December Children's Book Reviews

Cinderella's Rat
by Susan Meddaugh
Hardcover, 32 pages
1997
Houghton Mifflin Co.
Boston
ISBN# 0-395-86833-5

This is the traditional Cinderella story with a twist that only the author of the Martha books could come up with! In this version, a brother and sister rat's lives are changed forever by the fairy godmother's magic. One becomes a coachman, the other escapes unscathed, but runs into a lot of trouble later when she follows her brother to the ball. "Life is full of surprises", so I don't want to ruin this book for you by giving away any more of the story. I'll just say that it's a great, rat-friendly retelling of the Cinderella story, which all rat-lovers, big and small, will enjoy. Plus the pictures, as you can see from the cover, are really fun!

Rosie's Birthday Rat
by Linda Glaser
Illustrated by Nancy Poydar
Softcover, 47 pages
1996
Bantam Doubleday Dell Inc.
1540 Broadway, New York, NY10036
ISBN# 0-385-32172-4

Please don't confuse this delightful story with The Story of Rosie's Rat, which is a terribly disappointing book. (I'll be doing a rat tat review on that one later.) This is the story of Rosie, who desperately wants a rat for her birthday. Mom has a hard time coming to terms with the idea of a rat for a gift, but since Rosie insists she doesn't want anything else, mom eventually gives in, making one little pet store feeder rat very lucky indeed! Rosie spends the rest of the story trying to get her mom to admit that rats are sweet, but it takes a near-tragedy to finally convince her of that.

This is a good beginning chapter book for kids who are just starting to read longer stories, but it's also fun for parents to read aloud. The pictures of Rosie and her rat Midnight are lovingly drawn and make this book a great choice for pretty much any rat person.

Mouse Around
by Pat Schories
Hardcover, 32 pages
1992
Farrar Straus Giroux
New York
ISBN# 0-374-35080-9

Okay, this book's not really about a rat, but if you have any imagination at all, you can ignore the title and pretend it's about a family of roof rats! This is a really intricate story without words, which will especially appeal to younger kids who aren't that comfortable reading yet. It follows the very complicated adventures of an adorable baby rodent, who is awakened by a drop of water and then leaves his or her drowsy mom and siblings to go exploring. The suspense and humor that follow will keep most children and parents riveted to this story. For a book without words, it's amazing how engaging it is. Treat yourself and pick up a copy for you, too!

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