Product Description

"How can someone so small make so much noise?" wonders Mr Bear. Mr and Mrs Bear and their woodland friends try everything, but nothing, it seems, will quieten the baby -- until her big sister has an idea ...Every parent will smile at Mr Bear's familiar predicament, read with warmth and delight by Paul McGann. The CD is accompanied by a wonderful newly packaged picture book, illustrated with warm, glowing artwork and a tender story and featuring Mr Bear - one of Orchard's most successful characters. >

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #940924 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-17
• Original language: English
• Binding: Audio Cassette

From Amazon.com
Lauren Child, creator of the popular Clarice Bean books, lavishes her zany, ultramodern, mixed-media attentions on the animal kingdom in That Pesky Rat. This brown street rat lives in a trash can in Grubby Alley, longing to be someone's pet. He knows plenty of animals who are pets. Pierre, a chinchilla, lives in the lap of luxury with Madame Fifi who feeds him chocolates. Nibbles, a lop-eared rabbit, works in a circus with Mr. Hoopla. (With all the trapezes and such, she may have a life that's "a little too nerve-wracking," but at least she has a name other than that pesky rat.) Miss St. Clair does puzzles with her Scottie dog, Andrew, and makes him wear a little hat and coat. "I don't think clothes would suit me," says our rat. "But I would do anything to be somebody's pet." One day, the rat takes the matter into his own paws and posts a notice in Mrs. Trill's pet store: "Brown rat looking for a kindly owner with an interest in cheese." Fortunately, the myopic Mr. Fortesque thinks he is a cat, and of course, no one corrects him. They live happily ever after, Mr. Fortesque and... Tiddles. Child's funky, clashing-pattern collages complement this sweetly earnest story of a creature who wants to love and be loved, even if it means having to wear a little sweater. (Ages 4 to 8) --Karin Snelson

From Publishers Weekly
In this uplifting tale, a needle-nosed rodent yearns "to belong to somebody. To be a real pet. Most of all I would like to have a name, instead of just that pesky rat." The trash-can resident envies his apartment-dwelling buddies, like the chinchilla who grouses, "It's not all cushions and chocolates," and the Scottish terrier who doesn't like to wear a plaid coat: "It's kind of embarrassing when we go shopping." Undeterred by his friends' compromises, the rat posts a flyer ("looking for kindly owner with an interest in cheese") and hangs around a pet store, until a man with poor eyesight mistakes him for a cat and adopts him. Child (Beware of the Storybook Wolves) sketches her characters in a thick, loose black line, then uses these drawings in high-voltage photo-collages. Her crazy-quilt compositions, which include cutout pictures of furniture and bathroom tiles, patterned fabric and wood-grain wallpaper, suggest a skewed world where a city rat might endear himself to an eccentric fellow; it also helps that the sympathetic title character speaks in the first person. Instead of highlighting the rat's sneakiness, the redemptive ending conveys his devotion: "So what if I have to wear a sweater? Mr. Fortesque says, `Well, Tiddles, who's a pretty kittycat?' And I squeak, `I am!' " Ages 4-8.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3-He doesn't have a home or an owner, and, most of all, he doesn't have a name-and that pesky brown rat wants all three. He wants "to live with creature comforts. To belong to somebody. To be a real pet." In this hilarious paean to dreaming big (and learning to compromise), the rodent looks at Pierre the chinchilla, who belongs to Madame Fifi; Nibbles the rabbit, who works in a circus; and Andrew the Scottie dog, who lives with Miss St. Clair. All seem to have ideal lives, although Pierre endures a shampoo once a week; Nibbles walks the high wire, and maybe that's a little too nerve-racking; and Andrew has to wear a little hat and coat when he goes shopping with his owner. When nearsighted Mr. Fortesque misreads the rat's handwritten notice in a pet store ("Brown rat looking for kindly owner with an interest in cheese"), the critter is in luck. "My, what a pointy nose you have, and, goodness me, what a long tail, and such unusual beady eyes.-I've been looking for a brown cat as nice as this one for ages," says the Magoolike man. There, on the last page of this sprightly book, illustrated with goofy collages and bright, bold watercolor drawings, is the rat, happy at last, and dressed in a little sweater. And when Mr. Fortesque asks, "Well, Tiddles, who's a pretty kittycat?" he squeaks, happily, "I am!"-Dona Ratterree, New York City Public Schools
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Wonderful classroom book
The writing and illustrations in this book are superb. This is a wonderful story of a rat longing to be a pet, and to have a name other than "that pesky rat". This book is a wonderful classroom tool to introduce children to a classroom pet. This book can be read to the students before choosing a name for the class pet.

A Home, An Owner, and a Name.....
That poor pesky rat. There he is living in trashcan number 3, Grubby Alley. He's all alone in the world wishing he was a real pet, with an owner, and creature comforts, and a name. His friend Pierre, the chinchilla, has a glamorous life eating chocolates, and Nibbles, the lop-eared rabbit, has an exciting life working in a circus. Even Andrew, the scottie dog, has a nice, quiet life with Miss St. Claire. She makes him wear a coat and hat when they go out, and that's embarrassing, but as that pesky rat tells us: "I would do almost anything to be somebody's pet." So he decides to take matters into his own little paws, and write an advertisement for the pet store window. He waits and waits and waits, and then one day old Mr Fortesque, with the very bad eyesight, stops by and reads..... Award winning author and illustrator, Lauren Child, has written a charming and humorous story that will have kids rooting and cheering for this unlikely and endearing want-to-be pet. Her engaging and witty text wraps itself creatively around her cleverly exuberant collage artwork, and children will enjoy all the colors, textures, and eye-catching details as they explore each playful illustration. With a satisfying, feel good ending, That Pesky Rat is perfect for youngsters 4-8, and a wonderful additional to all home libraries.

terrific picture book
I have never loved a rat more than this little pesky rat. He is sweet, brave, thoughtful, enterprising and wants only to be loved. My daughter and I spent a lot of time looking at this book at the book store and now we are actually buying it, so that we can give him a home, even though my children are past the age of picture books. We are also buying it because the illustrations are witty and interesting; being both straightforward and (using beautifully patterned photo collages) complex. The story is great fun. This rat is as appealing as a rat can be. As a mother of three kids who I've read many books to I am certain that this book is well worth owning. Your children will enjoy hearing this book over and over and you'll enjoy reading it every time.