Tatty Ratty

From the Publisher
Recommended as part of the Building Bridges progam for Infants to 2nd Class to support children’s use of predicting.
Recommended as part of the Building Bridges progam for Infants to 2nd Class to support children’s use of connections.

The adventures of a lost toy, by the two-time Kate Greenaway Medalist
Cooper sends the beloved bunny on a train ride to a meal at the Three Bears’ cottage, a run-in with pirates, and a flight on dragon-back to the moon. Finally Tatty Ratty returns to Earth, where the girl is reunited with him.
Cooper’s exuberant, richly colored pictures will have children returning to the story again and again.

Publishers Weekly
It looks like Molly’s eponymous stuffed rabbit may be missing for good, but the girl takes comfort in imagining a picaresque future for him: a circuitous journey home that includes encounters with the Three Bears, Cinderella, fierce pirates, a friendly dragon and the Man in the Moon. But Tatty Ratty makes Errol Flynn-like moves and proves himself both resourceful and savvy (‘He’ll find a way to escape,’ says Mom when Molly throws in the pirate plot as a complication. ‘He always does’), and he does not shy away from biting Cinderella when she tries to brush his fur. Mom and Dad bring the saga to a close by suggesting that Molly look for Tatty Ratty in a rabbit-themed toy shop. With a knowing wink, Cooper (Pumpkin Soup) gives Dad a plum quote, ‘Remember, he might look different,’ while Mom chimes in, ‘And he’ll be very clean and fluffy.’ Sure enough, Tatty Ratty awaits Molly on a shelf literally as good as new. On each spread, small realistic spot illustrations of Molly unspooling her story (with assistance from her understanding parents) during meals, bath and bedtime serve as counterpoint to full-page, fanciful pictures of the bunny’s adventures, and inject an immediacy and improvisational verve into every new escapade. Never patronizing or sentimental, this is a wise and respectful tribute to children’s storytelling powers. Ages 4-8. (Mar.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Children’s Literature
Molly’s beloved stuffed rabbit Tatty Ratty is lost, and of course she is very upset. But Molly herself seems to know where he is, for she pictures him having a series of exciting adventures¾eating porridge with the Three Bears, riding in Cinderella’s coach, seafaring with pirates, off in space with the Man in the Moon, then finally back ‘somewhere’ all cleaned up and ready to be ‘found’ by Molly amid many others at the Kingdom of Bunny store. The twin tales of the family interactions and the rabbit’s adventures are depicted in full-color, real-life vignettes interlarded with larger, more detailed scenes of imagination, all filled with affection and a warm sense of humor. How Molly and her family deal with a familiar crisis, with Molly herself finding a way to accept the loss and deal with a substitution, can be a useful lesson. 2001, Farrar Straus Giroux, $16.00. Ages 3 to 6. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 2-When Molly leaves her favorite stuffed animal on a bus, she is inconsolable. At bedtime, Dad comforts her by suggesting that Tatty Ratty has hopped off the bus and is on his way home. Over the next few days, Molly and her parents contribute different twists to the rabbit’s adventures, as he calls on the Three Bears (they fatten him up on porridge), travels in Cinderella’s coach (she brushes and mends his fur), and meets a band of pirates (after a cleansing dip in the ocean). After a trip to the moon, he finally returns to earth via floating umbrella. Early the next morning, the family visits a toy store, where Molly finds Tatty Ratty on the shelf, looking just like new. Cooper presents a common dilemma and then allows her protagonist to confront the problem by using her imagination. Realistic scenes of everyday life are punctuated by forays into a fanciful world where anything can happen. A combinatio