Cinderella's Rat

Author: Susan Meddaugh

Illustrated by: Susan Meddaugh

Publishing information: (Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, September 15, 1997, Ages 4-8)

Number of Pages: 32 pages

Genre: Fairy Tale 

Summary of Plot: 

In the story of Cinderella rats get transformed into humans and horses to take her to the ball. This is the story of the rat that got changed into a coachman. At first he is confused about being a human. When he arrives at the castle he finds himself in the kitchen eating grain. Others see a rat and want to kill it. He said don’t because it was his sister. They think his sister is the one that got transformed into a rat, and not him into a human.  They go to talk to a wizard to see if they can turn her into a girl, but after many attempts she turns into a girl with a dog’s voice. She remains like that forever. He, on the other hand turns back into a rat at the stroke of midnight. 

My Reaction to the book:

            I found this book clever. I probably never would have thought to take the mice’s point of view. It is a good book to see one’s thoughts as he goes through the night. My favorite line was “life is full of surprises, so you may as well get used to it.”

Potential Problems:

The people wanted to kill the rat’s sister, another rat. 

Recommendations:

For those who like twists of fairy tales, I would recommend this. It is full of interesting perspectives. It has many surprises.It has received four awards. Animal lovers will like the book's perspective (in first person), from the rat's view.