The Infamous Ratsos Are Not Afraid by Kara LaReau

Ice princess Lina must navigate family and school in this early chapter read. The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted fun of their own The creative naiveté of the “clay mates” is perfectly captured by Petty’s feisty, spot-on dialogue: “This was your idea…and it was a BAD one.” Eldridge’s endearing sculpted images are photographed against the stark white background of an artist’s work table to great effect. How are they going to “fix selves” on time? Soon a hippopotamus and peacock are staring bug-eyed at a returning pair of astonished hands. But the sound of approaching footsteps panics the pair of Picassos.

After all, the opportunity to become a “pig-e-phant” doesn’t come around every day. An ear pulled here and an extra eye placed there, and before you can shake a carving stick, a spurt of frenetic self-exploration-expressed as a tangled black scribble-reveals a succession of smug hybrid beasts. The owl is pleased, but the wolf convinces it that the best is yet to come. The hands disappear, leaving the friends to their own devices.

A pair of hands descends, and soon, amid a flurry of squishing and prodding and poking and sculpting, a handsome gray wolf and a stately brown owl emerge. The gray anticipates an adventure, while the brown appears apprehensive. Reinvention is the name of the game for two blobs of clay.Ī blue-eyed gray blob and a brown-eyed brown blob sit side by side, unsure as to what’s going to happen next.

Readers will be following right alongside these two likable rats as Ralphie confronts his past misdeeds and Louie screws his courage to the sticking post to ask the haunted house’s resident for permission to use part of the yard. Ralphie, seeking the source of the rumors, finds that Stinky’s not odorous at all, but she’s hurt by that nickname…which he gave her. Over a dinner Louie and Ralphie confess their fears to their father, Big Lou, who reassures them that even he is afraid of some things, tells Louie that ghosts aren’t real, and encourages them to face their fears. Meanwhile, after Ralphie picks up and returns Stinky Stanko’s fallen pen, rumors fly that they like each other, and he fears the rumors will be believed. Though it’s Louie’s idea, he’s secretly afraid of the haunted house and does his best to avoid it. He gathers up their friends to clean the lot so that they can turn it into the Big City FunTime Arcade, with carnival games in lieu of video games. While walking past the junk-filled lot next to a house rumored to be haunted, Louie has a great idea. The Ratso brothers love the carnival but wish it weren’t just once a year. Following The Infamous Ratsos (2016), Louie and Ralphie Ratso deal with different types of fear while starting a carnival-style arcade.

The Infamous Ratsos Are Not Afraid by Kara LaReau