Dear Rat

by Julia Cunningham, Walter Lorraine (Illustrator)

A tough but tenderhearted rat from Wyoming gets into trouble while visiting in France.

126 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1961

About the author

On October 4, 1916 in Spokane, Washington, Julia Cunningham was born. Julia went to school for a short time in Virginia. She was an editor and held various other jobs before writing children's and young adult books. The Vision of Francois the Fox, Ms. Cunningham's first book, was published in 1960, followed by Viollet (1966), The Treasure is the Rose (1973), and Tuppeny (1978).

Her book, Dorp Dead (1965), has been called "a ground-breaking novel that dramatically changed children's literature in the 20th century."

As a children's author, Cunningham has felt she needs to "listen - look - daydream - be aware of smell and taste - and be "disciplined." Critics have praised her works for their originality and "poetic prose."

Among her many honors are the Christopher Medal for Come to the Edge and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor for The Flight of the Sparrow. The Treasure is the Rose was a National Book Award Finalist. Julia Cunningham lives in Santa Barbara, California.

Reviews

[Clayton Roach · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks Bailey Hammond for gifting me this book. The best part of this read were the illustrations. I figured out pretty quick that this book was intended for the young child of the 1970’s. Nothing against the overall plot, but it was choppy and cheesy at points, and the ending came out of nowhere. I’ll be holding on to this book for future generations of rat enthusiasts. Fun read that challenged my creativity as I read about a rat wining and dining like a human king. Not to mention they rode horses. Pretty interesting.

[Nicola Manby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came across this and remembered reading it as a child. It’s wonderful!