Rat and Roach Friends to the End

by David Covell

Friends. Enemies. And friends again!

This is a story of two friends. Rat and Roach.
They get along great!
Except when Rat makes a mess . . .
Or Roach cooks too fancy . . .
Or Rat HUGS TOO TIGHT!!
In fact, why are these two friends? Rat and Roach aren't so sure either, but they're more unhappy when they aren't friends. Here is a book that shows friendship in a whole new, wonderful, hilarious light.

Genres: Picture Books, Friendship, Childrens, Storytime, Fiction, Humor, Animals

40 pages, Hardcover

First published June 28, 2012

About the author

David Covell grew up in the wilds of Maine and only came home when it was time for dinner. After earning a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh he moved to Burlington, Vermont where his work for Burton Snowboards was instrumental in creating the design culture of alternative sports. Today, he works as a graphic designer in New York City, and his work has been seen around the world and in the permanent collection of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. Run Wild is David’s third picture book – one he hopes will inspire everyone to get outside and explore!

Reviews

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

If Charles Bukowski wrote a picture book?

[Sonam · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book about friendship

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a cute book! I happened upon this at the library and I instantly fell in love with the book. What a great way to teach children about opposites and how they can still be friends. If you're looking for a fun book about tolerance, I would definitely recommend this book. I look forward to reading his other books in this series!

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very witty and gross. Two very different friends and the only thing they have in common is the love for each other.

[Sunah Chung · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rat and Roach are the best friends, but they are too different in many things. Rat love to mess around and have fun, while Roach prefers order and cleanliness. After several disagreements in their everyday life, their friendship grows stronger and more reliable.
Conflicts and differences are the major issues in the friendship. This book illustrated the difficulties of resolving the problems related to different personalities and lifestyles. But after putting oneself in the other’s shoes, they could understand each other, and their friendship became unbreakable. What I liked about this book’s illustration was how it breaks the stereotype of roaches representing dirtiness. In this story, Roach was quite fancy and lovely. He sprays sweet scents to mask Rat's smell and cleans the surroundings from the Rat's mess.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who knows what causes friendships to form or to break? In this picture book Rat and Roach seem to have very little in common. Rat is smelly, and Roach likes his air to smell fresh and sweetly scented. They don't agree on the volume of music, on housekeeping or cooking. When they became angry with one another, they decide to quit speaking. But that leads to them missing each other, and they hug--a little too tightly for Roach's taste--and make up. The story has been told before, of course, but never in quite this fashion. I loved the illustration showing Rat banging away on his tuna can drums.

[Beth Kakuma-Depew · Rating 4 out of 5]

this picture book would make a great reader for older kids who don't want a baby-ish book. The silliness, and the grossness could even make it appealing to middle schoolers who are at a very low reading level. (I would say this is at a 1-2nd grade level). The story about two friends who get along dispite their differences isn't ground-breaking, but still it's fairly well written. And the message about how to save a friendship after a fight is worth hearing again.

One tiny nit-picky complaint: why doesn't the roach have 6 legs? His back legs look realisticly bug-like, so why anthropomorphize him into having only 2 sets of limbs?

[Kathleen Gillis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oscar and Felix. Ernie and Bert. And now - Rat and Roach. These appealing characters join the ranks of unlikely friends who show the reader that conflict and differences don't have to mean the end of a relationship. In fact, they can help us grow, learn, and have more fun. The attractive artwork and use of humor will appeal to older readers. I plan to use it as supplementary material with my fifth grade ELA classes as we explore themes of friendship and community this fall. Because it's become a recent favorite of my 3 yr old son's (who's definitely more Rat than Roach these days), I may need to purchase another copy of the book to keep at home once school starts.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rat and Roach are best friends even though they have very different interests and are very different individuals. Rat is sloppy and likes messes; Roach is neat and likes pretty things. The find that even though they are so different they can still be friends.

I like the message of friendship despite differences of this book. And I think boys especially will enjoy the gross factor of this book. Lots of details given in very simple illustrations.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

I happened to get this one as well as Bat and Rat by Jennings at the same time from my library. My 5-year-old had fun pointing out all the similarities between the two as well as what was different. Cute book though.

[Sean Kottke · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Frog and Toad" for city kids who've never seen frogs or toads, but have seen plenty of rats and roaches. Funny and sweet without being saccharine, it would be a great read-aloud with kids who have unconventional approaches to attracting and seeking friends.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this friendship story from the sewers, Rat and Roach realize the importance of their friendship after exchanging negativities. A unique visual texture and color palatte make this one notable.

[Cathy Blackler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story about the joys & perils of friendship.

[Alyson (Kid Lit Frenzy) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can I just say *different*?!

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of an odd-ball book, but fun.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rat and roach are friends but they are total opposite of one another which sometimes leads to a riff between.

[babyhippoface · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun book of "Odd Couple" type friendship between a rat and a roach.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hysterical! I hope to see more of Rat & Roach in the future!

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved the pictures, they were kinda retro. what exactly is this relationship between Rat and Roach? very different picture book and I think that older kids and adults will enjoy it immensely.

[Amy Graham halstead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it! It's the only one of my two year old's favorites that I don't get sick of reading...every single night:-). Can't wait for the sequels.

[Red Balloon Bookshop]

I LOVE these guys-- they're the animal kingdom version of "The Odd Couple"! YAY! FRIENDS!

[Tracy Schillemore · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute story about friendship.

[Julie Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book about how Rat and Roach can stay best friends, even though they are very different.

[Jenna Bowen]

This is about a rat and a roach. Students can compare and contrast the difference between the rat and the roach because one is always clean and the other one is always dirty and smelly.

[Tracey Jo Williams]

This is a picture book about a rat and a roach who are friends no matter how different they are. Could be a great lesson for students in the classroom.

[Monica Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny

[Stacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very different book.