RAFFIE ON THE RUN

A small rat with a big heart makes his way from Brooklyn to Central Park West to bring his little brother home.

Raffie is a young rat who lives in Brooklyn’s Bergen Street subway station with his family, and when his little brother, Oggie, is captured by a human boy for a school pet competition, Raffie, who loves nothing more than a good “aged” pizza, finds a clue in the boy’s abandoned backpack. The problem: Raffie knows where he needs to go but not how to get there. Joined by Kaz, a claustrophobic pigeon who’s lost half of one wing, Raffie goes on the adventure of a lifetime. He dodges broom-wielding humans, a flock of hostile pigeons, and a vicious dog. They hitch a ride in a limo whose sole occupant is the Paris Hilton of poodles: a vain reality star who’s just come from a day at the spa. They also meet Walter, king of the cockroaches, and the flamboyant but not-too-friendly YouTube star Sparkle the Sassy Squirrel, who lands Raffie and Kaz in cages at animal control. Their dialogue-driven escape from captivity will launch readers quickly through to the happy ending. For all that he’s a rat and has perfectly ratlike proclivities with regard to food, Raffie is both literate and a bit of a pedant, correcting the good-natured Kaz’s grammar along the way.

A great selection for readers in search of a fun animal fantasy.