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Rude Ramsay and the Roaring Radishes

Rude Ramsay and the Roaring Radishes
By Margaret Atwood

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Product Description

In Rude Ramsay and the Roaring Radishes, bestselling author Margaret Atwood offers a delightfully ridiculous tale about the virtues of resisting restrictions. With tongue-twisting phrases heavily peppered with words beginning with R, the story follows Ramsay as he travels with his friend Ralph, the red-nosed rat, from his home full of revolting relatives to a field of roaring radishes. There he meets a girl named Rillah, who needs a bit of adventure herself. Atwood's rollicking text is accompanied by devilish and Dušan Petricic's insightful illustrations.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #449624 in Books
  • Published on: 2004-09
  • Original language: English
  • Binding: Hardcover
  • 32 pages

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.ca
A carrot-topped lad named Rude Ramsay yearns to escape the confines of his miserable life in a "ramshackle rectangular residence," surrounded by an impenetrable rampart with his insufferable relatives, Ron, Rollo, and Ruby. Worse than their rum consumption and relentless playing of rock & roll records is the horrible food they prepare: roach-riddled rice, rancid raisins, and reeking reindeer rinds are just a few of their specialties. Aided by his sole friend, Ralph the red-nosed rat, Rude Ramsay escapes the imposing rampart in search of better culinary offerings, encountering a patch of roaring radishes, a romantic rectory, and their owner, the raven-haired Rillah. With each other's encouragement and help, Ramsay, Ralph, and Rillah manage to find happiness on the sunny side of the rampart.

Margaret Atwood, the internationally successful author of over 30 books of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction, places a heavy emphasis on alliteration and a lot of grown-up words to spin this tale of positive rebellion. While adults will appreciate Atwood's trademark sly wit and humour, holding young children's interest in the story may depend on the interpretive skills of the narrator and the appeal of Dusan Petricic's expansive illustrations, which range from dark and dingy to light and uplifting. (All ages) --Martha Johnson

From School Library Journal
Grade 1-3–"Rude Ramsay resided in a ramshackle rectangular residence with a roof garden, a root cellar, and a revolving door." So begins this nonsensical, alliterative romp. The renowned Canadian writer's command of wordplay is impressive, and unfamiliar words (rhapsodic, rigor mortis, rubicund) may afford youngsters an opportunity for vocabulary enrichment. Nevertheless, the conceit totally overwhelms the strained and far-fetched plot involving Rude Ramsay (who isn't really rude) running away with a rat and encountering a field of rabid radishes and a rich girl named Rillah. Subtly toned, sophisticated illustrations mirror the frenetic pace of the slightly unpleasant text, though some spreads, notably the scene of the rabid radishes, exhibit a clever and humorous design. Overall, however, consider this a rather wretched effort.–Caroline Ward, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT
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About the Author

Margaret Atwood is best known as the author of more than thirty books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, including her latest novel, Oryx and Crake. Her previous novel, The Blind Assassin, won the Booker Prize. She has written four other children's books: Anna's Pet (with Joyce Barkhouse), Up in the Tree, For the Birds, and Princess Prunella and the Purple Peanut. She lives in Toronto.

Dušan Petricic is the award-winning illustrator of more than twenty books for children. A former professor of illustration and book design, Petricic's work has appeared in The New York Times, Scientific American, The Wall Street Journal, and The Toronto Star. He lives in Toronto.