Shelly's Book Blog

Emily and the Incredible Shrinking Rat, by Lynne Jonell is a light, humorous fantasy for middle graders about 10-year-old Emmy Addison, who is very rich and lives in a house that looks like a castle. The problem is that she cannot seem to make any friends at her new school. People just don't seem to even see her, and if they do they don't remember her. She soon discovers that the class pet, a rat named Raston, can speak, but only she can understand him. She also finds out that speaking English is not the only thing that makes him extraordinary.
Emmy does manage to make friends with Joe, a boy in her class, and the two kids team up with Raston and a few other friendly rodents to rid Emmy of her evil nanny, Miss Barmy. I love the names in this story, such as Mr. Herbifore, Emmy's teacher, and Mrs. Brecksniff, the housekeeper. I enjoyed the story as well, and look forward to reading Emmy and the Home for Troubled Girls next.