I Was a Rat! by Philip Pullman
I Was A Rat ! By Allen M. Koshy
Bless my soul! said Bob. Who are you?
I was a rat, said the little boy. When a grubby young pageboy knocks
on the door of Bob the cobbler and Joan the washerwomans house, the
kindly couple hardly knows what to think. Could this delusional boy be the
answer to their prayers for a little one of their own? And was he really
once a rat? It seems so. He shreds his bedding, for example, and he
chews his toast swiftly with his front teeth. He eats an entire pencil and
bites his teacher. Despite the fact that he is a little ratty in his habits, the
old couple grow quite fond of the young fellow. In time, the word spreads
that theres a rat-boy in town, news that intrigues everyone from the Royal
Philosopher to the P.T. Barnum-inspired freak-peddler Oliver Tapscrew to
a reporter from the local rag The Daily Scourge. As the harmless, well-
meaning boy is transformed into The Monster of the Sewers through pure
sensationalism and mass hysteria, Philip Pullman playfully satirizes the
power of the press and society at large. What does it mean to be

human? In this often darkly comic Dickensian tale, rats start to look pretty
good by comparison. But in a fairy-tale ending, Bob and Joan teach us
that humans, corrupt as we are, can always take solace in toasted
cheese, love, and good craftsmanship. Kevin Hawkess black-and-white
illustrations enliven the already vivacious adventure that, thanks to
Pullmans ever lovely wordplay and sly satire, is every bit as enjoyable for
adults as it is for young readers. (Ages 9 to 12) --Karin Snelson
Personal Review: I Was a Rat! by Philip Pullman
Bob and Joan, an older couple living a quiet life in the village near the
castle, never were able to have children of their own. That brought them
some sadness, but they learned to go on with their lives despite that fact.
Then one evening a small boy shows up at their door. He has no name
and no home, and doesn't know where he came from or where he belongs.
However, he is insistent that he was a rat at some very recent time. Bob
and Joan take the boy in and, in fact, he does have some very ratlike
tendencies, such as ripping up all of his sheets to sleep on and putting his
face right into his food to eat. But he learns quickly and Bob and Joan take
a liking to him. They call him Roger, which they would have called their
own son if they'd had one.
Bob and Joan are good people who realize that a small boy must have a
place to be and people who will miss him, so they start bringing him
around to different places and asking about him. No one seems to know
who he is or where he belongs, so they decide he can stay with them for
awhile. However, people are curious about this boy who says he was a
rat, and wants to study him. During one session with the palace
philosopher, Roger is scared by the man's cat and runs away. He is
picked up by a traveling circus owner who treats him badly and makes him
perform as the rat-boy in his show. Roger is very sad and misses Bob and
Joan.
Roger eventually escapes and tries to become a rat again, living below the
streets and staying out of the way. But news of a monster in the sewers
spreads, and people are determined to capture this monster and put it to
death so it can't hurt anyone living in the village. Will Roger ever be able
to live in peace?
I liked the newspaper stories throughout this book, showing what the
common people wanted to read about. They were very amusing and
somewhat realistic. I liked that Roger was such an innocent character. He
never tried to cause trouble, but he was always in the middle of things. I
really liked the explanation for what happened to Roger at the end of the
book; it was a very clever take on the story.
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