Not So Rotten Ralph (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) [School & Library Binding]

Jack Gantos (Author), Nicole Rubel (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1997 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. Sarah's mischievous cat, Rotten Ralph, is sent to feline finishing school, but Sarah finds she liked him better the way he was.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Can Mr. Fred's Feline Finishing School really expunge every trace of Ralph's unrepentant rottenness? For a few heart-stopping moments it seems so: although Ralph steadfastly resists the school's more conventional blandishments, he slips into a docile trance when Mr. Fred swings a watch back and forth before his eyes. His owner, Sarah, appalled by his impeccable but utterly bland demeanor, soon finds herself doing the unthinkable: luring Ralph into devilment by any means at hand. Depicting an inspired contest of wills between the normally notorious Ralph and his newly naughty taskmaster, this effort brims with Gantos and Rubel's characteristically and irresistibly funny details: Mr. Fred's "golden rules" prohibit meowing, hissing, burping and fun (Ralph makes a paper airplane of his copy); the pupils are admonished to keep their paws to themselves in a "self-control room" filled with enticingly fragile objects. Rubel's electrically colored, eccentrically patterned illustrations are as exuberant as ever: particularly rousing is Ralph's spiral-eyed, hypnotically vacant gaze. A cavil: there are a few errors in punctuation and diction (Sarah "awards" Ralph with a party). Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2-Rotten Ralph is such a mean cat that his young mistress tires of his mischievous ways and sends him to Mr. Fred's Feline Finishing School. There, he remains rotten until he is put in the "final finishing room," where Mr. Fred hypnotizes the students so that they believe they are good. Sarah takes Ralph home and rewards him with a celebration; when he responds by falling asleep, she tries to restore him to his former self. She eats a goldfish, climbs the curtains, and more until Ralph remembers "how good it felt to be rotten." Each full-page picture balances a page of text. The cartoon illustrations, with bold colors and graphic designs, are filled with small details that children will love. The text is comprised of simple, declarative sentences and lacks the humor of the pictures. Ralph's transformation is unconvincingly accomplished, but Sarah's change of heart is even less so. At the beginning she is frustrated by Ralph's behavior-her expressions register open-mouthed, wide-eyed shock. Her pet does not seem to endear himself to her in any way. Readers may well be perplexed when she sighs, "'I'm glad my Rotten Ralph is back.'" This is likely to appeal only to fans of the previous books.
Cynthia K. Richey, Mt. Lebanon Public Library, Pittsburgh, PA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• School & Library Binding: 32 pages
• Publisher: Turtleback (May 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0613029887
• ISBN-13: 978-0613029889
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 8.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,392,271 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jack Gantos has written novels for adults, young adults, and middle grade readers, as well as over twenty books for primary readers, including twelve titles chronicling the misadventures of Rotten Ralph. He lives in Santa Fe, NM.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great Rotten Ralph story!, May 27, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Not So Rotten Ralph (Paperback)

"Not so Rotten Ralph" is one of my favorite books of the series. My five year old brother laughs and laughs each time we read it! The illustrator again adds to the plot with cleaver details - tell your child to pay close attention to the pictures!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another in a Long Line of Rotten Ralph Laugh Fests, November 11, 2006

By 

M. Allen Greenbaum (California) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Not So Rotten Ralph Book & Cassette (Paperback)

Let's get to the offending line right away:

"When they got home, Sarah awarded Ralph with a celebration."

That's it. "Awarded," not "rewarded." If that's proof of our declining educational system and cannot be tolerated, skip the book. If you do, however, you'll be missing one of the funniest of the Rotten Ralph books, with a great story line by Jack Gantos, and elaborate, very creative pictures by the ultra-talented Nicole Rubel, one of my favorite illustrators. Before I get into the specifics, I offer the following teacher- and parent-friendly suggestions for "dealing" with the whole award/reward controversy.

1. Teach the difference between "award" and "reward."

2. Ask about other commonly confused words.

3. Have your students write a story with a "hidden" mistake; ask others to find it!

4. (Older students) Talk about the book publishing industry, and how and why this diction mistake might have happened.

5. Ignore it, because young kids won't notice it, and if they do, their teachers will teach them proper usage later.

6. Explain that cats do not know the word "reward," instead, they always use "award."

Rotten Ralph is a mischievous, fun-loving cat, but he's also willful, a bad listener, and a little on the destructive side. We're not talking felonious feline, just pranks like spraying whipped cream all over the kitchen, spraying the postman with water so that "the mail flew all over" (OK, that MIGHT be a federal crime), and flapping flapjacks and batter all over the kitchen. Sarah, his owner, decides that "Mr. Fred's Feline Finishing School" might teach Ralph a few social niceties. Ralph reluctantly agrees; there's a very funny picture of Fred dragging Ralph into the school while Ralph digs his claw into the floor trying to stay out. While in school, Ralph flouts all the social conventions that Fred (another cat, with wounds from former students) teaches: Contrary to Mr. Fred's direct instructions, he burps loudly and touches and breaks some of the many whimsical objets d'art that Rubel places in the "SELF-CONTROL ROOM."

Finally, in a move that much older students might discuss in terms of HIPAA regulations (see, this is an educational book, even WITH the wrong word!), Fred hypnotizes Ralph into being a good cat. It works too well: When Sarah rewards/awards Ralph with a graduation party, he just falls asleep, instead of being his usual "life of the party" self. In a clever role reversal, certain to get big laughs from your audience, Sarah tries to teach him some of his old tricks. "She chased a mouse. She climbed the curtains. She even ate a goldfish.... She lifted him on the chandelier and gave him a push." Swinging on the fixture (for clinical graduate students: Does this induce a counter-hypnotic state?), Ralph finally realizes how good being rotten feels. He sticks out his tongue at Sarah, and gives a rotten growl. Sarah is delighted to have her Rotten Ralph back, and gives him a big hug. Ralph's glad too, "as he ripped up his diploma."

Perhaps some people really object to this "be yourself, even if it's not socially acceptable" message. However, this is Rotten Ralph, a CAT, and a symbol of those impulses that kids frequently feel, and sometimes act on. WIth Rotten Ralph, they can enjoy these impulses vicariously, acknowledge them in a cozy setting with a safe, limit-setting adult, and enjoy the clever story twists, and colorful, ornate stylings of Ms. Rubel. I predict you and your toddler to young elementary school audience will be awarded with a very positive experience!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Rotten Book, June 3, 2001

By 

Megan Cooke (Baltimore, MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Not So Rotten Ralph (Paperback)

This book would be endurable without the text. The low point is on page 24 when "Sarah awarded Ralph with a celebration." The text should read, of course, Sarah rewarded Ralph with a celebration. This glaring error should have been caught by a reasonably capable editor, so perhaps this book was published without being proofread...or perhaps it was published without having been read at all. Sloppy grammar and uninspired story-construction are all too common in fiction, especially children's books, and this insipid story is an egregious example of irresponsible book publishing.