Oh Rats!
The Story of Rats and People
Published on 2. October 2014
Book
Paperback/Softback
112 pages
978-0-14-751281-9 (ISBN)
Description
Able to claw straight up a brick wall, squeeze through a pipe the width of a quarter, and gnaw through iron and concrete, rats are also revealed in this fascinating book to be incredibly intelligent and capable of compassion. Weaving together science, history, culture, and folklore, award-winning writer Albert Marrin offers a look at rats that goes from the curious to repulsive, horrifying to comic, fearsome to inspiring. Arresting black-and-white scratchboard illustrations with bold red accents add visual punch to this study of a creature that has annoyed, disgusted, nourished, and intrigued its human neighbours for centuries.
Reviews / Votes
Praise for Oh, Rats!:* "[A] lively and informative overview of the history and behavior of the widely encountered rodent.... It's a different sort of discussion... for this well-known historian and biographer and one that he has clearly enjoyed, as will a wide variety of nonfiction readers and animal fans. There's a bibliography of adult sources and children's nonfiction as well as a listing of literary works featuring rats."
-School Library Journal, starred review
"Children fond of nonfiction that is laced with discomfiting-or downright revolting-information will happily fall upon this anecdotal look at the shared history of the animal kingdom's greatest survivors... Pleasantly icky."
-Booklist
"The book may be nonfiction, but it is also fine storytelling. C. B. Mordan's evocative black-and-white line drawings... show off the rat to its best advantage-in moments both wicked and benign. This is a fine marriage of narration and illustration; a very fine book, indeed."
-Children's Literature
"The lore and science of rats receive an enthusiastic treatment... Well-designed sidebars present additional related factoids for the eager reader. End matter provides both the author's bibliography and a number of titles for further reading, both nonfiction and fiction. Even the most rat-o-phobic reader will emerge with a heightened appreciation for the hardy rodent."
-Kirkus Reviews
A Junior Library Guild Selection
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Penguin Putnam Inc
Target group
Children/juvenile
US School Grade: Fifth Grade and over, Interest Age: From 10 years
Product notice
Paperback (digest)
Dimensions
Height: 191 mm
Width: 125 mm
Thickness: 8 mm
Weight
88 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-14-751281-9 (9780147512819)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Albert Marrin is the author of many award-winning nonfiction books for young people and is the recipient of many honors, including the Washington Post Nonfiction Award for "outstanding lifetime contribution [that] has enriched the field of children's literature."
C. B. Mordan has illustrated several children's books, including Silent Movie by Avi and Guinea Pig Scientists by Mel Boring and Leslie Dendy. He lives in Kansas.
C. B. Mordan has illustrated several children's books, including Silent Movie by Avi and Guinea Pig Scientists by Mel Boring and Leslie Dendy. He lives in Kansas.