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Rotten Ralph
Best in Show for Rotten Ralph
"To thine own self be true."The cat show is coming to town and Rotten Ralph is hungry for glory – and desperate to defeat his perfect cousin Percy, whatever it takes. According to Sarah, Ralph has to stop being a lazy scoundrel and follow her regimen to achieve poise and polish. When the competition gets under way, Ralph pretends to be something he's not, and fails. Just in time, Ralph decides victory can be his only if he stops pretending and really lets the fur fly. With eye-popping art and an ingeniously comic text, this fourth book in the appealing series for beginning readers follows everyone's favorite red-furred rascal on his path to a wholly satisfying last laugh
Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
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About the author
Jack Gantos
84 books551 followersJack Gantos is an American author of children's books renowned for his portrayal of fictional Joey Pigza, a boy with ADHD, and many other well known characters such as Rotten Ralph, Jack Henry, Jack Gantos (memoirs) and others. Gantos has won a number of awards, including the Newbery, the Newbery Honor, the Scott O'Dell Award, the Printz Honor, and the Sibert Honor from the American Library Association, and he has been a finalist for the National Book Award.
Gantos was born in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania to son of construction superintendent John Gantos and banker Elizabeth (Weaver) Gantos. The seeds for Jack Gantos' writing career were planted in sixth grade, when he read his sister's diary and decided he could write better than she could. Born in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, and raised in Barbados and South Florida, Mr. Gantos began collecting anecdotes in grade school and later gathered them into stories.
After his senior year in high school (where he lived in a welfare motel) he moved to a Caribbean island (St Croix) and began to train as a builder. He soon realized that construction was not his forté and started saving for college. While in St. Croix he met a drug smuggler and was offered a chance to make 10 000 dollars by sailing to New York with 2,000 pounds of hash. With an English eccentric captain on board they set off to the big city. Once there they hung out at the Chelsea hotel and Gantos carried on dreaming about college. Then, in Jacks own words, "The **** hit the fan" and the F.B.I. burst in on him. He managed to escape and hid out in the very same welfare motel he was living during high school. However, he saw sense and turned himself in. He was sentenced to six years in prison, which he describes in his novel -HOLE IN MY LIFE-. However, after a year and a half in prison he applied to college, was accepted. He was released from prison, entered college, and soon began his writing career.
He received his BFA and his MA both from Emerson College. While in college, Jack began working on picture books with an illustrator friend. In 1976, they published their first book, Rotten Ralph. Mr. Gantos continued writing children's books and began teaching courses in children's book writing. He developed the master's degree program in children's book writing at Emerson College in Boston. In 1995 he resigned his tenured position in order to further his writing career (which turned out to be a great decision).
He married art dealer Anne A. Lower on November 11, 1989. The couple has one child, Mabel, and they live in Boston, Massachusetts.
www.jackgantos.com
Gantos was born in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania to son of construction superintendent John Gantos and banker Elizabeth (Weaver) Gantos. The seeds for Jack Gantos' writing career were planted in sixth grade, when he read his sister's diary and decided he could write better than she could. Born in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, and raised in Barbados and South Florida, Mr. Gantos began collecting anecdotes in grade school and later gathered them into stories.
After his senior year in high school (where he lived in a welfare motel) he moved to a Caribbean island (St Croix) and began to train as a builder. He soon realized that construction was not his forté and started saving for college. While in St. Croix he met a drug smuggler and was offered a chance to make 10 000 dollars by sailing to New York with 2,000 pounds of hash. With an English eccentric captain on board they set off to the big city. Once there they hung out at the Chelsea hotel and Gantos carried on dreaming about college. Then, in Jacks own words, "The **** hit the fan" and the F.B.I. burst in on him. He managed to escape and hid out in the very same welfare motel he was living during high school. However, he saw sense and turned himself in. He was sentenced to six years in prison, which he describes in his novel -HOLE IN MY LIFE-. However, after a year and a half in prison he applied to college, was accepted. He was released from prison, entered college, and soon began his writing career.
He received his BFA and his MA both from Emerson College. While in college, Jack began working on picture books with an illustrator friend. In 1976, they published their first book, Rotten Ralph. Mr. Gantos continued writing children's books and began teaching courses in children's book writing. He developed the master's degree program in children's book writing at Emerson College in Boston. In 1995 he resigned his tenured position in order to further his writing career (which turned out to be a great decision).
He married art dealer Anne A. Lower on November 11, 1989. The couple has one child, Mabel, and they live in Boston, Massachusetts.
www.jackgantos.com
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
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February 19, 2013What? Rotten Ralph sets out to compete with his cousin Percy for Best in Show. Ralph discovers that it is useless to try to be something he is not and ends up winning Worst at Being Best in Show because the judges were humored by all of Ralph's antics. He learns that he is best at being himself and loved by Sarah.
So what? This is an excellent book about accepting yourself as you are and not trying to beat, compete, or try to be something you are not.
Now what? This book could be used to discuss an event that might have come up in class whereby students are being too competitive. The story could illustrate the fact that each person should focus on their own interests and be the best they can be and not worry about who is better than who.
So what? This is an excellent book about accepting yourself as you are and not trying to beat, compete, or try to be something you are not.
Now what? This book could be used to discuss an event that might have come up in class whereby students are being too competitive. The story could illustrate the fact that each person should focus on their own interests and be the best they can be and not worry about who is better than who.
September 11, 2012
As much as I love Rotten Ralph, I didn't think his rotteness shined through quite enough in this book. I almost felt sorry for Ralph at the beginning of the story! Ralph enters a cat show contest against his perfect cousin Percy. Percy, as expected, takes home the trophy for Best in Show; Ralph is awarded Worst at Best in Show.
My second graders didn't appreciate this story as much as some of the other Rotten Ralph books I've read. Serious fans will want to read this title but it's not the best introduction to Ralph.
My second graders didn't appreciate this story as much as some of the other Rotten Ralph books I've read. Serious fans will want to read this title but it's not the best introduction to Ralph.
July 14, 2014
Happily, Rotten Ralph has a little story. Bad cat!
September 11, 2013
My son has really enjoyed this book.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews