Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Jonathan Bean (Illustrator)
Key Phrases: endear mouse, chinchilla effect, potato rolls, Miss Barmy, Professor Capybara, Professor Vole (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 3–6—Emmy Addison was perfectly happy as the daughter of bookstore owners—and then her parents inherited a lot of money and she suddenly became invisible. She can't understand why her formerly attentive and loving mother and father keep taking off for faraway places and leaving her in the hands of an incredibly controlling nanny named Miss Barmy. And no one at school seems to know she exists. Then, she is bitten by the classroom rat and discovers that she can understand every word he says, as can Joe, one of the cool kids in her class who was also bitten. At this point, events start to unfold and a fast-paced adventure begins. To Joe's chagrin, he discovers that a second bite makes a person shrink to the size of an action figure and Emmy discovers that Miss Barmy has been mixing animal essences together to control the Addisons' lives. With the aid of new animal friends, Emmy embarks upon a perilous path to undo the evil nanny's sinister plans. A mystery is cleverly woven into this fun and, at times, hilarious caper, and children are likely to find themselves laughing out loud during some parts. A medley of endearing characters adds to an already delightful read.—Robyn Gioia, Bolles School, Ponte Vedra, FL
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Emmy's world has turned upside down. Since her family inherited a fortune, her parents have become obsessed with status and money, her teachers and fellow students ignore her, and her welfare has been left in the hands of her coldhearted nanny, Miss Barmy. Now, she can hear the class pet, a rat, talking. What's going on? Jonell takes readers on a merry, sometimes scary, romp, as Emmy enters the Antique Rat store and learns about a world of rodents with eclectic powers that are being used by Miss Barmy to get control of Emmy's family and their fortune. Although the considerable action is sometimes convoluted, and a couple of dropped story lines are hastily stitched up, this tale turns smoothly on its fanciful premise and fabulous characters. As in so many stories featuring a rat, the sneaky rodent gets the best lines; so it is here with Rat, who is by turns boastful, whiny, maudlin, and menacing. It's fun to watch remarkably good Emmy and especially bad Barmy spar, and the revelation of the nanny's secret admirer speaks to the endurance of true love. Inside, the book is decorated with a picture of a tree limb and a climbing rat. Flip the pages, and Rat tumbles and falls. Cooper, Ilene

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) (August 7, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080508150X
• ISBN-13: 978-0805081503
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #152,961 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A satisfying read from beginning to end., October 29, 2007

By	J. M. Urbanovic (Silver Spring, Maryland) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Lynne has created an instant classic; it reminds me of my favorite stories like Stowaway to the Mushroom Planet and Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang. Her story has memorable characters that you'll love and enjoy right from the start and a storyline that combines mystery, magic, real life problems and wonderful, droll humor. It's delightful to watch Emmy break out of her "too goodness" to solve the mystery and to save her family. Not to mention saving not just herself but all of her newly made friends. It's gripping, its a bit scary, its funny and comforting. It is a satisfying read from beginning to end that I think kids and adults both would enjoy.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars In the end....I liked it..., January 6, 2009

By	Christopher Lingel (Chicago, Illinois) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I struggled with what to do with this book.

On the one hand, this was a book I devoured. I read it from start to finish -- I think I skipped a meal -- and was grinning the entire time.

What a fun story. Emmy, completely unnoticed by her classmates, ignored by her parents, mistreated by the nanny left in her charge, wants only her old life back: before her parents came into money. Nothing seems to have gone right. Her parents are now obsessed with long vacations and long hours, her classmates have forgotten her, and the class pet rat keeps talking to her. Yes, the rat talks. But only Emmy can hear him. All of these things bother Emmy, and in part because she has no clue why any of them have happened at all. But the answers are coming. And there's no predicting, at least at the beginning, as to what those answers are.

And therein lies the part of the book that I struggle with. Without going into details (risking spoilers), I will say simply this: rodents are incredibly powerful creatures. Rats, mice, gerbils, ferrets, you name it. Used wisely, they allow for so much. As plot devices go, I thought it was fun. Especially the professor who gets too close to one of his experiments and therefor falls asleep at the most inopportune moments. I suspect he would be able to solve the issue, except that every time he gets close....out like a light.

But the fun, quirky gimmick struggles. While tt has you smiling every time a new rodent is introduced -- this one makes people sleepy, this one makes them grow up faster, this one enables you to speak to animals -- something about it just doesn't seem to fit. The gimmick exists amid a conflict that is too real, and too sinister. They story immistakeably takes place in the real world, and Emmy's struggles with her Nanny's plans for her are, if anything, too well written. The conflict between Emmy and her Nanny would be more at home in a true crime drama than anywhere else. And so it doesn't fit well with the quirky gimmicks, and in reading it I was plagued with a disconnectedness that I could never quite reconcile.

If anything, the villian in the book needed to be one of the rodents. When we open a book like this, we leave the real world behind for a few hours, and enter into the world contained within those pages. And the conflict needed to involve the new world we get to see, not the old world we leave behind.

Yet, all of that aside, the simple truth is that "Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat" is a well written, enjoyable read. I liked this book. I enjoyed it, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys children's literature, or anyone who has a pet rodent. Because the truth is that I'm probably just being too nitpicky, and am failing to sit back and enjoy the show, as they say.

I wonder if there's a breed of mouse out there that could fix that for me...

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat, October 10, 2007

By	Kirsten G. Cutler (Santa Rosa, California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A diabolical nanny, a clever thoughtful little girl and a talking rat face off in this deliciously witty and intelligent story. Emmy is an exceedingly well-behaved girl who enjoyed life with her parents and had many friends before an inheritance from a great uncle brings an end to cozy family interactions and Emmy and her parents move to her Great-Uncle's mansion. Now Emmy attends a new school, her parents are always off traveling and Emmy is supervised by Miss Barmy, a very unpleasant and strange nanny who is constantly tearing down her self- esteem and giving her mysterious medicines, one turned her face orange. Her classmates and teacher hardly notice her, "Emma? Emmaline Addison?" Mr. Herbifore gazed out over the heads of his students. Emmy stood up. "No, I don't see her," he said into the phone. "Emmy walked forward and stood by the teacher's desk. What did she have to do, she wondered, bewildered. Throw firecrackers under his chair? Hang from the ceiling and make like a monkey? She tugged at the teacher's sleeve and spoke loudly in his ear. "Here I am, Mr. Herbifore." The teacher stared at her doubtfully. Oh? Are you sure?" One day, the classroom rat tells her that she is too nice, "A little meanness is good for the soul. I highly recommend it." At the end of an entertaining repartee that includes Rat's response to Emmy's surprised comment, "Rodents play soccer?" "Of course they play soccer, he snapped. What do you think they do for fun? Run about, frightening elephants? Scavenge in churches for crumbs? Really, your ignorance is appalling." Rat pleads with Emmy to release him from his cage and when she does this engaging story explodes with adventure, suspense, and humor.