The Mayor of Central Park

To look at Oscar Westerwit, you might think, Hey, just another New York City squirrel. Only thing is, you'd be wrong. . . . For Oscar, life is good in New York City in the year 1900. He's the Mayor of Central Park -- the greatest place on earth for the squirrels, chipmunks, mice, and other animals who live there. He's the manager of his baseball team, the Central Park Green Sox, and shortstop, too. What could be bad? Plenty, that's what! Big Daddy Duds, jewel thief, all-round thug, and leader of rats, is about to invade the park with five hundred of his closest friends. And when he does, the other animals who live there will be turned out of their homes. Everyone looks to the Mayor to save them, but he may not even be able to save himself from the invaders. The Mayor of Central Park is a rich and fragrant evocation of old New York, with a community of animals who are as lively as characters in a Damon Runyon story, brought to life in a blend of humor and heartbreak that is vintage Avi.

Avi's many award-winning books for young readers include the Newbery Honor Books Nothing but the Truth and the True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, as well as the Tales from Dimwood Forest, including Ragweed, Poppy (winner of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award), Poppy and Rye, and Ereth's Birthday. His many other books include Crispin, winner of the Newbery Medal, and Don't You Know There's a War on? Brian Floca is the illustrator of Avi's Tales from Dimwood Forest novels and is the author and illustrator of the picture books the Racecar Alphabet, Dinosaurs at the Ends of the Earth, and Five Trucks. A native of Texas, he lives in Brooklyn, New York