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Rat Bibliography

FICTION: For adults, young adults and children. The ones I’ve read are annotated.

Cox, Judy and Cynthia Fisher. Third Grade Pet.

Crimi, Carolyn and Lynn Munsinger. Don't Need Friends.

Gilbert, Stephen. Ratman's Notebooks. Out of print, but can be found at some libraries. I bought a copy online. This is the book that "Willard" is based on, but don't let that stop you. The book is MUCH better than the Crispin Glover movie.

Glover, Crispin. Rat catching.

Grass, Gunter. The Rat.

Haddon, Mark. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Honorable mention; it’s not exactly about a rat, but the main character, an autistic boy with a love for animals, has a pet rat who is very important to him. I really liked this book, and it’s a quick read.

Inkpen, Mick. The Great Pet Sale. This is one of the cutest kids’ picture books ever. A young boy sees a sign on a pet shop proclaiming “Everything must go!” and is followed around the store by a rat on sale for a penny, who tries sell talk the boy out of buying any of the other, more expensive, pets. When all is said and done, the boy buys the entire pet store, including the rat. The pictures, and the story, are adorable.

Lester, Helen. Hooway for Wodney Wat. Picture book for kids about a rat with a speech impediment. It’s just cute!

Marciano, John Bemelmans. Harold's Tail. A rat and a squirrel trade tail-styles to test a theory about their social standing.

Mieville, China. Rat King.

O’Brien, Robert C. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. Excellent book. If you haven't read it since you were a kid, read it again! In my opinion, it's way up there with "Watership Down."

Pratchett, Terry. The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents.

Pullman, Philip. I Was a Rat.

Seidler, Tor. A Rat's Tale. The main character of this children’s book is Montague Mad-Rat, who lives with his family in the sewers of New York. He falls for a girl rat who lives in the wharves and becomes involved in trying to raise money to help the socially higher-class wharf rats keep their homes. There are some good message about social class and family, and it’s all-around a cute story.

Seidler, Tor. The Revenge of Randal Reese-Rat. Sequal to A Rat’s Tale.

Talbot, Brian. Tale of One Bad Rat. Excellent graphic novel geared towards young adults. A teenage girl in England runs away from home to escape sexual abuse, taking along her pet rat. She lives on the streets and finds herself in a lot of difficult and scary situations and depends on her rat for comfort.

Wilson, Jim. Coachman Rat. Out of print. The story of one of Cinderella's coachmen. I haven’t read it, but I’ve heard that it’s quite good.

Zindal, Paul. Rats.

NON-FICTION

General Rat Care
There are a lot of books about caring for pet rats, most of them geared towards kids. I won’t list them all (in the interest of space) but would recommend consulting several sources when making decisions on rat care. Some books make recommendations which are considered dangerous by most experienced rat caretakers, such as using pine or cedar bedding. Some also contain extensive lists of “dangerous” foods, many of which are disputable. I will only list a few good rat-care books and a few other non-fiction rat books that may be of interest. Check out the Links section of this website for more good information on rats.

Ducommun, Debbie. Rat Health Care. Considered one of the foremost experts on rat care. Though I'm personally not a fan of her labor-intensive recommended diet, I think this is a good reference book to have on hand. It is not a substitute for veterinary care, but if you need first aid advice at midnight (and believe me, you will!) this is the place to look.

Ducommun, Debbie. Rats. A good, general guide to all aspects of caring for pet rats.

Somerville, Barbara and Gerry Bucsis. Training Your Pet Rat. I own a copy of this book and although I haven’t read it yet, I’ve heard some good reviews. I’m hoping it will help me train my rats to do my bidding.
Other Rat Books

Alloway, Tom. Sniffy the Virtual Rat. (Book and CD-ROM) I’m not a big fan of using animals in research, and there are more alternatives than ever before. Sniffy is geared towards behavioral and psychological experiments.

Barnett, S.A. The Story of Rats: Their Impact on Us, and Our Impact on Them. A historical and social overview of the relationship between rats and humans.

Chiasson, Robert B. Laboratory Anatomy of the White Rat. Intended as a manual for dissection, this is a useful reference for learning about what makes your rat tick.

Sullivan, Robert. Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City’s Most Unwanted Inhabitants. I’ve heard mixed reviews of this; apparently noone can tell whether the author likes or hates rats, but he’s definitely done a lot of research. A woman I met on the subway told me that rats and New York are two of her favorite subjects and she loves this book. Works for me.

 

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