I Was a Rat! (Hardcover)

~ Philip Pullman (Author) "Old Bob and his wife, Joan, lived by the market in the house where his father and grandmother and great-grandfather had lived before him, cobblers..." (more)
Key Phrases: Philosopher Royal, Mary Jane, Chief Scientist (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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

When a grubby young pageboy knocks on the door of Bob the cobbler and Joan the washerwoman's house, the kindly couple hardly knows what to think. Could this delusional boy be the answer to their prayers for a little one of their own? And was he really once a rat? It seems so. He shreds his bedding, for example, and he chews his toast swiftly with his front teeth. He eats an entire pencil and bites his teacher. Despite the fact that he is a little ratty in his habits, the old couple grow quite fond of the young fellow.

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

From Publishers Weekly

The latest offering from Pullman (The Golden Compass; Count Karlstein) is a witty romp with fairy-tale roots. "I was a rat!" claims the boy in a tattered page's uniform who appears at the door of a kindly shoemaker and his washerwoman wife. Bob and Joan take in the boy, teach him table manners, name him Roger and do their best to provide for him. But this wouldn't be satire if the makeshift family were simply to live happily ever after--and so begins a series of misadventures in which Roger (wildly unworldly and more than a little "ratty in his habits") is kicked out of school, appears as an exhibit in a traveling freak show, falls in with a Dickensian band of young burglars and ends up imprisoned and condemned to death as the so-called "Monster of the Sewers." Providing a hilariously overblown (but ultimately chilling) commentary on the doings of Roger and others are excerpts from the Daily Scourge, an utterly shameless tabloid. The author brings about the de rigueur happy ending when Roger's life is spared, thanks both to Bob and Joan's steadfastness and the intervention of a certain newly wed princess, whose cameo appearance reveals the truth about Roger's origins (astute readers will pick up on the early clues). Pullman provides poignant insight into a well-known fairy tale and insinuates its implications for today's readers. Ages 8-10.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers; 1St Edition edition (February 22, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375801766
• ISBN-13: 978-0375801761
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,121,279 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Be careful what you wish for, it may come true!, March 8, 2000

By	Jane D. Fryman (Etna, New Hampshire) - See all my reviews

I just completed a one afternoon read of "I Was a Rat." Couldn't put it down. I had the same experience with the Harry Potter books.

Philip Pullman is a master of satire, adventure, and mystery. This sequel to Perrault's Cinderella story is as much an adult book as an intermediate grade-school book as listed. Some call it Dickensian because of the many twisted misadventures the amnesiac hero experience as he stumbles through the streets of English society. It's fun to gradually recognize the familiar "Cinderella" story unravel as the answer to the puzzle of rat-boy's origin. After the Princess solves the mystery, confesses her doubts about her life with the Prince, and proves to be kind to those in need, I saw a similarity to the life of Princess Diana. See if you feel the same.

A moral lesson or two or three can be explored and embraced if your experiences and psycho/social needs warrant them. Can we believe what we see and hear? Should we trust our

own perceptions or those of the press and politicians? Is inclusion a safe policy? Shouldn't those 'out of the norm' be put away for the safety of all? What about old habits and innate genetic predispositions? Can an individual given love and patient guidance choose to overcome antisocial behaviors? Should we follow our hearts? - after all, Cinderella (now that we know what really happened) and Princess Diana did and look what happened to them.

Most of all, of course, it's unique, fast moving and fun. A great book to read to kids from 7 to 107.

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm a Rat; You're a Rat, July 24, 2000

By A Customer

Mix together the Untold Secrets of the Cinderella story, alittle Dickens, some satire of the tabloids, a jab or two at the royalfamily, and a little boy who tries to be good although he is, admittedly, a bit ratty in his habits, and you get a book that's new and funny and charming.

For adults, much of the fun comes from figuring out early on that the boy who arrives on the doorstep of Bob (cobbler) and Joan (washerwoman) is Cinderella's rat-footman who was busy playing soccer in the castle when the coach and horses went back to being a pumpkin and some mice. For children (mine at least), the book transfixes even if (in the case of my youngest) the secret of Roger's rattiness remains a mystery. And Roger's rattiness itself delights: he likes to gnaw and nibble -- bits of leather, tassels, bell-ropes. The way he looks at these chewables makes my mouth water. I'm glad that at the end of the book he's still a bit of a nibbler -- although much improved, as Bob is proud to point out.

These are good reasons to run out and get this book; but they're not the only reasons or even the best. *I Was a Rat* has a depth that many excellent books lack. It's a book about growing up, about moving away from instinctual ratty behavior to being a good child. And it's hard to be a good child. Grown-ups are a strange breed who impose strange rules; they punish children for curious reasons. O.K., you may not have eaten your teacher's pencils, but what about the paints that you innocently spilled all over the rug? This book is about growing up and about how it's a hard journey that's never entirely completed. As Mary Jane (Princess Aurelia to us) points out at the end, even wishes coming true can complicate matters.

*I Was a Rat*, however, leaves us cozy and warm. Roger is with Bob and Joan, who have learned what it is to be parents. They sit around the hearth as a family and the world, "a difficult place", is outside, but they have "toasted cheese and love." Who could ask for more?

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ratty Tales, October 1, 2000

By	Samantha (England) - See all my reviews

When my mum first suggested i read it in turned up my nose, my mum doesn't exactly have the same taste in books as me... But this looked..different. I am still searching for a book that can beat The Harry Potter series however this one is in a league of it's own. I read it cover to cover in an hour and when i was finished i wanted more...It is a great story..hints of weirdness and fantasy tales, including cinderella. READ IT!