Oh, Rats!

Written by Tor Seidler · Illustrated by Gabriel Evans

A squirrel's city adventure begins with a hawk's grip and a daring plan to save his new home.

5.3/7 Bookroo expert·3.7/5 Goodreads · 139 ratings

320 pages

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Bookroo's summary

Phoenix, a squirrel with a once-glorious tail, finds himself in Manhattan after a hawk's grip fails. Mistaken for a rat, he's taken in by wharf rats Lucy and Beckett. When their pier home faces demolition, Phoenix must join a daring plan to thwart the humans. Can this unlikely hero save his new friends and find his place in the bustling city?

From the publisher

When a hawk snatches up an adventurous squirrel named Phoenix, he’s ready to kiss his tail goodbye. But what should have been a death sentence becomes the beginning of a sweeping big-city adventure in this captivating novel by National Book Award–nominated author Tor Seidler. Phoenix is a pretty big deal in his neck of the woods: The biggest in his litter with the most lustrous fur and by far the bushiest tail, he’s one of the most sought-after squirrels in New Jersey–which makes his kidnapping by hawk even more dramatic. Luckily, the hawk doesn’t have the best grip. Unluckily, he drops Phoenix on a freshly-tarred street in downtown Manhattan. Now stripped of his gorgeous golden-brown coat, Phoenix looks like nothing more than a common sewer rat. Fortunately for Phoenix, it’s not a pack of sewer rats that find him (they’re a notoriously surly bunch), but rather wharf rats. Taken in by siblings Lucy and Beckett, Phoenix is welcomed into a rat pack living in abandoned piers on the Hudson. But when they learn of plans to demolish the piers, Phoenix is swept up in a truly electrifying scheme to stop the humans from destroying his new friends’ home.

At a glance

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 320
Reading age: 9–12
Audience: Middle Grade
Lexile: 860L

Themes & topics

Books about friendship Books about New York Books about squirrels and chipmunks Books about mice, hamster, guinea pigs, etc.Books about adventure and adventurers

For the grown-ups

The parent guide

What families may want to know

Every family reads differently. These are the concepts our editors noticed in this book — worth seeking out for some readers, worth knowing about for others. The list isn't exhaustive, but it's a spoiler-light head start.

Alcohol

This book includes a few mentions of alcohol as one of the main rat character's father drinks, lives in a pub, mentions cocktails and beer. The book casts a negative light on drinking and drunkenness.

After the last page

Talk about it together

Phoenix is a value to his new friends because of his past experiences climbing. What past experiences have you had that make you an asset or might help you in the future?

Phoenix learns a valuable lesson about appearance from his hardship and new friends. What have you learned from him about others’ or your own appearance?

What readers & critics say