Rat Rule 79
As a Child, my favorite types of stories were imaginative, creative and adventurous. Books like the Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum, Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, and The Pagemaster by David Kirschner. Rat Rule 79 is a book I would've devoured as a child and reread each year. Oh heck, let me be honest this is still my favorite type of book. When an author builds a world that, like the Wizard of Oz, travels from real to imaginative you don't fall in accidentally, you willingly jump into the well, or in this case, walk through the paper lantern.
This book is about a girl named Fred who has moved too many times due to her mother being a mathematical professor. She is fed up with moving and being unsettled. No matter where she moves to at least, she has her "Unwritten Rulebook for Living's Truly Great Meals in Life": Peanut Butter and Pickles on Raisin bread sandwiches, and takeout Lo Mein Noodles. The latter for noodles being "ultra-scrumptious" but also because they came with fortune cookies. Fred and mom open their fortune cookies holding the strangest fortunes. One read "THANK YOU FOR GETTING ME OUT OF THERE!" and the other read, "LIFE IS TWO LOCKED BOXES, EACH CONTAINING THE OTHER'S KEY." Those fortune cookies according to Fred shows how pathetic the town is that they moved to. After much discussion about Fred's birthday the next day. Her mom suggests after going to school for a while maybe they could have a party for Fred. Fred tells her she wants nothing to do with her birthday, nor a party ever. Fred's mom tells her that after a night of sleep things will be better. Fred thinks that nothing can be solved by sleep as it is a whole bunch of nothingness. This is one of the "Two Most Useless Solutions" in her "Unwritten Rulebook for Living". The other useless solution is "knowing that you are loved." Fred says that she isn't tired and that her mom is ignoring the elephant in the room. She basically has nothing in her life and doesn't know anyone. Fred furies into her room. This is where the adventures start!
Rat Rule 79 has the greatest random chapter headings. Chapter names like Chapter Red, Negative Numbers, and A Normal Chapter. There are four colors ribboned throughout this book. There is a comforting fabric pattern that threads through the adventure keeping Fred tethered to home and again like the Wizard of Oz, there is a desired to find the one thing that returns her to where she belongs.
Fred makes friends along the way who are full of character. They are well developed -- some lovable and others you want to hate. Each character has a place in Rat Rule 79 and none make you wonder why they even exist. As in Alice in Wonderland the world that Fred enters is filled with irrationality, silliness, curiosity, and oddities that help Fred along the way.
Rat Rule 79 is truly a love story between mother and daughter and the journey it takes to come back to each other. I had deep reactions to this book as a mother whose children are now all out of the house and the rules that The Rat implements, although unfair to children and those who live a life filled with joyful fun, makes a whole heck of a lot of sense when reading it as an adult.
Elena Megalos' illustrations are fresh, riveting, and happy.
Jewish Canadian- American author, Rivka Galchen's debut novel for children will go down in history as one of those books that you fall in love with, and can't help but recommend to your family, friends and children around you. Like my copy of Rat Rule 79, I truly believe that other People’s copies (whether old or young) of this book will be worn in and worn out. Rat Rule 79 will be considered a classic decades from now. I, myself, have bought three hardcover copies (although I already own a soft-cover given to me by publisher Restless Books for my honest review) just so I can send one to each of my sister's families to read either by each child or by their family as a whole
Thank you Restless Books and Rivka Galchen for the opportunity to read such a wonderful book in lieu of my honest review.
Comments
Post a Comment