Rats

Pat Hutchins (Author) Pat Hutchins has always loved drawing and at the age of 16 won a scholarship to Darlington Art School. She is now one of the most popular picture book creators in the world with over 30 children's books published after the success of her classic Rosie's Walk.

Grade 2-4-- Sam wants a pet rat so badly that he buys one without his parents' permission. After a week of continual badgering, he persuades them to allow him to bring Nibbles home from the pet store. This simple, straightforward story has little action, although unusual nighttime noises provide a somewhat humorous encounter with the police. Hutchins' purpose is unclear. Most of the plot centers on Sam's nagging and Nibbles' rapid weight gain; Nibbles turns out to be pregnant, and soon Sam has nine more rats. There is a great deal of discussion about Sam's learning difficulties, which diminish as his interest in rats intensifies, and these problems do not provide a dominant theme or offer any solutions. The jacket illustration hints at more action and mystery than is delivered. Those looking for beginning chapter books will do better with duplicate copies of Giff's "The Kids of Polk Street School" (Delacorte). --Jeanette Larson, Mesquite Public Library, TX
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