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Rotten Ralph
Wedding Bells for Rotten Ralph
Ralph outdoes himself again in this picture book of wedding bliss and bedlam. It's Aunt Martha's wedding day and Sarah is the flower girl, but Ralph is determined to turn this celebration into an event only our favorite rotten cat could enjoy. He begins by wrapping the wedding gift with that special Ralph flair, then selecting some choice "petals" for Sarah to spread over the guests. After a riotous ceremony, he tops the day by wreaking havoc at the reception. "Oh, Ralph you were so rotten," bemoans Sarah. Is there anything that cat will do to make her happy? You'll be surprised... "'I bet I know who did that'", Sarah said to herself. She peeked under the table and saw Ralph eating a monster slice of cake. Sarah's the flower girl at Aunt Martha's wedding, and Ralph is ready to tie all kinds of knots--but are they the kind that will make for marital bliss? If they involve a red cat, a monster truck, and paws full of snails, you can guess the answer. The question to be popped After a day of nuptial sabotage, can Ralph still make Sarah smile? Once again, Jack Gantos and Nicole Rubel manage to bring equal measures of love and nastiness to Sarah's special cat. 00 Children's Choices (IRA/CBC)
- GenresPicture BooksCats
32 pages, Hardcover
First published April 21, 1999
1 person is currently reading
18 people want to read
About the author
Jack Gantos
81 books551 followersJack Gantos is an American author of children's books renowned for his portrayal of fictional Joey Pigza, a boy with ADHD, and many other well known characters such as Rotten Ralph, Jack Henry, Jack Gantos (memoirs) and others. Gantos has won a number of awards, including the Newbery, the Newbery Honor, the Scott O'Dell Award, the Printz Honor, and the Sibert Honor from the American Library Association, and he has been a finalist for the National Book Award.
Gantos was born in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania to son of construction superintendent John Gantos and banker Elizabeth (Weaver) Gantos. The seeds for Jack Gantos' writing career were planted in sixth grade, when he read his sister's diary and decided he could write better than she could. Born in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, and raised in Barbados and South Florida, Mr. Gantos began collecting anecdotes in grade school and later gathered them into stories.
After his senior year in high school (where he lived in a welfare motel) he moved to a Caribbean island (St Croix) and began to train as a builder. He soon realized that construction was not his forté and started saving for college. While in St. Croix he met a drug smuggler and was offered a chance to make 10 000 dollars by sailing to New York with 2,000 pounds of hash. With an English eccentric captain on board they set off to the big city. Once there they hung out at the Chelsea hotel and Gantos carried on dreaming about college. Then, in Jacks own words, "The **** hit the fan" and the F.B.I. burst in on him. He managed to escape and hid out in the very same welfare motel he was living during high school. However, he saw sense and turned himself in. He was sentenced to six years in prison, which he describes in his novel -HOLE IN MY LIFE-. However, after a year and a half in prison he applied to college, was accepted. He was released from prison, entered college, and soon began his writing career.
He received his BFA and his MA both from Emerson College. While in college, Jack began working on picture books with an illustrator friend. In 1976, they published their first book, Rotten Ralph. Mr. Gantos continued writing children's books and began teaching courses in children's book writing. He developed the master's degree program in children's book writing at Emerson College in Boston. In 1995 he resigned his tenured position in order to further his writing career (which turned out to be a great decision).
He married art dealer Anne A. Lower on November 11, 1989. The couple has one child, Mabel, and they live in Boston, Massachusetts.
www.jackgantos.com
Gantos was born in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania to son of construction superintendent John Gantos and banker Elizabeth (Weaver) Gantos. The seeds for Jack Gantos' writing career were planted in sixth grade, when he read his sister's diary and decided he could write better than she could. Born in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, and raised in Barbados and South Florida, Mr. Gantos began collecting anecdotes in grade school and later gathered them into stories.
After his senior year in high school (where he lived in a welfare motel) he moved to a Caribbean island (St Croix) and began to train as a builder. He soon realized that construction was not his forté and started saving for college. While in St. Croix he met a drug smuggler and was offered a chance to make 10 000 dollars by sailing to New York with 2,000 pounds of hash. With an English eccentric captain on board they set off to the big city. Once there they hung out at the Chelsea hotel and Gantos carried on dreaming about college. Then, in Jacks own words, "The **** hit the fan" and the F.B.I. burst in on him. He managed to escape and hid out in the very same welfare motel he was living during high school. However, he saw sense and turned himself in. He was sentenced to six years in prison, which he describes in his novel -HOLE IN MY LIFE-. However, after a year and a half in prison he applied to college, was accepted. He was released from prison, entered college, and soon began his writing career.
He received his BFA and his MA both from Emerson College. While in college, Jack began working on picture books with an illustrator friend. In 1976, they published their first book, Rotten Ralph. Mr. Gantos continued writing children's books and began teaching courses in children's book writing. He developed the master's degree program in children's book writing at Emerson College in Boston. In 1995 he resigned his tenured position in order to further his writing career (which turned out to be a great decision).
He married art dealer Anne A. Lower on November 11, 1989. The couple has one child, Mabel, and they live in Boston, Massachusetts.
www.jackgantos.com
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 29, 2017
fun, mischief, cat, family; Would recommend for first grade.
September 21, 2023
A fun book especially for boys to read about the cat named Rotten Ralph and his antics on a special day.
July 14, 2014
Rotten Ralph, he is the worst-behaved cat in the world. Mostly I love that, although the constant and abiding love of a certain human does sometimes make me queasy. I guess kids need to believe in that though.
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April 27, 2016Curricular Connections: I would use this book with my second grade students to show that manners and courtesy is a big part of the classroom and that we don't want to behave the way that Rotten Ralph did because we wouldn't want to hurt our classmates feelings.
April 17, 2012
Never before have I wanted so much for a picture book feline to be banished from a book. This cat was rotten to the core. Not a loveable story. No redeeming qualities here.
April 23, 2013
This book would be a good book to show how not to act. The was not respectful and the students could talk about what Ralph should of done.
April 13, 2016
I couldn't stand this book! Not one we will get again.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews