Rathbone the Rat

Patricia Derrick
Animalations Publishing (2007)
ISBN 9781933818177
Reviewed by Leslie Granier, Nicholas Lopez (age 5) and Marissa Lopez (age 2) for Reader Views (11/07)

Rathbone is a rat who lives in Paris.  He goes around town trying to find good things to eat.  One day he goes into a grocery store and eats all the food that was to be served at a special occasion.  He feels badly about what he has done so he and his friends gather food to bring to the party, thus saving the day. 

This book is set to music and contains a CD that kids can use to follow along with the words in the book.  Children between the ages of 2 and 6 will be entertained by the song and the illustrations.  (Even I thought it was a catchy tune.)  Marissa loved the song and tried her best to sing along, over and over again.  However, Rathbone's voice scared her a little because she thought it sounded spooky like a witch.  Nicholas liked following along with the words in the book so he could learn how to read better, but after awhile the song started “getting on my nerves.”  Both of them liked the pictures and the rhymes.

At the end of “Rathbone the Rat” we're not quite sure if Rathbone will change his mischievous ways, but he promises to try to think about what might result from his actions in the future.  It is never too early to try to teach children how to predict the consequences of their actions.   I liked the inclusion of the CD for the kids to learn to “read” the story by themselves.  However, you may want to consider getting them some earphones because they are sure to play it again and again.

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