Ratzo [Hardcover]

Marty Crisp (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1998 | Age Level: 9 and up

Having rescued a group of abandoned greyhounds from a desert building, thirteen-year-old Josh plans to race one named Ratzo until he discovers the cruelty of the sport.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7-Josh Marks and his best friend, Bernie Stein, find and rescue a group of greyhounds, caged and left to die in the Arizona desert. Predictably, each boy is allowed to nurse one of the dogs back to health, and Josh picks Ratzo, known in the race world as Raj Ratoon Racer. His parents are reluctant to let him keep the dog permanently, and he hopes to gain support from his grandfather. Pap, a retired reference librarian, vows to find the culprits who abandoned the animals and wants Josh to help. There are no surprises when Pap solves the mystery, because only one suspect is introduced. Crisp uses the library setting to weave facts about greyhounds and racing into the story; an afterword gives readers even more information. However, some of the character traits are unbelievable. For example, Josh is anxious to race Ratzo again, even after seeing the miserable state of the abandoned animals. He changes his mind once he is actually at the racetrack, but later enters him in another race. Josh does mature, but the ordering of events takes away from his character development. The ending, in which Josh's parents let him keep Ratzo after Pap dies, is anticlimactic. There is some good writing here, but it needs more polish to make it shine.
Linda L. Plevak, Alamo Area Library System, San Antonio, TX
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Rising Moon (September 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0873587227
• ISBN-13: 978-0873587228
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,245,240 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful storytelling...and TRUTH, April 26, 2001

By 

Siren "Siren" (Palm Coast, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ratzo (Hardcover)

Personally, I have seen first hand the terrible ways these dogs are treated. To say this is a harmless sport is insane. It's great to have rescue groups for these animals and I support them, but think about it...If these racers love their dogs so much, why would they give them away immediatly after they can't race any longer? That is love? This book shows the truth to this "harmless sport". Dogs are forced to run and when they aren't running, they have to sit in cages that would only comfortably hold a dog the size of a small cocker spaniel. My daughter is 2, and I plan to read this book to her when she is older. Another book I recommend if you liked this is Plague Dogs, by Richard Adams (same writer of Watership Down). It deals with expermintation...but I hardly recommend this one for young kids. And I also recommend Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh (or the Secret of NIMH). Both deal with animals suffering for human's enjoyment/curiosity).

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sad book., November 19, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Mesa, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ratzo (Hardcover)

Ratzo is a book about greyhound racing. You see, it all started when Josh Marks was out with his friend Bernie in the desert. They were digging to try to find fossils for a school project. All they had found so far was a smallish skull, when the smell hit them. It smelled like a huge sewer, or a bunch of rotting dead bodies. The two friends walked over to the smell, and they found an unpainted cement building with no windows, a gray tin roof, and a small opening in the side. The stench was nearly overpowering now, and the flies were so thick that Josh hardly dared to breathe. Josh went inside the shack and brushed by something overhead. It was a light switch. He pulled it and the sight made him throw up.

Dogs. Greyhounds. Tons of them. All in cages marked in red, "For Shipment To Tijuana Mexico." The dogs set up a faint whine, but that was all. Their thin bodies looked so feeble that they were almost like skeletons. Dogs' droppings were everywhere. All their fur was covered in it. Even in the water bowls, there was a ton of the stinking brown stuff. Josh ran outside and told Bernie to get help.

This is where the story really begins. Bernie runs to get help, and many people come, including some animal rescue teams. They help all the living dogs, and they also try to find homes for them. Josh is starting to get attached to one dog called "Raj Ratoon Racer," otherwise known as Ratzo. Josh asks his parents if he could keep Ratzo. They hesitate, then say yes.

Ratzo was originally a racing dog. Josh knows this, so he decides to try to get him to race again. Through many trials and errors, Josh gets himself going to a real greyhound race. There he sees what greyhound racing is really like. Dogs running in the heat, "accidents" where greyhounds get killed, people who just want the money, dishonest money-takers, and much more.

Josh learns that greyhound racing is not what is seems. Arizona is one of the 15 states that have greyhound racing tracks. Greyhound racing can be very sad. If you want to learn more about it, subscribe to "Greyhound Network News," P.O. Box 44272, Phoenix Arizona 85064. This news is free.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I am five years old and I liked this book., December 15, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Ratzo (Paperback)

This is a good book to read because a dog is saved and becomes a pet to a boy named Josh. Josh is the boy who found the dog named Ratzo in a cage and did not look like he would live very much longer. Josh found out that the people who had Ratzo first raced him a lot but the dog didn't want to race anymore. Josh was good to the dog and helped him get better. I liked reading this book.