Oh Rats!: The Story of Rats and People
Albert Marrin, C.B Mordan
Paperback
(Puffin Books, Oct. 2, 2014)
Prepare to be disgusted, amazed, shocked (and informed) by the astonishing and mysterious creature that has annoyed humanity for centuries:Rats!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 neighbors for centuries.* "[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 “Pleasantly icky.”—Booklist A Junior Library Guild SelectionIncludes bibliography, further reading list, and a list of rats in literature