Summarizer

Your job is to provide a brief summary of the events that occurred in this section. You should highlight any new characters mentioned, major action, and changes of scenery. Your will share your summary with your personal literature circle group, and with the rest of your classmates.

Ragweed

Section 1 p. 1-20

As the book opens, we find Ragweed saying farewell to his beloved family. His father’s name is Valerian, his mother’s name is Clover, his younger brother is named Rye, and his favorite younger sister is named Thistle. Ragweed has decided that he wants to leave his family home in order to venture out into the world and see the variety of things that it has to offer. Upon departing from the Brook and his family members, Ragweed begins his journey. As Ragweed is traveling along, he begins to look for some hazelnuts to eat. While he is eating his meal, an older vole stumbles right into him. After brief introductions are exchanged, Ragweed decided that he will ask the vole where the two forks in the path will take a traveler. The vole explains that the one that heads East leads to a place known as Dimwood Forrest, and the one that heads South leads to the railway. Since Ragweed is interested in excitement, he continues to question the vole about the railway and the path the leads south. The vole continues the conversation by telling Ragweed about railways, human nests, and cities. After hearing some brief information about where the railway will take him, Ragweed decides to take the path that leads south and will take him into the city.

From here, the story shifts to introduce a new character, Silversides. Silversides is a very self-absorbed feline who created an organization called Felines Enraged About Rodents (F.E.A.R.). This organization is committed to keeping felines on the top, humans in the middle, and rodents on the bottom. To say the least, Silversides despises mice. She even slaps one of her grandkitties when she finds him playing with a mouse. The end of this chapter brings Silversides and her companion, Graybar, to the railway station to watch for and terrify and mouse that might attempt to exit the train in Amperville. The next chapter is sure to be a scare sense Ragweed is on the very train that Silversides and Graybar are awaiting.