Bound To Stay Bound

Bulletin for the Center... - 01/01/2008 Ever since her parents inherited a great deal of money and a huge mansion from a distant relative, Emmy has seen them less and less as they take long vacations and leave her in the care of Miss Barmy, an officious and unpleasant nanny. What’s more, nobody seems to notice her at her new school except the class rat, and he bites her. Oddly, he also talks to her. In a fit of rebellion, she sets the rat free, skips her dance class, and wanders into a seedy section of downtown that she knows Miss Barmy would never approve of, where she finds a store with a secret business of renting out rodents with strange powers, including one that Miss Barmy has been using on her parents to make them stay away, and one that she has been using on Emmy’s schoolmates to make them forget about her. The rat she freed has the power to make people shrink, and when he accidentally shrinks one of Emmy’s classmates, the trio—Emmy, the rat, and the now-diminutive Joe—embarks on an adventure that leads them to discover a whole rodent city underground, a shrunken but still spry rodent scientist, and the way out of Emmy’s difficulties with the nefarious Miss Barmy. With an evil nanny, bewitched parents, and lots of cute, furry helpers, this is irresistible storytelling, drawing on the best traditions of Redwall, Narnia, and Wonderland with a healthy dose of Lemony Snicket thrown in. Jonathan Bean’s border illustrations form a flip book that features the rat, who is blustery, arrogant, and only accidentally helpful (though he does become a hero of sorts in the end), getting his just deserts by falling from a tree. As a readalone or a shared readaloud, this will be a winner with fans of light fantasy, animal tales, and mild gothic adventure. KC - Copyright 2008 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

Booklist - 08/01/2007 *Starred Review* Emmy’s world has turned upside down. Since her family inherited a fortune, her parents have become obsessed with status and money, her teachers and fellow students ignore her, and her welfare has been left in the hands of her coldhearted nanny, Miss Barmy. Now, she can hear the class pet, a rat, talking. What’s going on? Jonell takes readers on a merry, sometimes scary, romp, as Emmy enters the Antique Rat store and learns about a world of rodents with eclectic powers that are being used by Miss Barmy to get control of Emmy’s family and their fortune. Although the considerable action is sometimes convoluted, and a couple of dropped story lines are hastily stitched up, this tale turns smoothly on its fanciful premise and fabulous characters. As in so many stories featuring a rat, the sneaky rodent gets the best lines; so it is here with Rat, who is by turns boastful, whiny, maudlin, and menacing. It’s fun to watch remarkably good Emmy and especially bad Barmy spar, and the revelation of the nanny’s secret admirer speaks to the endurance of true love. Inside, the book is decorated with a picture of a tree limb and a climbing rat. Flip the pages, and Rat tumbles and falls. - Copyright 2007 Booklist.

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