The novel was first published by Orchard Books in 1995.

Poppy is a children's novel written by Avi and illustrated by Brian Floca.

Ragweed and poppy