By Philip Pullman (author)
"Superbly economic storytelling that manages to pack quite a thoughtful punch in these days of 'fake news" and is one of the best of the alternative versions of a familiar tale"
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Acclaimed author Philip Pullman turns his hand to a stunning and original story for younger readers. Who is Roger? He says he was a rat - and some of the time he behaves like a rat. But, he is also a small boy. Or, he could be the Monster of the sewers…Everyone has a view – including The Daily Scourge – who tells their own version in screaming newspaper headlines.
There is just one person who really knows who Roger is. And she’s the princess…Cleverly, Pullman weaves together strands of story from different sources creating a fast-paced and multi-layered adventure.
Featuring wonderful new illustrations from Peter Bailey, this intriguing and exciting tale of chance and misfortune by multi award-winning Philip Pullman, is perfect for readers young and old. I was a Rat! Roger insists, and insists . . .
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In fact, when Bob the cobbler and his washerwoman wife, Joan, find the young boy abandoned on their doorstep, these are the only words he says. And he does have ratty behaviour, it's true. Staying with Bob and Joan, however, Roger learns quickly to behave more like a human child.
They try to find his parents, but the orphanage, police and hospital all have nothing on their records about a lost boy in the city. What is the truth? As more and more people find out about Roger the mysterious rat-boy he faces more and more danger.
But sometimes help comes from the most unexpected of places . . .
A comic genius of children's fiction - The Times
Fairy tale, satire, slapstick humour and suspenseful melodrama . . . a glorious tale - Guardian
[A] perfectly shaped story . . . a fairy tale, an adventure, a parody and certainly a book that shines - Literacy and Learning
Philip Pullman one of the most acclaimed writers working today.
He is best known for the His Dark Materials trilogy (Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass), which has been named one of the top 100 novels of all time by Newsweek. He has also won many distinguished prizes, including the Carnegie Medal for Northern Lights (and the reader-voted ‘Carnegie of Carnegies’ for the best children’s book of the past seventy years); the Whitbread (now Costa) Award for The Amber Spyglass; and the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, in honour of his body of work. The first volume of Philip Pullman’s long-awaited trilogy The Book of Dust, set in the same world as His Dark Materials, published in 2017, and the second volume followed in 2019.
Author photo © Michael Leckie portrait.
Featuring wonderful new illustrations from Peter Bailey, this intriguing and exciting tale of chance and misfortune by multi award-winning Philip Pullman, is perfect for readers young and old. I was a Rat!
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed I Was a Rat! Or, The Scarlet Slippers and determined it is suitable for children aged 7-8 years old
I Was a Rat! Or, The Scarlet Slippers features in the following genres: Featured Books for 7+ readers, Recommendations
Paperback. £8.09, down from the £8.99 cover price. In Stock.
I Was a Rat! Or, The Scarlet Slippers was written by Philip Pullman and published by Puffin an imprint of Penguin Books Ltd
I Was a Rat! Or, The Scarlet Slippers has 223 pages
£8.09, reduced from £8.99. In Stock.
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