Lost and Found in the City

Ratnip #1

by Cam Higgins, Allison Steinfeld (illustrator)

In this first book of the new chapter book series from the author of Good Dog, meet Ratnip, an adorable rat who goes on adventures in the city that are equal parts sweet and icky!

Ratnip the rat lives in the City, where there’s always plenty of food to eat…if you know where to look. Dumpster diving isn’t just for finding food, though. It’s also for discovering knick-knacks and adventure! And tonight, Ratnip is on a very special mission to return treasure to its rightful owner. But will he make it home before sunrise?

With easy-to-read language and illustrations on almost every page, the Ratnip chapter books are perfect for beginning readers.

Genres: Chapter Books, Animals, Childrens, Middle Grade, Fiction

128 pages, Paperback

Published February 4, 2025

Reviews

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 4 out of 5]

The titular adorable rodent Ratnip lives with Cookie the raccoon and his rat siblings — self-styled pizza rats — in an abandoned pizzeria. Ratnip loves to hunt for food, but he also loves to go on what he calls “treasure hunting,” seeking shiny wrappers, coins, sparkly stuff and pretty paper scraps. Youngsters and their grownups alike will love Ratnip’s quest to reunite a child with his own treasure and meeting Ratnip’s many cute friends in this first in a series of early chapter books.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley, Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing and Little Simon in exchange for an honest review.

[Tonja Drecker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Family, friendship, and fun-packed adventure hits every page thanks to a rat that readers will want to have as a best friend.

It's night-time, and Ratnip, like the rest of his family, is out to find food. And treasures. Ratnip loves collecting things, and he knows friends around town who can help. After watching a weird human do a strange dance around the playground, he heads out into the city streets and runs across an odd object. On the front of this object is the image of this weird human. Ratnip never takes other people's treasures and knows he should return it to the owner. And that isn't going to be an easy task.

This is a fun first book to launch a new series. It starts right in the middle of Ratnip's family getting ready and introduces the reader to the situations and characters by diving straight in. Ratnip, his family, and friends hold an enjoyable mix of personalities, are very friendly, supportive, and energetic. They might not always understand Ratnip's fondness for treasures, but they're there for him when it counts. His curiosity is inspiring as he explores the city and runs from one unexpected adventure to the next.

The text is created in a larger font and great for those readers, who are pretty sure of their words but need more practice before hitting 'larger' reads. There are illustrations on each page, which not only make it easier to understand what exactly is happening but also are cute and adorable. The read is quick-paced and keeps the adventure rolling. The chapters are around a dozen pages each, well divided for reading pauses, and a Table of Contents in the beginning helps readers locate chapters faster if needed.

It's fun to accompany Ratnip through the city and see it from his rat-perspective, while experiencing everything from that angle. Not only is there plenty of humor built in, but there's a little tension, too. His ability to find friends everywhere leaves a smile on the face, and there's even a touch of cleverness as he needs to come up with some interesting ways to make things work. He's definitely a little rat to root for, and it will be fun to see what adventures are still coming his way.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This adorable story, based on the real Pizza Rat, follows a rat named Ratnip who lives with her siblings and a raccoon named Cookie in an abandoned pizza parlor in The City. When Ratnip isn’t playing games like bubble pop with her siblings, she is out with Cookie looking for items to add to her collection in her room (the old pizza oven). One of the items Ratnip really loves to collect are One-Bite Delight wrappers! They are shiny and look great on her wall!

One day she runs out of bubble wrap to play bubble pop with her brother and decides to head out in search of more. While out, Ratnip meets her friend Rochelle (a roach). Rochelle leads her to the Bodega where they find “The Brand New, Totally Interesting, Super Special Thing,” aka a cellphone. When the screen lit up, Ratnip saw the face of the human she had seen the day before and decided to try to return it to him.

Ratnip and Rochelle run into some pigeons named Jinny and Ian, who help them find a way to move the phone. When they decide to go through the park as they saw the human there the other day, the pigeons warn Ratnip that the park is haunted at night and then take off. Once in the park, instead of finding a ghost, they find Ernie the Squirrel, who still manages to scare off Rochelle. Ernie thought it was funny to scare Rochelle, but then sees something even scarier! Just when he and Ratnip really think ghosts are real, a helpful black cat named Katy comes along. The cat offers to give Ratnip a ride, which she gladly accepts and then they are finally able to return the phone to the human!

Overall, I really enjoyed the story as it featured many of the animals one would usually come across in a major city. It was fun to see them interacting together in order to reach a goal, which felt like an epic quest for Ratnip. I would definitely recommend this book, especially for younger chapter book readers as the book wasn’t hard to read at all. Definitely a fun adventure for all ages!

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

First sentence: "First one out of bed is a rotten egg!" Mmm, rotten egg. I licked my lips. Rotten eggs are the slimiest. And the yummiest! My nose wiggled as I imagined the deliciously stinky stench of a rotten egg. My whiskers twitched as I almost tasted its gooey greenness.

Premise/plot: Ratnip is....you guessed it...a rat. He and his large family live in the city in an abandoned pizzeria. Not all of his siblings are comfortable enough going out on the streets to scrounge for food, but Ratnip finds it quite the adventure. Humans are so curious! In this first book in a new series, Ratnip finds a cell phone and becomes determined to return this lost object to its owner. But how is this to be achieved? After all, he's a rat and the phone is awkward to lug around! It might just take some friends new and old to get the job done.

My thoughts: I liked this one. I am always happy to give new early chapter books a try. Would I have liked it more if it had been mice instead of rats? Perhaps. I do always enjoy animal fantasy. This one was cute enough--well, if you can get over rats and cute being in the same sentence. There are three more books already in the works for this series. And the author has another series as well.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Early Chapter book. A rat living in the city gets into trouble and lost. The rat lives in a pizza parlor (closed) with their friend raccoon. They go looking for food at playgrounds and trash cans and live a good life. But Ratnip finds a cell phone one night and is confused about what it is. Along he way they meet many other city animals all with very silly and full personalities. This is a silly book that will make kids laugh. It has enough of a plot to keep kids reading and interested. A nice new series for early chapter book readers. (I loved the observations Ratnip had about humans. Very fun!)

[Kelly {SpaceOnTheBookcase] · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ratnip is a new series for emerging readers. With short chapters and illustrations throughout, this new series is sure to capture young readers. A collector of treasure, Ratnip stumbles on an item he wants to collect. When he figures out that the item is actually a lost item belonging to a human, he and his animal friends come up with a plan to return it to the human. A story about honesty, teamwork and outside the box thinking, I really enjoyed the theming and writing.

Thank you Simon Kids for the gifted copy.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book in a new series about Ratnip, a pizza rat that loves to collect everyday trinkets and help others find theirs! In this volume, Ratnip and her friends work together to find the owner of a mysterious buzzing rectangle... Cute, kind, and full of adorable illustrations to accompany the story.

[Nicole Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book for my honest opinion.

Ratnip loves his city but stays away from humans until one night he finds a mysterious device and feels the responsibility to return it to its human owner. I really enjoyed this early reader book. I loved all the city animals, especially their observations about us humans. A great book for early chapter book readers and those who loved Ratatouille.

[Mary T · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just realized that this is the same author of the Good Dog series, which we love. This one I really didn't care for. I already had checked out Book #2 in the series or else I may have just stopped after this one. The boys liked it fine, though.

[Corian Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is adorable! I loved the different characters and their personalities. Ratnip being a collector who doesn’t like stealing was funny. I can’t wait to share this easy chapter book series with students!

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC review: fun and fast-paced chapter book about a pizza rat who returns treasure to a human.

[Carrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a cute enough early chapter book, but I didn't really buy into the premise.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Roach named Rochelle got me.

It feels as if you asked a 2nd grader to tell you a story about a rat. And I mean that in the best possible way. Cute

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting characters, quick read and a good fit for new readers of chapter books.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely charming early chapter book. Highly recommend for all libraries serving kids!

[Chloe (Always Booked) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute early chapter book about a pizza parlor mouse who is trying to get a human's phone back to them. Perfectly appropriate for my 7 year old!

[Hoover Public Library Kids and Teens · Rating 3 out of 5]

This entertaining adventure that emphasizes the value of honesty and the joy of helping others is the start of a new series by Good Dog author Cam Higgins!

[Debby Blake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great recommendation from the Everyday Reading Book Club!

[Amanda]

Checked out to read with my son but it didn’t hold his interest.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was cute, but it doesn’t hold a candle to Good Dog.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's fine, but I found the story pretty boring.

[Shepard Kids · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mama + Thomas read in one sitting, he LOVED it

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ratnip lives in the city, which is the opposite of the Good Dog series by this author where Bo the dog lives in the country. I'm not super into city stories, but this was okay.

[Hanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Clear concise simple great reading. I wanted that emotional capture other that I know NYC and other major city life.

[Norah · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was both funny and strange.

[abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was able to read an ARC of this book and I literally cannot wait to buy my own copy of it when it releases and get copies for my nieces and nephews too! The story was so well written and fun to read and the illustrations were absolute perfection! I can't wait to read more of Ratnip's adventures in the future.