Children's Book review

I Was a Rat

By Philip Pullman

Published by Yearling

A small boy arrives on the doorstep of a childless couple, politely but insistently asserting that he used to be a rat. The hapless Roger is first taken from his new home for a ‘philosophical investigation’, then exploited as a fairground exhibit and finally hunted as an alleged threat to society, until the remarkable truth finally emerges. This is a magical, humorous and well-paced example of storytelling at its best.

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Illustrator: Peter Bailey

Reading age: 8+
Interest level: 8-11