Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat

by Lynne Jonell

book data

271 ratings, 3.95 average rating, 116 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		28%
4		44%
3		20%
2		6%
1		0%

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published

August 7th 2007 by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)

binding

Hardcover, 352 pages

isbn

080508150X (isbn13: 9780805081503)

description

Emmy was a good girl.At least she tried very hard to be good. She did her homework without being told. She ate all her vegetables, even the slimy ones...more

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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 403)

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11/24/08

Valerie rated it:

bookshelves: juvenile

Read in November, 2008

I first picked this book up when I was browsing at the library because I loved the cover design. I loved the simplicity of Jonathan Bean's illustration and the combination of sweet Emmy and the ill-humored rat in the tree above her. The thoughtfulness of design continues inside with illustrations that together make a flip book along the outer edges of the pages. This book had me hooked visually right from the start.

Story-wise? I really loved Emily and the Incredible Shrinking Rat. It...more

Like this review? yes (5 people liked it)

3 comments

09/12/07

Gwen the Librarian rated it:

bookshelves: fantasy, kidlit

Read in September, 2007

recommends it for: EVERYONE

Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat, by Lynne Jonell, is extremely well-written, with bathroom humor, pathos, and believable and sympathetic characters of both the human and rodent kind.

Emmy is a very rich, very lonely little girl. Her parents are constantly going off on long trips and leaving her with a horrible nanny, Miss Barmy. Worse, she recently changed schools and no one in her class acts like she exists. When Emmy starts hearing the class pet rat talking to her, a whole...more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

1 comment

08/11/07

Elizabeth rated it:

Read in August, 2007

It's easy to become jaded. Read enough children's fiction and it all begins to swim and swirl about in your head. Was that the middle grade novel about a girl who likes a boy with twinkling blue eyes or deep brown ones you just read? Did that historical fiction work involve a plucky boy working in a coalmine or a plucky girl in a mill? And fantasy? Don't get me started. If the villains don't burst onto the scene in the first chapter it's the exception rather than the rule. I gotta say though tha...more It's easy to become jaded. Read enough children's fiction and it all begins to swim and swirl about in your head. Was that the middle grade novel about a girl who likes a boy with twinkling blue eyes or deep brown ones you just read? Did that historical fiction work involve a plucky boy working in a coalmine or a plucky girl in a mill? And fantasy? Don't get me started. If the villains don't burst onto the scene in the first chapter it's the exception rather than the rule. I gotta say though that when it comes to rodents with magical powers, there are few titles to turn to. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh was strictly scientific (that is, if you can forget the movie). I, Freddy is more along the lines of The Mouse and the Motorcycle than anything else. No, mice and magic don't intersect all that often. One can't help but think that if they did the result would be wuh-eird. Wuh-eird, as it happens, is not a bad word to describe author Lynne Jonell's startling middle grade debut. At this point in my review's introductory paragraph I usually like to compare the book in my hands to titles you might be familiar with. Something along the lines of, "It's like James and the Giant Peach meets The Perils of Peppermints." But when it comes to "Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat," there's not much you can compare the book to. It's one of a kind, and how kids take that originality will be interesting to note, indeed.

Poor Emmy. Nobody notices her. Not her parents who are constantly jet-setting around to globe. Not her schoolmates or her teacher, who all seem incapable of remembering her name. No, it's just Emmy, her somewhat frightening nanny Miss Barmy, and the school rat. The Rat not only pays attention to Emmy but talks to her sometimes too. Granted it tends to tell Emmy to try being bad once in a while, but the girl knows that it has a good heart beneath its prickly demeanor. Soon, however, Emmy finds that the Rat is not all that it seems to be. Talking is just the least of its abilities, and as the girl discovers more about her nanny and the woman's sinister plot involving Emmy, her parents, and a host of exotic rodents, so too does she establish a core group of friends who will aid her through thick and thin.

There is something distinctly Dahl-like hidden in the crevices of this book. Much of the plot relies on old Roald Dahl standbys, like malicious caretakers, controlled magic, and children who are far cleverer than the adults that surround them. And if I'm not too much mistaken, I think that there's even a tip of the hat to Ramona Quimby in this book. Where else, after all, have you ever heard the National Anthem sung with the words, "daaawnzer lee liiight"? Still, sometimes the book felt less than entirely consistent. You're never quite sure exactly how small Joe and Emmy become when they're shrunk. Joe is able to wear G.I. Joe clothing sometimes, but at other moments he's supposedly large enough to play soccer with some chipmunks. Then again, we're told that "We're only a few inches high, you know. Four feet, to us, is going to seem like being on top of a six story building." Inconsistencies like this made it hard to visualize the action.

There are also some convenient plot devices that raised an eyebrow but weren't really distracting. Apparently when you shrink, your clothes shrink along with you (as opposed to in The Dark Ground). Also, Jonell requires that you remember some pretty minor characters from the beginning of the book all the way to the end, which I thought was a bit odd. I liked the internal logic going on here, though. I liked the peculiar world Jonell had envisioned and how neatly everything slotted into it. I can guarantee to you that if you've a child who has read the oeuvre of Roald Dahl and wants a little something extra, "Emmy" is a good way to go. Ideal for any child who has felt ignored or looked over at some point in their life. Which is to say, most every child.(less)

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

5 comments

03/18/08

Tony rated it:

Read in January, 2008

I'm attending a conference on childrens' literature, and this was one of the juvenile fiction offerings. So far it's my second or third favorite out of all of the full length novel sized works. Some elements of the book tread into cliche, but given the reading level it's extremely enjoyable. The plot is simple, and direct, without being self indulgent (which is a problem I've had with a lot of the other works). Overall it's entertaining while still having substance (another problem, I've fou...more

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11/29/08

Montambo rated it:

bookshelves: covers-i-love, for-the-chickies

Read in December, 2008

This is the kind of story I would have absolutely eaten up as a kid--especially if it was read to me. My 5th grade teacher read us Roald Dahl's books and also "Mrs. Frisby and The Rats of Nimh," and it was the best time of my LIFE (at least at that point). This book is sort of a combo of Dahl and Nimh. The adults are crazy, the kids are intelligent and resourceful and the rats are smarter than us all.

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08/30/07

fairrosa rated it:

bookshelves: 4-6grade, bestbooks, childrensbooks, magicalstories

Read in August, 2007

It's impressive how Jonell manages to inform the readers of all characters' personalities, feelings, and actions without ever straying away from Emmy's perspective: readers only know what she sees, hears, and thinks. The outlandish circumstances with all the super(magical?)-powers of the rodents are accompanied by a gentle tale of friendship, longing for parental love, and the essence of stable families. I mentally applauded the several jabs at the absurdity of the over-scheduling of our child...more

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01/25/08

The Library Lady rated it:

bookshelves: childrens-fiction

Funny and creative. I've seen some people comment that they think has an old fashioned feel and should have had a Victorian setting, but I don't think that the time frame really makes a difference.There isn't tons about cell phones or the Internet here--this book could have been written as easily in 1958 as 2008, and as a result, this has a timeless feel to it and won't date quickly. Nor do I think that kids will be quick to find a message in this about overscheduled kids or narcissistic parents...more

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03/02/09

Alissa rated it:

Read in March, 2009

Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat is the story of Emmy a lonely girl ignored by her fellow classmates. She lives in a mansion and has a pair of absentee parents and a super strict nanny, all classic elements of children's literature. The fact that she is able to talk to her class's pet rat, just make her that much more eccentric.

But things are not entirely what they seem as we learn alongside Emmy in this fun book. With the help of some new friends, only some of them human, Emmy ...more

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02/15/09

Adrienne rated it:

Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat is an engaging mix of Matilda (not as spunky), Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (not as scientific), and Coraline (not as dark). It held my attention, though I found parts of the storyline not well explained. I wasn't overly annoyed, for example, by the many inferences I had to make into Miss Barmy's (the evil nanny) character, but was hoping for more explanation into the origins of her evilness at the end. This is a work of children’s literature, howev...more

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01/12/09

Hannah rated it:

I need a idea for a club with my friends in school.

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04/06/09

West Region, added it

bookshelves: adventure, fantasy, illustrations, juvenile

Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat by Lynne Jonell

“Miss Barmy said that good girls didn’t care too much about being noticed—so Emmy tried not to care.” She tries not to care that no one notices her straight A’s, her shelves of ribbons and trophies … that no one even seems to notice her.

Emmy’s parents are always on vacations (they are rich, from a recent inheritance), and her classmates never play with her (that makes it easy for her to do schoolwork du...more

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03/05/09

Cathy rated it:

bookshelves: kids---animals, kids---chapterbooks, kids---humor

Read in March, 2009

What a great great book! Even with the female main character, this book will appeal to both boys and girls alike. As a rodent lover, I thought it was great to have rodents viewed in a positive light.
Emmy is a perfectly average kid with parents that own a little book store. Her parents absolutely ADORE Emmy, just as parents should. Then suddenly, the family is given a huge inheritance and they move into their great uncle's huge house. A woman named Ms. Barmy shows up and offers to be the n...more

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02/07/09

Jules rated it:

Read in March, 2009

In the begining i must say i thought it looked borring but now i realize tht you should not judje a book by its cover because it was a exellent book that i enjoyed.

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

4 comments

11/19/08

Aneesa rated it:

bookshelves: children-s-readers

Read in October, 2008

I read this book to the boys--and Joseph got really into it and finished it by himself. So that was a plus. I liked this book, however, I really didn't LOVE the story line or the characters. Some of it seemed familiar, but I don't know why. The nanny is creepy and for some reason the author has her eating organic (I guess that combination bothered me). Overall, it was really a fun read, and moral and interesting. I liked that it was a "mystery" and so the kids had to pay attention...more

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01/16/09

Rachel rated it:

Read in January, 2009

I wanted to like this book, but I just didn't, really. Like other readers, I was taken in by the cover and the simplicity of the illustration/border inside. The writing didn't keep my attention, though, and I found myself skimming through the last half just to see what the outcome would be so I could turn it back in to the library and be done with it. The whole idea of Emmy's entire world being controlled by her evil nanny's use of rat and rodent foot stamps and rat saliva was too gross (and ...more

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11/17/08

Sharon rated it:

Read in January, 2009

The cover of this book caught my eye at the Scholastic book fair at my daughter's school and I picked it up. I was not disappointed. Emmy is a girl so alone that she feels practically invisible. Even her teacher and classmates seem to forget constantly that she exists. Since coming into a large inheritance, her parents are never home and Emmy is left in the care of the very controlling Miss Marmy. Emmy begins to break free from her governess' firm grip after meeting an unusual rat and setting hi...more

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10/27/08

Rebecca rated it:

Read in January, 2009

Several months back we were visiting at my sister in laws house, I believe for a birthday party...anyway, I noticed this book and found out that my young nephew had chosen it because the pages create a flip show of sorts. I decided it looked cute, so I got it, read it and really enjoyed it. I think it is very imaginative. Lynne Jonell has created a world where although it seems like something of a child's imagination or dream, you can be drawn in and start to believe that there is a real "R...more

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10/09/08

Terri rated it:

Read in September, 2008

recommends it for: grades 3-6, fans of Roald Dahl or Lemony Snicket

Can you say Roald Dahl meets Lemony Snicket with a tinge of Beverly Cleary? If so, you're on the road to understanding the tone of Lynne Jonell's book.

Life was different when the Addisons lived above the cozy bookstore her parents owned. They were happy and loving, but shortly after her parents inherited a fortune her parents began a constant round of meaningless travel and seemed to forget about Emmy. As a matter of fact, Emmy seems invisible to everyone from her parents to her cla...more

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09/02/08

Becky rated it:

Read in August, 2008

Jonell, Lynne. 2007. Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat. Art by Jonathan Bean.

"Emmy was a good girl. At least she tried very hard to be good."

It continues, "She did her homework without being told. She ate all her vegetables, even the slimy ones. And she never talked back to her nanny, Miss Barmy, although it was almost impossible to keep quiet, some days. Of course no one can keep this kind of thing up forever. But Miss Barmy had told Emmy that if she w...more

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05/17/09

Shana rated it:

Read in May, 2009

Emmy is a smart 10-year-old girl who can't figure out why she can't make friends, why her parents don't seem to care about her, and puts up with a nasty mean nanny, Miss Barmy. The mystery starts unravelling bit by bit, and our intrepid narrator barrels through, wisely playing the adults off each other, finding her friends and battling enemies until the good wins out. Oh, did I mention talking rats, chipmunks and pawball?

A great kid's read. Looking forward to the sequal and readi...more

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