Or Be Eaten follows the continuing adventures and misadventures of the Igiby family and their disturbed ally Peet the Sock Man as they flee towards the Northern Ice Prairies after their town is destroyed at the end of the previous book.

In the process the family is separated, and each member undergoes many trials before they are reunited.

The paperback includes two maps, several illustrations, and appendices, including a poem and a passage from "The First Book," both fictional works referenced in the text.

As in the first book in the series, the author expands the readers' knowledge of the world through the use of humorous footnotes.

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