This article is from the WSSF 2010 AFRMA Rat & Mouse Tales news-magazine.

By Hattie McRattie

Written by Richard Conniff
Published by Crown Publishers, a division of Random
House, Inc., 1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036
www.randomhousekids.com/
Copyright 2002, 35 Pages
ISBN: 0-375-81207-5

Ilove reading and reviewing new rodent related books, but I can say nothing good about this book. I honestly don’t know who Mr. Conniff has written this book for. It reminded me of a little boy dangling a worm in the face of a little girl he is trying to impress. The title catches your eye, but that is where it stops.

I don’t want to be unkind; however, this book was not written for the rat fancier nor was it written as an educational tool. The information is seemingly random with no apparent thought to any subject order. The book is full of inconsistencies and, every few pages, the book even contradicts itself. The pictures are poorly copied from other sources and there is little variety. One sepia toned female is either overfed or very pregnant and not a good example of a well-cared-for rat. It neither teaches nor instructs, and I was not entertained. Instead, I found myself regretting I spent the $15.00.

I am not certain why AFRMA was contacted by the author, unless he thought it a compliment to be mentioned in his little book of horrors. He referred to people entering their rats in beauty contests sponsored by the American Fancy Rat and Mouse Association. Please! In the United States, AFRMA is the foremost authority on Rat Standards and Judging.

There is only so much one can say about rats and everything in this book has been said before and by better authors. I could not find the Good in this book, just the Bad and Ugly.