The bookworm says.......NO! This book was NOT good. Kathi Appelt did a good job on her book, but it was not my taste. An old hunting dog, Ranger, is held chained to an old man, Garfaces front porch. When a pregnant mama cat is dropped on the side of the highway and finds Ranger, its like love at first sight. When her kittens are born and named Puck and Sabine they are told "Stay in the Underneath" Puck ventures out and is captured, so his mama trys to follow and is captured also. They get drowned in the river but Puck escapes. He makes his home in a tree where the 1000 year old snake, Grandmother Moccasin, is waiting. You will hear of Pucks adventures through the forest and Rangers struggles to find him. Kathi Appelt uses a lot of personification and i thought it was too much. Also I thought it was quite gory to be killing off the main characters. If you are an animal lover, you should not read this book