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Rotten Ralph
Rotten Ralph's Rotten Romance
Sarah wakes Ralph up with a great big kiss. “Happy Valentine’s Day!” she says. Rotten Ralph hides under his pillow. Sarah is very excited to take Ralph to Petunia’s Valentine’s Day Party. But Ralph will do almost anything to avoid the party and drippy Valentine kisses!
30 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
1 person is currently reading
25 people want to read
About the author
Jack Gantos
81 books549 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 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 2, 2009
Beginning Bestiality for Children.
August 5, 2017
I let my four-year-old daughter choose her own books in the children's section at the library, because I want her to enjoy reading as much as I always have.
Unfortunately, my daughter chose this book, which may be one of worst books ever written.
This gem of a book stars a weirdly-adult, nihilistic anthropomorphic cat who enjoys smearing garbage on himself and killing bugs to sabotage "gifts" and the little girl who loves him (and seemingly has no adult supervision). I found it to be as unsettling as a David Lynch film without any of the enjoyment. After reading it with my daughter, I felt physically ill, which is particularly strange if you look at my reading history on this site - I am no stranger to extremely graphic content, but the off-kilter, childish artwork that just seems "wrong" somehow, combined the uncomfortable elements of the story somehow left me feeling nauseous.
There is no real "lesson" to the story, although I don't think children's books always need them. There's not much of a story, either, though. If there is a lesson, it's that young girls without parents should remain beholden to whomever is around, no matter how toxic and that antisocial behavior just means that he loves you. This book is the children's literary equivalent of a shock rock album.
Unfortunately, my daughter chose this book, which may be one of worst books ever written.
This gem of a book stars a weirdly-adult, nihilistic anthropomorphic cat who enjoys smearing garbage on himself and killing bugs to sabotage "gifts" and the little girl who loves him (and seemingly has no adult supervision). I found it to be as unsettling as a David Lynch film without any of the enjoyment. After reading it with my daughter, I felt physically ill, which is particularly strange if you look at my reading history on this site - I am no stranger to extremely graphic content, but the off-kilter, childish artwork that just seems "wrong" somehow, combined the uncomfortable elements of the story somehow left me feeling nauseous.
There is no real "lesson" to the story, although I don't think children's books always need them. There's not much of a story, either, though. If there is a lesson, it's that young girls without parents should remain beholden to whomever is around, no matter how toxic and that antisocial behavior just means that he loves you. This book is the children's literary equivalent of a shock rock album.
July 1, 2023
Found this at the library today, and I cannot believe how bad it is. Children kissing, essentially sexual assault, and beastiality. He is rotten for not wanting to be kissed. His explicitly stated "No" is overrun by kids who kiss and tickle all over him. Yikes! He is told that no one will love him if he isn't nice. 🫣 In the end, we find that he actually only wants to kiss his owner. Just a trash book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 28, 2018
A girl tries to get her cat to participate in valentines. A weird story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 28, 2024
No longer PC, but enjoyed by us
February 19, 2023
This was super cute! A little outdated (it was written 26 years ago!) but Ralph’s shenanigans are all in good fun. I really love the bright illustrations.
3.5 on sg
3.5 on sg
February 10, 2013
i don't know why I do this to myself. I do not like this series and I do not like this character. So I don't know why I say okay when our youngest wants to read another book in this series. They get on my nerves.
I didn't really like this book, but our youngest loved it, so I suppose there's something about it that appeals to young children. The narrative was irritating and the illustrations were pretty rudimentary, comparable to other books in the Rotten Ralph series.
I didn't really like this book, but our youngest loved it, so I suppose there's something about it that appeals to young children. The narrative was irritating and the illustrations were pretty rudimentary, comparable to other books in the Rotten Ralph series.
November 18, 2015
I am unsure of the lesson or theme the young reader is supposed to learn but this book made me sympathetic to Rotten Ralph. It reminded me of how children are expected to hug and kiss, even if they are uncomfortable. Ralph was clearly uncomfortable with the idea of having to kiss whoever wrote the card he picks randomly. When he tries to deter that event from happening by offering his bug candy, Sarah tells him that no one will love him if he isn’t nice. That gives a child extra pressure to do things they don’t want to do because a child doesn’t want to be alone or unloved.
August 2, 2008
My 4-year-old son was loosing interest in reading and we happened upon a Rotten Ralph book which he thought was very funny. There are quite a few Rotten Ralph books. They are very much something little boys would find hilarious...a grouchy cat who learns lessons the hard way...like eating trash and thinking kisses are icky!
July 14, 2014
I get that Ralph is naughty and Sara loves him anyway, in a child/parent way. But the extent she goes to humiliate Ralph and force him into a romance with Petunia is disturbing. Or am I reading too much into this one book?
March 4, 2015
A hilarious story
Rotten Ralph plays creative tricks to avoid kisses on Valentine's day, but to no avail. The illustrations are funny --- perfect companions to the text.
Rotten Ralph plays creative tricks to avoid kisses on Valentine's day, but to no avail. The illustrations are funny --- perfect companions to the text.
March 12, 2025
I loved this book so much in elementary school that I forgot to bring it back to the school library.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews