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Rat's Tale #1
A Rat's Tale
Montague Mad-Rat lives a solitary existence in the sewers of New York City. His only delights are scavenging through Central Park for feathers and berries for his mother, and painting the seashells his aunt brings him. One day, he rescues the beautiful Isabel Moberly-Rat, and upon escorting her home is introduced to a world he never knew existed. For she lives at the wharves, in a spacious crate, among rats who look down on those like him who make things with their paws. Suddenly Montague is ashamed. So when he hears about the campaign to save the wharf from human destruction, he does all he can to help. But how much can one rat really do, especially when hes an outcast?
185 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1986
13 people are currently reading
432 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
February 23, 2015
I'm not sure exactly what age this book was written for, but I'm in my fifties and enjoyed it very much. Charming setting and charming characters. The phrase heart-warming is a bit overused but it would fit here. It was very nice to escape for a while into the world of A Rat's Tale. Now I hope there is a sequel.
October 25, 2007
I haven't read this in a while so I'll hold out on really superlative praise, but from all I remember, this is about as close to perfection as you're going to find. It's sweet and uplifting but never once sinks into saccharine. One of the reviewers quoted on the back cover said that they wanted to hug the book to their chest when they finished and that's really the only appropriate action, I think.
December 12, 2017
Such a good book! Normally I don't like books with talking animals in them, but this has such a captivating and realistic concept!
December 3, 2008
I would have actually given this book a 3.5...
Read this to the kiddos, who enjoyed it immensely. It's got all the great themes running through it: love, death, danger, the great gulf between the common and the sophisticated rat, etc.
When you read one chapter per night and the children are begging for more, it's usually a pretty good book. Not quite in the same class as Narnia, though, but then, few books are.
There's the occasional "Gad," which I chose to change for the sake of my tender-eared youngin's.
Enough good descriptive writing, to be quite effective in evoking the reader's sensations, particularly in the storm scenes.
I liked it.
The kids liked it.
But I'm still gonna kill any real rat that I see.
Read this to the kiddos, who enjoyed it immensely. It's got all the great themes running through it: love, death, danger, the great gulf between the common and the sophisticated rat, etc.
When you read one chapter per night and the children are begging for more, it's usually a pretty good book. Not quite in the same class as Narnia, though, but then, few books are.
There's the occasional "Gad," which I chose to change for the sake of my tender-eared youngin's.
Enough good descriptive writing, to be quite effective in evoking the reader's sensations, particularly in the storm scenes.
I liked it.
The kids liked it.
But I'm still gonna kill any real rat that I see.
January 24, 2019
I felt like this was an acceptable book. It was good enough to finish all the way to the end & there was nothing "wrong" with it. It just didn't sparkle. The illustrations were good, but they were only every 3 or 4 pages, which isn't enough to keep our 4-year-old interested. The story was good, but there was death, divorce, a near suicide, and heavy politics in it, which all went over the head of our 4-year-old (thankfully, because I wasn't ready to explain these things to her.) It may be good for an accelerated reader that is ready to read advanced chapter books, but not ready for the emotional content of Harry Potter. But then again, this book did get pretty heavy at the end.
July 3, 2008
Stories about rats and mice with intelligent social structures are fairly common. A Rat's Tale is interesting because it doesn't bother with justifications of why the rats are intelligent and organized: instead, it skips right to class prejudice among rats. If you pause for even a moment to think about realism you'll lose the tale's magic, but if you're willing to engage in total suspension of belief then you'll find a sweet romance and quest for social acceptance and understanding.
March 26, 2009
This book is alot like Romeo & Juliet except with rats. There is a sewer rat who loves a rich, wealthy rat, but their parents don't want them to be together. Find out what happens when you read it....
March 7, 2019
I read this little story to my son, although he mostly just wanted to drool on the pages and taste the cover. It is a story about acceptance. When we close others off, we miss out on treasures of connection and community.
September 22, 2017
I actually remember this book, enjoying it and connecting with the characters. I recently remembered it and had to look it up, because I tend to read then lose the titles in my memory.
This story was cute, sweet, and amusing all at the same time. If you like mice or rat fiction, this is a good one.
This story was cute, sweet, and amusing all at the same time. If you like mice or rat fiction, this is a good one.
August 7, 2017
This book gives an entirely inaccurate impression of what it takes to break into the (human) art world.
Also I have no idea what basis the rat economy stands on, which matters, because this book is entirely about the rat economy.
Also I have no idea what basis the rat economy stands on, which matters, because this book is entirely about the rat economy.
December 30, 2021
Montegue Mad-Rat the younger is teased by the other rats. He is not like the high-tone wharf rats. His family doesn’t live in the good part of town. His family has ties to a notorious rat.
He spends time searching the park for bird feathers and berries. His mother uses the berries for dye and feathers to make rat hats. When he gets home he helps his mother.
On one of his sorties he meets and rescues a lovely girl wharf rat. He is instantly smitten. But they come from two different levels of rat society. You see, Mad-Rats are looked down upon by Wharf Rats because Mad-Rats use their paws to make things!
The Wharf Rats find out the current owner of the wharf land is planning to sell off the lots, which means there would be a major exterminating drive on the rats. The rats for a plan and Montegue plans to do his utmost to help. This is in order to impress the girl rat and win her heart. While facing the challenges he is presented, he learns more about who he is named for, more about himself and more about what he wants in life.
The characters may be rats, but the author gives them human traits. It is a good read with family, adventure, determination and even a pinch of romance. It also contains some wonderful, detailed illustration throughout the book.
He spends time searching the park for bird feathers and berries. His mother uses the berries for dye and feathers to make rat hats. When he gets home he helps his mother.
On one of his sorties he meets and rescues a lovely girl wharf rat. He is instantly smitten. But they come from two different levels of rat society. You see, Mad-Rats are looked down upon by Wharf Rats because Mad-Rats use their paws to make things!
The Wharf Rats find out the current owner of the wharf land is planning to sell off the lots, which means there would be a major exterminating drive on the rats. The rats for a plan and Montegue plans to do his utmost to help. This is in order to impress the girl rat and win her heart. While facing the challenges he is presented, he learns more about who he is named for, more about himself and more about what he wants in life.
The characters may be rats, but the author gives them human traits. It is a good read with family, adventure, determination and even a pinch of romance. It also contains some wonderful, detailed illustration throughout the book.
March 25, 2021
A Rat’s Tale
I would give this book a 4 out of 5. It was quite interesting because it was told from the point of view of a rat, and I thought this was creative. I thought this was interesting because rats are thought to be dirty creatures and not something we have a good opinion about, and for this to change our view for a few moments is fascinating. The thing that surprised me is that this rat, Montague, is very skilled at painting, and a human ends up paying $100,000 for Montague’s seashell paintings.This is crazy because not many of us today can even get a price for that much even if it’s 10 paintings or something. The reason why this story is a 4 out of 5 for me is because I don’t feel that it was necessary to have the killing of Uncle Monty. Just because Montague forgot to get him into the sun and get him food, is not a good enough reason to have Uncle Monty die.
I would give this book a 4 out of 5. It was quite interesting because it was told from the point of view of a rat, and I thought this was creative. I thought this was interesting because rats are thought to be dirty creatures and not something we have a good opinion about, and for this to change our view for a few moments is fascinating. The thing that surprised me is that this rat, Montague, is very skilled at painting, and a human ends up paying $100,000 for Montague’s seashell paintings.This is crazy because not many of us today can even get a price for that much even if it’s 10 paintings or something. The reason why this story is a 4 out of 5 for me is because I don’t feel that it was necessary to have the killing of Uncle Monty. Just because Montague forgot to get him into the sun and get him food, is not a good enough reason to have Uncle Monty die.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 11, 2024
I read a lot of anthropomorphic stories, starting when I was a kid.
This one's okay. The story is a bit slow, and meanders a bit. It took me a longer time than usual to get through it, as the characters feel a bit flat. The last third of the book is better and the writing is tighter, helping the story move along better.
I confess to being picky about these stories, and they're hard to write successfully. I know, as I've tried to write a few that aren't even as good as this.
This one's okay. The story is a bit slow, and meanders a bit. It took me a longer time than usual to get through it, as the characters feel a bit flat. The last third of the book is better and the writing is tighter, helping the story move along better.
I confess to being picky about these stories, and they're hard to write successfully. I know, as I've tried to write a few that aren't even as good as this.
September 3, 2019
3.5 stars
This was a quick and captivating read. It is a very simple children's tale on the surface, but there are some other underlying themes that more adult and at times quite dark. Maybe those themes were too adult, because I don't think it meshed well with the children's adventure/modest hero plot. That being said, I think I would have loved this book when I was 8-10 years old!
This was a quick and captivating read. It is a very simple children's tale on the surface, but there are some other underlying themes that more adult and at times quite dark. Maybe those themes were too adult, because I don't think it meshed well with the children's adventure/modest hero plot. That being said, I think I would have loved this book when I was 8-10 years old!
December 19, 2017
Overall and enjoyable read and an ideal book for younger readers. Somewhat predictable however and I felt that the characters outside of Montague were a little one dimensional. But I'd still recommend it.
February 9, 2018
Well this was delightful from start to finish and I admit, I even shed a tear at the end. The illustrations were so charming at the characters were entirely lovable. overall this was such a cute and endearing childrens story and I cannot recommend it enough.
October 18, 2019
Meh. I could see the appeal to younger readers who love stories told by an animal viewpoint, but it is not my cup of tea. I'm not crazy about talking animal books and the plot was very meandering and a bit pointless for my taste.
January 26, 2025
Touching and well-done. This book deserves a read for its Stuart Little-esque perspective on rats and their tales of love and woe.
A downside: the story arc climaxes on the sacrificial actions of the divorced, wino rat uncle; I'm not putting it on my school shelves for that reason.
A downside: the story arc climaxes on the sacrificial actions of the divorced, wino rat uncle; I'm not putting it on my school shelves for that reason.
June 27, 2017
It was such a delightful read. I hope someday there is a movie adaption for it because it deserves nothing less.
July 7, 2017
I loved this. The story, the drawings, the "ratified" words. A definite must for fans of the rodent species. Not nearly enough rats get love in stories.
September 4, 2017
Oh daaaaaaaaaaang. I loved this book. I'd forgotten.
November 24, 2017
This is such a sweet and quick book. I kind of wish I had known about it as a child because I know it would've been one of my favorites.
March 30, 2018
Quite funny, and full of pleasing, little touches. Overall, a very enjoyable tale. The ending seemed a little drawn out to me, but I thoroughly enjoyed the first 80% or so of the book.
May 18, 2018
I just found out that I wrote my review, or rather the reason I didn’t finish this, in an update. Hehe. Go see the update, please.
June 8, 2019
A charming, sweet read that for once doesn’t paint rats as the bad guys.
Art, classism, love, and acceptance are touched on in this children’s story.
Delightful.
Art, classism, love, and acceptance are touched on in this children’s story.
Delightful.
January 19, 2020
Such a fun story! My son and I read it aloud.
October 21, 2022
What a joy to read the witty adventures of Montague!
February 16, 2023
Very creative children's book. A good addition to any juvenile reader's library collection.
March 8, 2023
One of my favourite books, happy to have someone to read it with me!
March 23, 2023
The kids liked it. It seemed like a product of its time but not in any particularly discriminatory way.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews