i love it it is not as gross as people say read it read it read it i am telling you read it

Of all binomial names -- and that includes my favorites, Metasequoia glyptostroboides (for the ancient dawn redwood tree whose shaggy bark resembles shredding by a gang of kitty cats), and Elaeagnus pungens 'Maculata' (the variegated silverberry with the tricky spelling [always appealing to the spelling bee competitor in me])-- of all the possible poetic, funny, and lyrical combinations, the best is that of Rattus rattus. The black rat! (Although just for the record there's also the Rattus norvegicus, the brown rat).

Our outside cats kill about 4 of them every week, so a quick trip to water the hostas can quickly turn into an awful squish under the flip flops. The poor dears! I've given up on burying them, or even transporting them to the trash.

Here's a compendium of rat facts. Perfect for any age, with sweet line drawings and highlighted "Did You Know?" boxes. Did you know: rats can swim 1/2 mile and tread water for 3 hours? they can stand on their hind legs and box with their front paws? they show compassion towards family members less fortunate than they (such as one who's blind, hospicing them throughout their lifetimes)?

Sometimes rats get their tails caught together in one big knot -- it's called a "King Rat", and they ultimately die together in that bunch.

If one rat dies from a poison, the other rats learn from that experience and won't touch the poison.

There are two rats for every person living on this earth. If we learned how to eat rats -- as they do in Ghana, with half the population regularly eating them (better than chicken!) -- starvation might be eliminated.

Oh yes, they're vicious too, and breed disease, but oh my! What a good read!

This is a 2009 Rebecca Caudill. I found the writing style highly engaging for an informational book. Once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. I'm disgusted to find out that rat is a delicacy in some places. I also learned a lot about the plauge, etc. Great read for elementary and middle schoolers.

Fascinating reading...a more factual version of Disney's "Ratatouille."
Have it in my classroom and it gets read a lot!

Focusing on the historical and current connection between rats and people, Oh Rats! provides the trivia (teeth grow five inches a year) then discusses their influences in areas such as: science, wars, medicine, food production, pest control, and yes, even menus.

Well researched and written. But let's just say it: made me cringe. Some loved the woodcut illustrations, I found them creepy (so perhaps on topic). If you want to know rats, this is your book.

2007 ALSC Notable

For a non-fiction book it has a nice balance between ramble and research. It can be read cover to cover as an interesting set of facts, which reminds me of books written for early grade school. The combination of historical drawings, photographs, and ephemera reminds me of the current trend in teen non-fiction (and adult coffee table books). It is very appealing overall, I would use portions to be read aloud to younger grades, as an additional material resource with an historical novel, or as a suggestion for an older reluctant reader.
I am not scared of rodents in general so I can't verify for the squeamish but my impression was that the illustrations are less "icky" than I have seen in other books about rodents. It might be a good title for someone who would rather not think about a rat let alone learn more about rats.

I'm trying to figure out the audience for this book.

Great read, fascinating rat facts. Also reads quickly.

This is a truly fascinating book about rats. When I first saw it, I thought our librarian was crazy to have bought it but it is really about world history, sociology, urbanization, etc. A great read once you get over the repulsiveness of rats.

Really fun and interesting!

An intriguing review of the history of rats and people with plenty of facts (sometimes not entirely cohesive or fitting, but still interesting.)

It taught a lot about the rodent species. I really enjoyed reading it with the class.