Rats! The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Product Description The next time you see a rat you should give it a round of applause. Consider the facts: rats can gnaw through lead, wriggle through a hole the size of a quarter, and survive high doses of nuclear radiation. Rats have also managed to exploit us humans for all we’re worth–we’ve unintentionally provided them with food, shelter, and transportation. And contrary to popular belief, rats are quite clean. Some people keep them as pets. Some even worship them. Armed with wit and scientific fact, award-winning natural history writer Richard Conniff gleefully delves into the fascinating and impressive world of the rat–one of the most successful animals on earth. From School Library Journal Grade 4-8-From the endpapers that picture rats jammed together like commuters on a rush-hour subway to the erratic but exciting design and chapter headings that look slightly chewed, this volume is as entertaining as it is informative. Conniff opens with the amazingly fast life cycle of rats-giving birth for the first time at three months and again every three weeks, a female rat can have as many as 60 or 70 babies in one year. Species, biology, behavior, trivia, myths, and lore-all are here. The author discusses the damage and disease rats can cause and the wars humans wage against them, experimentation and ethics, rats as food, and rats as pets. The tone is always lively and the information is well balanced. The animals' intelligence (they are better at logic and navigation than humans and they have amazing memories) and survival skills (they can swim three days without stopping and can survive nuclear radiation) will impress even the most phobic readers. The design is colorful and busy, with pages crawling with photos and headings and captions that can, at times, be slightly hard to read. However, the writing is clear and conversational, and the author's contagious fascination with these creatures is sure to hold the attention of even reluctant readers. Susan Oliver, Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library System, FL Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Booklist Gr. 3-5. Informative color photographs and a stylish design accompany many facts and anecdotes about rats in this lively book. In addition to introducing the biology of these ubiquitous rodents, the accessible text describes their roles in history, in science, and as pets, debunking several myths along the way. Squeamish children will want to avoid some of the grimmer photos and facts, but other kids will relish the stories about a temple where rats are worshiped and pictures of rats on sale for eating. Though Outside and Inside Rats and Mice (2001), by Sandra Markle, includes more biological fact than this book does, children looking for report material will find general information here. However, the real audience will be kids who simply enjoy reading about scary animals. Kathleen Odean Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved From the Inside Flap The next time you see a rat you should give it a round of applause. Consider the facts: rats can gnaw through lead, wriggle through a hole the size of a quarter, and survive high doses of nuclear radiation. Rats have also managed to exploit us humans for all we?re worth?we?ve unintentionally provided them with food, shelter, and transportation. And contrary to popular belief, rats are quite clean. Some people keep them as pets. Some even worship them. Armed with wit and scientific fact, award-winning natural history writer Richard Conniff gleefully delves into the fascinating and impressive world of the rat?one of the most successful animals on earth. About the Author Richard Conniff is the author of several adult nonfiction books including Every Creeping Thing: True Tales of Faintly Repulsive Wildlife and numerous articles for such magazines as National Geographic, Smithsonian, and Time, winning the National Magazine Award. He has also written and presented nature programs f