Ratburger

by David Walliams

"Meet Zoe. She's got a lot of things to be unhappy about:
* Her stepmother Sheila is so lazy she asks Zoe to pick her nose for her.
* The school bully Tina Trotts makes her life a misery - mainly by flobbing on her head.
* And on top of it all, the dastardly Burt has terrible plans for her pet rat.

I can't tell you what those plans are, but there's a clue in the title of this book..."

David Walliams

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Middle Grade, Humor, Young Adult, Novels, Adventure

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

David Walliams is an actor and writer best known for his work with Matt Lucas in the multi-award-winning sketch show Little Britain. His debut children's novel, The Boy in the Dress, was published in 2008 to unanimous critical acclaim and he has since developed a reputation as a natural successor to Roald Dahl.

Reviews

[Petra X · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has the cleverest literary ending of perhaps any book I've ever read. It hasn't got anything to do with the story either. In all Walliams other books and films there is a corner shop owner, Raj, who supplies the schoolchildren with sweets and sympathy although his business methods are somewhat dubious and definitely not hygenic. In the last chapter he complains that he isn't in the book. Quite audaciously he goes on that his legion of fans will not stand for this. Through the extremely funny and brilliant writing, he becomes not just a figure from Walliams' other books, but a real person who has written the afterword.

If the book wasn't really good anyway, it would be worth it for that last chapter. But it is really good, and really disgusting. Full of spite, malice, vermin, poisonous food and prawn cocktail crisps. School lunches, never considered the epitome of culinary dining, are appalling, what they are is.... read the title!
____________

On reading the book Time for a little light relief. Zoe's rat is called Armitage Shanks. She doesn't explain to anyone how she came by that name. Do you know? If you are in the UK you might!

[Ruby Granger]

I never read David Walliams as a kid (I was just a bit too old when he started writing), but I decided to try out two of his books for the fun of it over lockdown.

They are wonderful! Even though I'm reading them as an adult, I found them amusing, fast-paced and very much like Roald Dahl. I wish I'd had them when I was little!

[Michael Finocchiaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kid and I have grown to love the David Williams books and even my daughter adored RatBurger. The characters are fantastic and it is wonderful how Williams is able to dig below stereotypes to reveal beautiful people underneath them. The books speak of social injustice, the affects of parental alcoholism and abuse, bullying, and many other issues in a way that is subtle and mesmerising and I feel like my kids grow a little bit in their tolerance for "l'autrui" with each book that we read. No wonder his has become a sensation of late. Read all of his books - this one is a pretty darn good place to start. And say hi to Raj for me!

[Rosh ~catching up slowly~ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not the best of David Walliams. Some of the scenes are outright gross. Maybe some kids will enjoy saying "Ewwwww" while reading it; I could barely control my horror. Can be skipped safely.

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[Juliana Zapata · Rating 3 out of 5]

La verdad es que la historia es bastante extraña, el libro fue divertido de leer, sin embargo siento que 300 páginas es demasiado para enseñar a los niños a luchar por sus sueños, con la mitad hubiera sido suficiente.

También hubieron escenas un tanto crudas y con un lenguaje no tan delicado como se espartería en un libro infantil.

Reseña Completa: http://bastvilard.blogspot.com.co/201...

[[ J o ] · Rating 3 out of 5]

I borrowed this off a tiny person in my family, who said it was "a little bit terrifying". I can see what he means, actually; I've read a lot of "Children's" books (quoted because not all children's books should only be read by children) and I've found the are generally two types: those that speak down to their audiences, and those that speak up to them. No doubt it is the latter that are the best, those that don't treat their readers like, well, children.

This book was, for lack of a better word, a little dark. The "terrifying" aspect would be the talk of murder and death, and the scary, horrible Burt who kills rats and turns them in to burgers.

From an adult perspective, it's a wonderful book, full of imagination and comedy, and some little references that I think only adults would understand. This is my first book by Walliams, whom I am a huge fan of in regards to his comedy, but it definitely won't be my last.


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[Gitte TotallyBookedBlog · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was FAB. Read it to my boys and all three of us loved it. ♥

[Lostaccount · Rating 1 out of 5]

Third and final book in a trio of Walliams' books I decided to read this year, and this one is the worst.

Friendless girl from impoverish background befriends rat and then defends rat against a vile prawn-cocktail crisps munching slob of a stepmother and her vile burgervan boyfriend.

Wall(y)iams has only one plot and repertoire of characters: Friendless child estranged from a single parent, bullied at school for being different, evil or unlikeable step-parent, only adviser the "ethnic" stock character shopkeeper, horrible teachers, lots of silly lists, a pop at Piers Morgan (Walliams' nemesis), child gets expelled from school, overcomes problem and reunited with estranged parent with saccharine message "love is all that matters". Boring once you come across this in previous books, mind numbing if it's the third or fourth time.

This book is childish even for a kiddie book, with constant gooey references about poo, piss, snot, bogies etc. Ridiculous dialogue. Faulty grammar. Tacky prose. Unfunny, and even sadistic in places. Also I think even some kids would feel patronised by this book.

After the climactic scene, the book reversed and dragged on and on into an anticlimax. A chore to read. The writing and plot were so dull, this book has earned a space on my chewing gum for the brain shelf.

Verdict: Walliams is a shit writer.

[Beth (bibliobeth) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chrissi and I have made no secret of the fact that we love David Walliams' writing for children and we've covered a few books now of his in our Kid-Lit challenge, so it was a bit of a no-brainer whether we would be putting another of his books up this year for discussion! Ratburger was another absolute joy to read and as before, the illustrations by Tony Ross were just the icing on the cake. In fact, if I consider all the David Walliams books we've read so far, I'm struggling to pick a favourite. This is a line up where each book is special and individual in its own right, each one has a host of glorious characters of heroes to adore and villains to despise, and Ratburger is another wonderful treat easily comparable to all the others.

In this story, our protagonist is a small girl called Zoe who lives with her beloved father and (evil) stepmother, Sheila who is addicted to prawn cocktail crisps and treats her step-daughter abominably. Zoe's father has retreated into himself immensely since her mother died and soon after, he lost his dream job in the ice cream factory. Now he spends all of his days drowning his sorrows in the pub, reluctant to hunt too hard for another job. One of the only perks of Zoe's life is her new pet rat, Armitage (DON'T ask how she gave him his name but if you do know, have a good giggle with me in the comments!). Like her pet before him, she starts to teach him tricks and dreams of the day when she can leave the bullies at school behind and start her own performing animals show.

However, this wouldn't be a David Walliams book without a bit of trepidation, an unfortunate incident and a dastardly villain and our poor heroine happens to come across a very nasty individual who has grand plans for Armitage. Zoe then ends up in a very precarious situation where she must rescue her pet rat from a dangerous and hugely gruesome ending at the hands of a very odd man who makes very "special" burgers for a living.

This book is perfect for your average middle grade reader and like every other book I've read from this author, the humour is just right for that age group and perhaps even for a slightly immature adult like myself? Themes like death, bullying, being a bit different, chasing your dreams and family dynamics are introduced for the younger reader very delicately and at no time did I feel it was "too much," or inappropriate. There are a couple of ruder bits but I promise you they're incredibly tame and are more likely to make a child chuckle rather than scarring him/her for life! I've heard this described on Goodreads as more of a boy's book but I one hundred percent dispute that statement. I can't even imagine why the reviewer thought it was aimed more towards the male sex, I think both boys and girls would enjoy it equally. And hey, a brave female lead is ALWAYS appreciated here on this blog so thank you David Walliams for giving us Zoe, a determined, dreamy young girl who knows what she wants and will stop at nothing until she gets it despite the hardship she may suffer along the way.

For my full review and many more, please visit my blog at http://www.bibliobeth.com

[Patrick Gralton · Rating 3 out of 5]

My second book review is on 'Ratburger' by David Walliams.

This is a humourously descriptive book which I believe would be of interest to the seven to nine age-group.It has ongoing humourous footnotes which is a concept children need to become aware of for their future educational life.
- It introduces Death and the process of dealing with it.
- It develops tension and mystery.
- It illustrates the societal realities of Outsourcing by big Business.
- It uses descriptive adjectives such as 'Menagerie'.
- It allows the children to see that there is usually someone worse off than they are.

The story is of a little girl seeking to follow her dreams while making the transition to 'Big School'.Among the 'thrills and spills' of the story are a sadness visited upon the girl followed by an uplifting comeuppance for the bad-guys with an entertaining Shawshank Redemption style escape plan thrown in for good measure.

This book would be good for independent readers or as a teaching-tool for examining themes such as loneliness, isolation or issues such as bullying.
David Walliams

[Paula Mota · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5*

Este livro não é aconselhado a quem tenha estômago sensível e/ou medo de roedores. É divertido e os maus são muitos e terríveis, como convém, mas é um bocado nojento. Em bom, mas ainda assim, nojento.

[zombiereadz · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading five books by Walliams, I can conclude that he will never be Roald Dahl. Unlike Roald Dahl, his stories lack a certain complexity that is prevalent in Dahl's works. I just cannot see adults enjoy reading this. On the other hand, Walliams is pretty good at being relateable. And I like that there is a sort of continuity in all the stories.

[Marie the Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love David Walliams! He really is like roald Dahl, and Dahl is my fave!! Its just great, fun and creepy! Perfect!

[Sandra Nedopričljivica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Volim Walliamsa, uvijek ima tople poruke o prijateljstvu i ljubavi prema obitelji. Voljet ću ga i dalje, ali ovdje ima štakora i puno bljakastih stvari pa zato malo manja ocjena nego inače. Priznajem da ovdje više odgovara naš prijevod romana nego izvorni Ratburger.

Ne znam za koji uzrast bi ovo bilo, zato pripazite, nekoj djeci bi ovo mogao biti i horror.

[Veronika Pizano · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fúha, tak táto kniha bola vyslovene odporná a vysvetľovať niektoré veci deťom bolo už nad moje sily (Môže muž bez očí šoférovať a ako to, že zrazil 59 ľudí a nešiel do väzenia? Že na konci surovo zomrú dvaja odporní ľudia, tak by mala fungovať spravodlivosť?) Chudoba, týranie, alkoholizmu, len to mi z tejto detskej knihy ostáva v pamäti.

[Mewa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zaskakująco brutalne. Historia sama w sobie gwarantuje ogrom dobrej zabawy, ale jednocześnie ma w sobie tyle okrutnych scen... Nie dla dzieci, serio o.O

[Vidhya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe not the best of David Walliams' works, but I still liked it.
Liked little Zoey and Armitage! :)
I obviously enjoyed Raj's appearance - but if i had to recommed David Walliams' to you, this would not be the first choice.

[Flynn Oberdries · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best books I've read it has a hooking story line and one of the best selling kids books. I read it in 3 day new record.
I chose it read this book because dad did some research and found this book and bought it for me. when i saw it it look interesting and when i read the back i got hooked. I think the category on the bingo board, this book fits into is the Female Main Character because the main character is a girl called Zoe and i think that there is not many book that i will read that has the main character as a girl, so it will make it easier to fill it. the character that i thought was interesting was Sheila the grumpy step mum. I find her interesting because she has no love for Zoe and Zoe's dad, she just uses him to put a roof over her head. My favorite moment from this book would be the finally when Zoe and her dad sees what Burt and Sheila are doing to her rats and what Burt is putting in his burgers and selling them to schools. Something i thought about more deeply would be all the horrible stuff Burt could put in his burgers and what they would taste like.

[Meli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Son muy entretenidos estos libros, pero hay algo que no termina de convencerme de este autor. Sentía mucha curiosidad por leerlo debido al autor famoso/ancestral/milenario que todos amamos con el que lo comparan, pero aunque noto la similitud entre sus letras, la comparación no me agrada, le queda un poco grande para mi gusto.

Reitero, son libro entretenidos, divertidos, ideales para el publico al que van dirigidos. Pero todos tienen algún que otro detalle demasiado triste o morboso para middle grade. OJO los libros infantiles suelen tener toques macabros o morbosos, pero estos me parecen simplemente de mal gusto.

La bipolaridad hecha review, no sé cómo explicarlo. Probablemente hubiera disfrutado estos libros de chica, ya que los disfruto de adulta, y me hubiera causado gracia con mi mente infantil lo que me causa repulsión ahora y me hace plantearme si realmente estaría bien darle este libro a un niñillo.

[Deanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book about a girl called Zoe. Zoe's mother dies when Zoe is young and during the following years she obtained a step mother called Shelia. Shelia is a cruel character and very unloving towards Zoe. However, she is also troubled by a girl in her school called Tina Trotts who is also very cruel and unkind to Zoe.
During the course of the book, Zoe finds a loving little rat to care for but will the people around her except it and will she get a chance to fulfill her dreams?
The book i thought was funny and was fast paced! I enjoyed this book very much and its for all age groups. You have done it again David Walliams!

[Louis W · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a good book and it was very comical

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my favourite but fabulous nonetheless :)

[Nadia]

This is a pretty fast-paced book and a nice quick read. I enjoyed this book.

[Katie H · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book and it was a good book for me to read so I think I will read a bit more of David Williams

[Zoë · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute en grappig boek. Ik ben overall een dieren liefhebber maar ratten behoorde daar nog niet echt bij. Totdat ik dit boek had gelezen, nu vind ik ze schattig

[Andris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lielākajā daļā gadījumu Valjams raksta vienu un to pašu grāmatu (piemēram, starp "Žurkburgeru" un "Dēmonu dentisti" īpaši daudz atšķirību ir grūti atrast), bet bērniem patīk un tas ir galvenais.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Je to veľmi napínavá knižka. Čím viac sa dostávate do deja je knižka napínavejšia. Stále skrýva niake prekvapenia. Ste si istý že vás tam už nemá čo prekvapiť ale aj tak vás tam prekvapia ešte mnohé veci. Na knihe sa síce píše že je to úplný horor ale nie je to taký veľký horor. Je to skôr kniha plná prekvapení. Ja vám ju odporúčam😊

[Staceywh_17 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love David Walliams as a comedian & have seen several of the book adaptations on tv, so thought I'd see what the fuss was all about. Bloody brilliant, loved the story, the way it was written, very funny still with the naughty humour element that we've all grown to love from David 😂

[Odith Senerath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ratburger is a book with a surprising plot and happy ending. I loved reading this book and enjoyed turning each page to find out something new!

[Sam Hopper · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have heard a lot of praise for David Walliams novels and therefore chose to read his latest work, Ratburger, as a ‘funny book’ to review.

It is the story of a little girl called Zoe who has a particularly tough time of things. Being very poor, as well as, small with ginger hair and braces makes her the target for school bully Tina Trotts. She also has the misfortune of living with her lazy, malevolent stepmother, whilst her broken hearted dad spends most of his time at the pub, on the 37th floor of a leaning tower block. If that wasn’t bad enough, her beloved pet hamster Gingernut, who she trains to dance and dreams of finding fame with, dies.

It is when she finds a cute baby rat in her bedroom and strives to keep him safe from her stepmother and Burt the evil burger van driver, that we are taken on a hilarious, touching and sometimes gruesome adventure.

Just like Roald Dahl’s children’s novels, this story has you at times cringing and others laughing out loud. The illustrations are also reminiscent of Quentin Blake’s in Roald Dahl’s novels and bring to life the funny scenarios, like animal smuggling, described in the book as well as the larger than life characters. Some of my favourites include the dastardly Burt, the tattoo covered, prawn cocktail crisp munching stepmother and the tiny but ferocious school teacher Miss Midge.

The references to Lady Gaga, Piers Morgan and a ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ obsession with finding fame make this classic tale of good triumphing over bad and the underdog winning in the end, both modern and relevant. It is written in an engaging, humorous way that will have children gripped from start to finish.

I imagine this book will be perfect for helping to foster a love of reading in 9 years olds and in fact Year 4, 5 and 6 children. I am sure that reluctant readers will find themselves engrossed in this story and for teachers, it makes a great platform for discussions on characters, settings, plots and predictions. I can imagine developing some interesting creative writing lessons around writing the story from the perspective of one of the other characters, or even a diary extract for Zoe or a different end to the tale. It could inspire children to write about their own dreams and ambitions as well prompt creativity with a task on writing a menu or drawing a poster for Armitage’s Ices. The subject of bullying in the book could make a great resource for this PSHE topic and I am sure an additional benefit of the novel is getting children to think about where their food, and especially fast food comes from and more importantly what’s in it!

Loved this book and I look forward to reading more David Walliams children’s novels.