#90. Ereth's Birthday

Ereth's Birthday by Avi
Fourth in the Tales from Dimwood Forest


Pages: 196
Finished: Oct. 5, 2007
Reason for Reading: read aloud to my 7yo
First Published: 2000
Genre: children's animal fantasy
Rating: 5/5



First Sentence:

In Dimwood Forest, in the dark, smelly log where the old porcupine Erethizon Dorsatum lived, Ereth--as he preferred to call himself--woke slowly.

Comments: Ereth happens upon a mother fox caught in a trap who pleads with him to look after her kits. After she dies Ereth, much to his chagrin, accepts the task but unbeknownst to him he is being stalked by Marty the Fisher. This is top-notch animal fantasy, it doesn't get much better than this! The fourth in a series is just as incredible as the previous entries. This book can also be read independently from the series (or out of order) as it revolves around a different character than the others. The 7yo was captivated with this book, he couldn't wait each day for our reading and I was cajoled into reading 3 chapters a day instead of our usual two. We laughed, we cried, we highly recommend this book!