Book Review: Walter: The Story of a Rat, by Barbara Wersba

Walter: The Story of a Rat, by Barbara Wersba

If you like rats, this book is for you. It’s more for adults than children, and the author knows something about rats. Walter is a rat who can read and write, and lives in the house of a writer, Amanda Pomeroy. He is careful not to be seen, but being a social animal, he’d like a friend. Every night he borrows a book from Amanda’s library and scrupulously returns them to their shelves. He’d like to make friends with Amanda, but has had bad experiences with humans in the past. Then he discovers that everyone seems to write books about mice, but not rats. He decides to leave Amanda a letter, and a correspondence begins.

Walter is a very sympathetic character. The only thing the author missed on was the notion that rats don’t fall in love, they just mate. If she had ever seen my Max and Theresa, or Bijou and Raphael she would know better. It’s a short book, but worth getting and reading. I won’t give the ending away. This book is highly recommended.