Elaine Dimopoulos

This review was written collaboratively by an 8-year-old and 10-year-old:

Amazing Alliterations always abound at Milkweed Meadow!

I liked this book. In my opinion, it was more epic than The Remarkable Rescue at Milkweed Meadow, which is the book that came before in the Milkweed Meadow series. When the traveling turkey acting group comes to Milkweed Meadow everyone wants to act. Butternut was really excited about the play but when she was not selected for the play, she was disappointed. The reason she was disappointed was because all of the other bunnies had been selected.

She was worried that nobody would want to listen to her stories because the play was so interesting, so she acted selfishly. This is the story of how she overcame the challenges. I like this book because most of the reason it is epic is the emotional connection to the main character. I felt nervous when I was reading the book because I was worried Butternut was going to get in a lot of trouble. Sometimes she messed things up but the way the author wrote about her made me care about her, so when things got messed up I really wanted her to fix things.

I liked that it taught to not judge a creature by what they are, but instead by what they do. There were many examples of this in the story, including possible predators, like a hawk. I thought that it was interesting that Butternut isn’t perfect. She makes bad choices, but in the end she does the best that she can to help the creatures of Milkweed Meadow.

My favorite character is Goosegrass, because she is funny, supportive, and I like her name. An example of Goosegrass being supportive was when she made sure that everyone was listening to Butternut’s story. I recommend this book to everyone 7-12 years old.… (más)

First sentence: Everyone in Milkweed Meadow still talks about the rescue, and if you stop hopping around like a kit that's found a banana slice, I'll tell you the story. Mother encourages strong beginnings. "Snare them!" she says. It's a joke--we rabbits are terrified of snares, me more than most. But I suppose that's what a good story does. It digs into your skin like a silver wire and holds you in its grasp.

Premise/plot: Butternut, a timid, anxious rabbit, befriends Piper, a robin, and Winsome, a fawn. These three unlikely friends enjoy life to the fullest...but when they come across abandoned coyote pups, this friendship is threatened. Can these three friends help the little ones knowing that when they grow up, they will be prey?

My thoughts: My summary was unfair. Butternut is a WONDERFUL, AMAZING storyteller. She has a way with words. She knows how to HOOK or snare readers. She kept me turning pages. I, well, I went straight to the point. Something Butternut wouldn't approve. I loved this one so much. The writing was incredible. I loved each character's voice. I really felt there was substance and depth to this story. It was a compelling read. It has its intense moments. But it was lovely and delightful.

Quote:

Now that this tale is well underway, you’re probably thinking that it’s going to be about my friendship with Piper. We meet on the lawn. He reports on his morning aerial excursions, I tell dinner stories, and around and around we go.
Mother would call that a boring second act.
Fortunately that’s not what’s coming next. Yes, the story is about Piper and the part we both played in the rescue. But our friendship includes someone else too. This means there’s another character for you to meet. And characters are like bananas: if they’re good, you can never have too many. I like to think that new characters represent new perspectives—and that their flaws remind us of our own.… (más)