That Pesky Rat

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A funny, touching picture book from Children's Laureate, and Charlie and Lola creator, Lauren Child.

Rat lives in dustbin Number 3, Grubby Alley. At night, when he's tucked up in his crisp packet, Rat looks up at all the cosy windows and wonders what it would be like to belong to somebody. To be an actual pet. To have a home of his own . . .

Gently exploring themes of homelessness and poverty, this is the perfect way to talk about this often tricky subject with young children and encourage them to empathise with others.

At least 10% of the purchase price of every copy of That Pesky Rat sold will be donated to St Mungo's Broadway, a charity providing help, support and advice to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

'Clever, rewarding and hugely enjoyable' Guardian

'Another little masterpiece from Lauren Child' Mail on Sunday

Winner of the Nestle Children's Book Prize Gold Award

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

In this uplifting tale, a needle-nosed rodent yearns "to belong to somebody. To be a real pet. Most of all I would like to have a name, instead of just that pesky rat." The trash-can resident envies his apartment-dwelling buddies, like the chinchilla who grouses, "It's not all cushions and chocolates," and the Scottish terrier who doesn't like to wear a plaid coat: "It's kind of embarrassing when we go shopping." Undeterred by his friends' compromises, the rat posts a flyer ("looking for kindly owner with an interest in cheese") and hangs around a pet store, until a man with poor eyesight mistakes him for a cat and adopts him. Child (Beware of the Storybook Wolves) sketches her characters in a thick, loose black line, then uses these drawings in high-voltage photo-collages. Her crazy-quilt compositions, which include cutout pictures of furniture and bathroom tiles, patterned fabric and wood-grain wallpaper, suggest a skewed world where a city rat might endear himself to an eccentric fellow; it also helps that the sympathetic title character speaks in the first person. Instead of highlighting the rat's sneakiness, the redemptive ending conveys his devotion: "So what if I have to wear a sweater? Mr. Fortesque says, `Well, Tiddles, who's a pretty kittycat?' And I squeak, `I am!' " Ages 4-8. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

School Library Journal Review

K-Gr 3-He doesn't have a home or an owner, and, most of all, he doesn't have a name-and that pesky brown rat wants all three. He wants "to live with creature comforts. To belong to somebody. To be a real pet." In this hilarious paean to dreaming big (and learning to compromise), the rodent looks at Pierre the chinchilla, who belongs to Madame Fifi; Nibbles the rabbit, who works in a circus; and Andrew the Scottie dog, who lives with Miss St. Clair. All seem to have ideal lives, although Pierre endures a shampoo once a week; Nibbles walks the high wire, and maybe that's a little too nerve-racking; and Andrew has to wear a little hat and coat when he goes shopping with his owner. When nearsighted Mr. Fortesque misreads the rat's handwritten notice in a pet store ("Brown rat looking for kindly owner with an interest in cheese"), the critter is in luck. "My, what a pointy nose you have, and, goodness me, what a long tail, and such unusual beady eyes.-I've been looking for a brown cat as nice as this one for ages," says the Magoolike man. There, on the last page of this sprightly book, illustrated with goofy collages and bright, bold watercolor drawings, is the rat, happy at last, and dressed in a little sweater. And when Mr. Fortesque asks, "Well, Tiddles, who's a pretty kittycat?" he squeaks, happily, "I am!"-Dona Ratterree, New York City Public Schools (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

K-Gr. 3. People call him "that pesky rat." He lives alone in trash can number 3, in Grubby Alley. And sometimes at night he lies awake, wondering what it would be like to belong to somebody, to be a pet, to enjoy creature comforts, and most of all, to have a name, instead of being just that pesky rat. To be like his friends, such as Pierre the chinchilla, who lives in the lap of luxury with Madame Fifi; or Nibbles, the lop-eared rabbit, who works in a circus with Mr. Hoopla. That would be the life. Or would it? After all, there are those baths to consider and the clothes one might have to wear. Oh, what's a rat to do? The answer that British author-illustrator Child comes up with is eminently satisfying for all concerned, including the reader. The cleverly conceived and executed story is greatly enhanced by the wacky collage pictures. They are great fun to look at, and they are also surprisingly effective at creating character and atmosphere. The eccentric placement and arrangement of text occasionally make it a bit difficult to read, but more often this simply adds to the carnival atmosphere of a very funny story that kids will want to read again and again. --Michael Cart

Horn Book Review

In this amusing tale, a lonely city rat living in a garbage can is envious of the pampered-pet lifestyle of those who belong to humans, so he places an ad and is adopted by a poor-sighted, elderly man, who thinks he's acquired a cat. The final energetic, mixed-media illustration shows the rat happily willing to pay the price of companionship: So what if I have to wear a little sweater? From HORN BOOK Spring 2003, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Book Review

A winsomely beady-eyed rat yearns for a loving home in this rather odd feel-good offering. Living in "trash can number 3, Grubby Alley" isn't great at the best of times, but it's made even worse by the occasional emptying of his "belongings into a big truck." He lies awake wondering what it would be like to be a pet, explaining that "[m]ost of all I would like to have a name, instead of just that pesky rat." After imagining himself in the places of various friends who do have homes and weighing the pros and cons (Pierre the chinchilla, for instance, lives the high life in a plush apartment, but he also is subjected to weekly baths), the rat puts an ad for an owner in the window of a pet shop-with unexpected results. The typeface performs such wildly acrobatic feats across the page that it is occasionally difficult to find, let alone read, but by and large its expansions and contractions help in creating the rat's distinctive voice. Child's (What Planet Are You From, Clarice Bean, p. 177, etc.) mixed-media illustrations are as energetic as ever-the far-from-warm-and-fuzzy rat himself is outlined in black with an appropriately pointy snout, and his fur is rendered with photographic collages of real "fur"-but there's a certain tameness to the story. Readers may find themselves wondering if they want this delightfully spiky antihero to become just another house pet, but there is an undeniable appeal to his quest, and a twist at the end saves it from the treacle jar. (Picture book. 5-8)