Review: Quirky and Fun
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 24, 2013
Reginald, the sharply dressed rat of the title, snobbishly eschews all other rats, safe in the misguided belief that he is not one of them. How he has come this far without knowing his own origins is not clear, nor is what he does think he is. Somehow this doesn't really seem to matter though once you get into the story, which is really rather sweet. Reginald is invited to a farewell party. The room is filled with animals, all there to celebrate the migration of the geese for winter.  Reginald spends most of his time telling all he encounters that he hates rats and won't hear anything in their defence.  Something his friends seem very tolerant of. Then a girl rat, Raquelar, rives at the party and catches Reginald's eye. He has a bit of a problem believing she is a rat. Finally his friends manage to convince him that not only is she a rat, but so is he. He then surmises that rats cannot be so bad after all.Much can be read into this, but for me this a book about acceptance of others, and even when one's perception of another is that of difference, a closer look will often reveal we are very much the same.The illustrations are wonderful and quirky and the writing is sharp and funny.  I enjoyed this book very much and would recommend it for ages 8 and over.