The title doesn't do justice to this fine book. Walter is a rat who loves to read and lives with a children's author.

This is a lovely little book, that is very hard to categorize. It is short and has a literate rat as a main character, but it is certainly not a children's book. Recommended for misanthropes and those with lonely artistic hearts.

This is a wonderful story of an unlikely friendship between a rat and a human. As a children's story, it's a nice account of an elderly rat finding a home with an elderly woman, and it's cute because Walter breaks the stereotypes that humans have about rats. Walter loves to read and was born with the ability to when no other rat around him was. It's a fun story, but as an adult reading it, I see that there's so much more than the surface. It's a story about breaking barriers and not allowing misconceptions and preconceived notions to get into the way of love and friendship. People are different, and they're allowed to be. Walter and Miss Pomeroy don't try to change each other. They try to make each other better and accept each other for who they are rather than for what they are. There are many life lessons in this small book that both children and adults can appreciate.
I highly recommend this book to children (and therefore to parents) but also to anybody who enjoys stories of unconventional friendships.
My only complaint about the book is that the ending was somewhat abrupt and anticlimactic. But it was also beautiful, so I can overlook that.

This charming tale of Walter the rat made me laugh out loud at a few parts. Walter was born knowing how to read, and he fills his lonely days exploring literature. He lives in the home of Miss Amanda Pomeroy, a writer who has written numerous children's books with a mouse as a hero. Miss Pomeroy is also lonely, Walter can feel her loneliness, and he reaches out to her with a note to say hello and tell her that he lives in her house too. She knows he does, and her reply is to stop eating her expensive biscuits. Thus begins a tentative friendship where Walter tries to figure out why Miss Pomeroy is so lonely and grumpy, and why the bio on the back of her books says she likes gardening and cooking, when Walter knows that's not true. (The garden is a tangled mess, and Walter cringes to think of eating her dinner leftovers of TV dinners). Walter complains to her about mice being the hero of so many books, and she recommends a few classics with rats, which he reads with pleasure. The conclusion is on Christmas Day with a delightful exchange of presents, and the beginning of a new companionship between Walter and Miss Pomeroy.
Highly recommended.

I thought this book was absolutely ADORABLE!!

Walter is an extrodinary rat. He has the power to read. This is most unusal for any animal, and soon he becomes an avid reader of anything he can find. Then one night he moves away from his famly to begin a life of his own.
Little does he know it will be a very long while before he can settle down permentitly...

Almost seven years later, as you can imagen, Walter the rat is quite elderly. His fur and whiskers are gray, and his tail drags on the floor from frequent tiredness.
However, he still loves to read anything he can get his paws on. So that is why he moves into the house of a human writer of children books.

The is a quite, short, cute story of how Walter and the human--Mrs. Promkey--become friends through letters. They live in the same house, but Walter has had enough experisne with humans to know if they saw him they would probably scream. So he decides to write her a letter, and she writes one back, and he writes another one...

As you can imangen, this devolops are strong, very firm bond between human and rat. I thought this story was adorable, and I hope you do, too.

A sweet story of a rat named Walter who learns to read and write (and he reads all the good stuff too) and befriends a solitary writer. I bought it for my boyfriend's son, but read it before I gave it to him. I need my own copy.

This book is often described as a children's book, however, whilst this is one description it vastly underestimates its depth and pathos. It is outstanding as an adult book both in physical quality and content. Both the child and adult within you may enjoy this at the same time! Unforgettable on the first and every subsequent reading.

Yarım saatte okuyup bitirdiğim çok çok tatlı bir çocuk kitabı. Bir puanı isimden kırıyorum, orijinal ismi "Walter: The Story of a Rat" olan bir kitabı neden böyle abes bir isimle çevirdiniz? Öncelikle yazara, sonrasında "cici ve sevgi dolu bir isim koymazsak veliler almaz" dediğiniz için müşterilerinizin zekasına hakaret bence. Miss Pomeroy çok kızardı.

Ich möchte bitte auch einen Walter :D Was für eine süße, kurzweilige und schöne Vorweihnachtliche Geschichte für Erwachsene! Die Idee dahinter ist einfach so schön. Außerdem bin ich total für eine Rehabilitierung von Ratten <3

This book is a perfect example as to why we should never judge a book by its cover OR its title for that matter! I found it to be a tribute to both writers and readers as well as a charming story about friendship and acceptance.

I came across this book as I was browsing the shelves at Chapters the other day and was intrigued by the illustrations first but, upon reading the synopsis I had to get it! This is the story of a rat that can read - suspend your disbelief - and who, fortuitously, lives in the house of an author. An author who happens to write books for children. About mice.
It's a lovely story that explores both the love of literature and relationships between living creatures, be they rat or human. I'm definitely glad that I followed my instinct on this one!

Awwwwwwh. A cute, 50-page story (seriously, with illustrations!) about an unexpected friendship. Oh, and it almost made me feel bad about the hundreds of rats I cursed while living in the city this summer...