I Was a Rat!
by Philip Pullman, Kevin Hawkes

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Book Summary Information

• ISBN13: 9780440416616
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

Book Reviews of I Was a Rat!

Book Review: News Headline: I Was A Rat Is Great!
Summary: 5 Stars

This boy thinks that he was a rat who turned into a boy; but Bob and Joan think that he is a normal boy that is a little ratty in his habits.

Bob names this little boy Roger and soon after, Bob and Joan find that Roger chews whatever he can find, he rips apart his bed sheets with his mouth and eats pencils. Whenever he sees the story in the newspaper about Princess Aurelia, he says that she is his sister. When Roger, a very mischievous boy gets sent to school for the first time, he gets into a lot of trouble. At first nobody believes his story. That starts to change when he is taken in Mr. Tapscrew, a person who makes Roger into a lucrative fairground rat-freak. After people find out that the famous rat-boy is just a boy in a suit, Roger escapes and meets a boy-thief, Billy, who thinks Roger is a next-generation thief and gets Roger into huge trouble. After this Roger escapes to the sewers.

During all this, Bob And Joan cannot find Roger, whom they think is lost.
Rumours start to grow about a monster surrounded by rats in the sewers. When The Daily Scourge, a scandal style newspaper struggling to find a new story other than "The Wedding of Princess Aurelia and Prince Richard" finds out about these rumours, they suddenly have a great Story-"MONSTER FOUND IN SEWERS!"

When this monster is captured, the daily scourge exaggerates everything that happens. They tell the government to "Kill the Pure Evil Monster" and they make everyone afraid of the rat-boy in the sewers. When Bob reads in the paper about the extermination of the monster, he and Joan do think that this "monster" is just the little boy, Roger, and they do everything they can to convince the public that this boy is not a monster.

This story is about the power of the press over the public, and how easily the public can be deceived. It also reminds us about how much the media can exaggerate and that not everything you hear or read is true.

This story is very touching, exciting and funny at the same time, if a bit hard to follow. This is a great book and you should read it.

Summary of I Was a Rat!

"Bless my soul!" said Bob. "Who are you?"
"I was a rat," said the little boy.

In time, the word spreads that there's a rat-boy in town, news that intrigues everyone from the Royal Philosopher to the P.T. Barnum-inspired freak-peddler Oliver Tapscrew to a reporter from the local rag The Daily Scourge. As the harmless, well-meaning boy is transformed into "The Monster of the Sewers" through pure sensationalism and mass hysteria, Philip Pullman playfully satirizes the power of the press and society at large.

What does it mean to be human? In this often darkly comic Dickensian tale, rats start to look pretty good by comparison. But in a fairy-tale ending, Bob and Joan teach us that humans, corrupt as we are, can always take solace in toasted cheese, love, and good craftsmanship. Kevin Hawkes's black-and-white illustrations enliven the already vivacious adventure that, thanks to Pullman's ever lovely wordplay and sly satire, is every bit as enjoyable for adults as it is for young readers. (Ages 9 to 12) --Karin Snelson

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