Cinderella's Rat

Rating:
Summary: But isn't this just The Coachman Rat?
Review: An excellent tale to be sure, but I am concerned that amazon and other reviewers seem unaware of Wilson's The Coachman Rat (published in 1990 by Baen) which is a dark fantasy on a remarkably similar theme.

I strongly recommend it to all the adults like myself who enjoyed reading Cinderella's Rat to their kids.

Rating:
Summary: A new twist on an old tale
Review: Life is full of surprises. Just ask the title character of Susan Meddaugh's clever story, Cinderella's Rat. You may remember him from the fairy tale: he's the one that the Fairy Godmother turned into a coachman (actually more of a coachboy). While Cinderella is busy dancing at the ball, Cinderella's Rat and his sister, Ruth (who is still a rat), have an adventure of their own. They discover rat heaven -- a fully stocked castle larder. Before they can enjoy it, however, there's a case of mistaken identity, and a well-meaning new friend drags the boy and Ruth to a wizard so the wizard can turn Ruth "back" into a girl. The boy is afraid to reveal the truth. What if the wizard turns both him and Ruth into cat food?

Since Ruth is truly a rat, the wizard can't completely change her from a rat to a girl. Much to her brother's dismay, the wizard transforms Ruth into a cat, then a girl who meows, then a girl who woofs. Before the wizard can "fix" his last spell, it's nearly midnight, and, well, you know what happens when the clock strikes twelve. The coachboy returns to his rat self, and Ruth helps her family by keeping the cats away. The most amazing thing about Ms. Meddaugh's illustrations is that when Cinderella's Rat and his sister change from rat to human or vice versa, they are still recognizably their former selves. As humans, they look slightly rodent-like, but in a cute way. As rats, they seem almost human, especially when the siblings are sniffing the cheese that leads them into a trap, or huddled inside the trap awaiting their fate.

Rating:
Summary: Two books that really aren't to be compared
Review: Yes, there are some similarities in plot between this book and the Wilson book, both of which I own and have read. (Because they're both based on the same folktale, perhaps?) But the whole tone of the books can't be more dissimilar. The Wilson book includes murder, riots,death by incineration, death by the plague, death by being eaten alive by thousands of rats...it's a dark fantasy not intended for children under 16, a satiric look at human society, demagoguery,how revolutions go awry (many echoes of the French and Russian revolutions)loyalty and love.

The Meddaugh book is intended for young children of 6 or so. It is a lighthearted fantasy about brother and sister rats, who get caught up in Cinderella's big night. Only one rat is transformed into a human, and when he tries to protect his sister from another boy by admitting their relationship, things get confused. The two end up at a wizard's cottage, where the boy, thinking his change is permanent,tries to see his sister turned into a girl. The wizard succeeds (sort of),but then at midnight, he's a rat again, while she stays a girl. All ends happily for the two, and the rest of their family, and none of the rats ever fear cats again. The moral of this children's book is summed up on the last page:

"Life is full of surprises, so you may as well get used to it".