I Was a Rat! - Softcover

Pullman, Philip

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0440416612 ISBN 13: 9780440416616

Publisher: Yearling Books, 2002

Synopsis

"I Was a Rat!" So insists a scruffy boy named Roger. Maybe it's true. But what is he now? A terrifying monster running wild in the sewers? The Daily Scourge is sure of it. A victim of "Rodent Delusion"? The hospital nurse says yes. A lucrative fairground freak? He is to Mr. Tapscrew. A champion wriggler and a budding thief? That's what Billy thinks. Or just an ordinary small boy, though a little ratty in his habits? Only three people believe this version of the story. And it may take a royal intervention--and a bit of magic--to convince the rest of the world.

Set against the backdrop of a Royal Wedding--and a playful parody of the press, I Was a Rat! is a magical weaving of humor, fairy tale, and adventure.

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

From the acclaimed author of the His Dark Materials trilogy comes an outrageously funny middle-grade twist on a familiar fairy tale.

About this edition

• Publisher: Yearling Books
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0440416612
• ISBN 13: 9780440416616
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 176
• Illustrator: Hawkes Kevin