School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Poor Rodney Rat is teased mercilessly by all the other rodents because he can't pronounce his R's in this beginning to read title by Helen Lester (Houghton, 1999). When Camilla Capybara joins the class and announces that she is bigger, meaner, and smarter than any of the other rodents, everyone is afraid, especially Wodney. One day he unwittingly catches Camilla out in a game of Simon Says, and surprises himself and saves his classmates from big bully Camilla. This retelling nicely reflects Wodney's transformation from shy rodent with a speech impediment to hero of the class. Narration is accompanied by synthesized music and some sound effects. Side one includes page-turning signals (that sound like a small rodent being squeezed), while side two contains an uninterrupted reading. This book and tape set will be popular in school and public libraries.-Shauna Yusko, King County Library System, Bellevue, WA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 3-A shy rat who can't pronounce his r's rises to the occasion and outsmarts a new student who terrorizes the classroom. An ego booster for any child who has ever been bullied or teased, with illustrations that exude charm and personality. (May) (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
