I Was a Rat! - Hardcover

Pullman, Philip; Hawkes, Kevin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0375801766 ISBN 13: 9780375801761

Publisher: Alfred a Knopf Inc, 2000

Synopsis

I Was a Rat!:

About this title

Review

With the feel of a Grimm's Fairy Story, but with a thoroughly modern twist, Philip Pullman's I Was a Rat is an intriguing, sparkling story by an author who never ceases to amaze.

When Old Bob the Cobbler and his Washerwoman Wife, Joan, find a strange little boy on their doorstep, the search for his true parentage begins. But the child, who insists that he was once a rat, a condition diagnosed as "rodent delusion" by the doctor, finds coming to terms with being a normal little boy rather confusing. Taken to the Palace by the Philosopher Royal--who decides that he is indeed a "curious and interesting case", his fame spreads and he finds himself back on the streets, facing ridicule on the pages of the Daily Scourge where he is maligned as a monster, and finds his life threatened because of his reputation.

Set against the backdrop of a Royal Wedding--which in itself gives Pullman the opportunity to take a wry and effective sideways glance at the way the press can manipulate public feeling, and with the addition of a smart twist to the tale which allows the newly-wed Princess Aurelia to show her true colours--I Was a Rat is pure pleasure from beginning to end. Pullman delivers yet another opportunity to prove that his startling ability to effortlessly transport readers to another dimension is a force to be reckoned with. (Ages 7 to 11) --Susan Harrison

Review

"Phillip Pullman's tale is fast and clever."
-"New York Times Book Review" Sunday, May 14, 2000

"Phillip Pullman's tale is fast and clever."
-New York Times Book Review Sunday, May 14, 2000

About this edition

• Publisher: Alfred a Knopf Inc
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0375801766
• ISBN 13: 9780375801761
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 164