Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Hardwood Creek Library (Forest Lake) | EASY DEA | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | EASY DEA | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | EASY DEA | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Stillwater Public Library | EASY DEA | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
Venture into the untamed world of Rat Law! Kids will laugh at this funny, frenetic look at group dynamics from an innovative picturebook team.
Rat Law says that if you're a rat, cheese belongs to you. But there are exceptions. For example, if a big rat wants it, cheese belongs to him. Unless a bigger rat wants it, or a quicker one, or a stronger one. And if a big, quick, strong, scary, hairy, dirty rat wants it, well . . . where does it end? A tumble of cumulative adjectives and a frenzy of hungry critters build up to a final note of politeness in a book sure to satisfy kids' appetites for zany humor.
Author Notes
Alexis Deacon was born in London, England in 1978. His work includes Croc and Bird, Cheese Belongs to You!, Jitterbug Jam, and While You are Sleeping. His book, I am Henry Finch (illustrated by Viviane Schwarz), won the 2016 Little Rebels Children's Book Award for radical children's fiction.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
"This is rat law," opens this cheerful hymn to venality. "Cheese belongs to you." (The omission of the definite article is, presumably, what a rat accent sounds like.) Schwarz (who previously worked with Deacon on A Place to Call Home) draws a dainty little rat with a bow tied around its tail jumping back in delight at the sight of a block of yellowy Swiss cheese. "Unless a big rat wants it," Deacon continues sternly, as a larger rat moves the first one out of the way. "Then cheese belongs to him." The text appears in authoritative block type above Schwarz's softly crayoned drawings of progressively larger and more domineering "quick, strong, scary, hairy, dirty" rats arguing, stealing, scheming, and chortling their way through the slowly building discourse on rat realpolitik. An all-out, rat-on-rat war erupts between a crew of slovenly pirate rats and a gang of top-hatted gangster rats, while the original rat finds a way to become the big cheese, so to speak. In the end, thankfully, civility prevails. Not since Ratatouille have rats been so unnerving yet gleefully entertaining. Ages 4-6. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
According to "Rat Law," the cheese belongs to you--unless a quicker, stronger, scary, etc. rat wants it. Thus begins the cumulative tale of adjectives building to the "boss of the biggest, quickest, strongest, scariest, hairiest, dirtiest rats" who's in charge of the cheese. (Unless...) Humorous digitally colored red-pencil sketches of thieving white rats carry the tale in which manners ultimately prevail. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Rat law is simple: if you find the cheese, then it belongs to you. Unless someone bigger, quicker, hairier, or scarier wants it then the cheese belongs to them. If all the other rats exhaust themselves fighting over the cheese, then the cheese belongs to a kind rat who is willing to share. The text starts slowly and then builds on itself, until readers are left breathless after each long sentence. The illustrations clearly show how each rat is different and more terrifying than the last and are sure to produce squeals of fright and delight from readers. Surprisingly, there is a great lesson about sharing tucked neatly into the last pages, which gives this silly story a little extra heart. For a storytime that is sure to leave the librarian breathless, pair with There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, by Simms Taback (1997). Any way that a young reader experiences this book, whether during individual reading or in a group, this will be fun.--Erickson, Tiffany Copyright 2010 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-This cumulative tale about a pack of rats vying, in Darwinian fashion, for some cheese is a zany riff on the familiar "mouse takes the cheese" refrain. A sweet little rat, bow tied on her tail, runs headlong into some cheese, which, by rat law, belongs to her. But she is one-upped by a bigger rat, which is one-upped by an even bigger rat, and so on as quicker, stronger, hairier, dirtier, and scarier gangs of rats all dominate in their conquest of the cheese. Ultimately, these selfish interests lead to the rats' collective implosion, and the cheese once more belongs to.the little rat, and she offers to share it with everyone. A peaceable feast ensues. Pencil and digitally colored drawings, rendered in muted shades of red and blue, portray dozens of individual rodents in endless, hilarious detail. A bright yellow digital photograph of the coveted piece of Swiss cheese rounds out the primary-color palette, lending a visual focal point to the artwork on every spread. The large font stands in bold counterpoint to the finely wrought illustrations. With its spare, repetitive language, oddball humor, and just enough "ick" factor, this tale is sure to entertain young children in a group read-aloud while offering a satisfying lesson on the value of sharing.-Kathleen Finn, St. Francis Xavier School, Winooski, VT (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Who knew cheese ownership could be so dangerous? This edgy picture-book primer on "rat law" begins simply enough: An expressively sketched rat with a bow on its tail contemplates a big wedge of bright orange Swiss cheese, displayed as a cutout photograph. It turns out that rat law has a number of exceptions: "Cheese belongs to you. // Unless a big rat wants it. Then cheese belongs to him. / Unless a bigger rat wants it. Then cheese belongs to her." One or more hungry rats is added as the pages turn, until entire gangs of nasty, bullying beasts mob the spreads. By the time "the biggest gang of the biggest, quickest, strongest, scariest, hairiest, dirtiest rat wants it," the book--sketched mostly in red pencil--swarms with teeth, claws and angry red eyes. The faint of heart may be too repelled by the revolting rats to keep reading, but it's a rare child who wouldn't be familiar with the aggressive thievery demonstrated here. The giant typeface, the cumulative nature of the fast-building list of adjectives, and the "spot the bow-tailed rat" game that's built in as the rats accumulate make this bold picture book a potentially hilarious read-aloud. Moral seekers, fear not: After the carnage, it is suggested that sharing cheese might be a more civilized option. An amusingly ferocious illustration of the benefits of sharing from the team behind the equally rodent-infested A Place to Call Home. (Picture book. 4-6)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
