I Was A Rat by Philip Pullman
Reviewed by the Shannon Library Children's Book Club
Summary
of the story
A boy
arrives at Bob and Joan's house. He is constantly saying "I
was a rat". Naming him Roger, they take him in and discover
that he really does act like a rat, tearing his bedclothes and making
a nest out of them, etc.
He
is then captured by Mr. Tapscrew, put in a freak show, made to dress
up like a rat, treated very badly and called Rat Boy. He's rescued
by a boy's gang and bribed into helping with a robbery. He runs
away to the sewers and lives as a rat. He is eventually captured
by the Government and kept in a cage because he is supposedly "A
Monster".
What
children liked about the story
Readers
liked the whole idea of the story and how it brought in elements
of Oliver Twist, Cinderella and Dumbo. The inclusion of front pages
of the newspapers was very appealing and funny.
Some
children found Roger's repetition of the fact that "he was
a rat" a bit boring though at some points it was funny.
Readers
agreed to give the book a mark of 6 out of 10.
I
Was A Rat has won the Smarties Book Prize and the Carnegie Medal
Award.
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