Book Review - The Christmas Rat

The Christmas Rat
by Avi
Grade Level: 3-7
144 pages

I read The Christmas Rat to my boys last Christmas. I read to them every night and much of what I read ends up being less than memorable (for me - not necessarily for them). I try to mix it up with a little bit of the classics to make it more interesting (Old Yeller, Johnny Tremaine, Ender's Game, etc) and some of the new middle grade popular stuff to keep them engaged (Divergent, Michael Vey, Artemis Fowl). But every now and then I throw in an intriguing sounding book with rats in it.

This particular book is difficult to forget. It is really an odd book, and very eerie. It does not follow any common plot formula. I actually found it to be quite disturbing in places. It makes it a hard book to recommend or not recommend - because I myself have conflicted feelings about the book and it can very well produce polar opposite reactions in different people. I happen to like books that are different and memorable even if they are not a completely perfect, polished piece of art, so I have a particular draw to this one. But others may not find it so intriguing.

The main character, Eric, is a boy home for Christmas break. But things don't go according to his plans. His friends are either sick or out of town and his parents leave him alone during the day. He ends up meeting with his apartment building's exterminator, who coerces him to swear an oath to help him hunt down the rat in the building's basement. Eric quickly realizes that what he is doing is wrong and he develops an appreciation for the building's intelligent rat resident. But when he starts to waiver on his oath, the exterminator turns against him.

The exterminator is really one of the most creepy characters in children's fiction. He is portrayed as a violent killer who kills for the love of it. He needs the hunt. The fact that he is also supposed to be a manifestation of the Angel Gabriel is what really stirs things up. It is hard to resolve these two personas and the fact that on the one hand, we absolutely know that the exterminator is the enemy but on the other hand, can an angel really be the enemy in a children's Christmas story? Would an angel turn on a child trying to do what he believes is right? Or is there something more to it?

I think the book worked these issues out in the end - and the rat is definitely portrayed as crafty and as a being worth fighting for. I recommend this book for those who like their plots and conflicts to be a little muddy and not so cut and dry. But it could be disturbing and a little violent for kids who are not used to that sort of thing. My kids like video games and scary movies and so were completely fine with it. I probably was more disturbed than they were - simply because of the use of the Angel Gabriel in the specific role he played.

Books - The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents

In books, television, and movies, rats tend to be portrayed as evil sinister characters, which is a far cry from their real-life personalities. It is nice to call attention to those works that think outside the box and offer a positive portrayal of these wonderfully personable and intelligent animals.

 

Today, I would like to recommend a young adult fantasy novel, winner of the Carnegie Medal, from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series: The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents. Despite being part of a series, this book stands alone and requires no prior knowledge of the Discworld universe.

 

This novel is a delightful but dark play on the Pied Piper fairy tale, centering around a group of rats who developed intelligence and self-awareness when they ate from the garbage bins at a wizard university. They are led by Maurice, a cat, who became enlightened when he unknowingly ate of an affected rat - an act which haunts him throughout the novel.

 

Maurice invents a Pied-Piper scam with the help of the rats and a "stupid-looking kid" (piper), to defraud unwitting town governments of money by faking a rat plague. The rats are not convinced they are doing the right thing, but agree to help Maurice one last time. Unfortunately, deep down beneath this one last simple looking town, a terrible evil lurks . . . .

 

This novel is witty and entertaining and suspenseful and it brings to life an entire cast of rats - each with their own unique and memorable personality, and each one endearing in his or her own way. Whether the rat loves the old (wild) ways or is enchanted by new enlightenment, they are all treated with respect and integrity and love by the author. This book can be enjoyed by young and old alike - I read this book aloud to my boys (10 and 12), and they both enjoyed it as much as I did.

 

If you are not a book person, BBC Radio developed a radio play dramatization, featuring the voice talent of David Tennant (Dr. Who's 10th Doctor) as the wise but nearly blind rat, Dangerous Beans. I could not find this play available for purchase, but you can listen to it in 6 parts on YouTube.