Here they are, my five tap dancing rats who tiptoed out of the pages of DUMPY LA RUE (thanks to my amazing illustrator, Betsy Lewin) and marched right into a comic fantasy novel of their own. Their names are Benny, Fletcher, Ella, Woody and Monk and as the Rattoons, a jazz and tap group, they travel to Rat Hollow, the rat community that pulses with a life all its own beneath the streets of New York City.
But when Rat Hollow turns its back on them, the Rattoons break the law and take their act aboveground to dance for humans in front of the Metropolitan Museum, only to find that danger assails them from every direction. Will Monk survive the treacherous trip through the museum fountain? Will Fletcher escape the ferocious jaws of Napoleon, the nastiest rat catcher in Central Park? With the cards stacked against them, how will the Rattoons ever realize their dream of a tap dancing life? In the end the Rattoons are forced to put their trust in Oliver String Bean Bailey, the legendary impresario and the only human ever to learn ratspeak.
A rollicking fun-filled adventure, The Red-Hot Rattoons tells the story of a band of lovable characters whose loyalty to one another in times of danger proves more important than their dreams of fame and glory.
Illustrated by Betsy Lewin Henry Holt, 2003
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A rollicking fun-filled adventure, The Red-Hot Rattoons tells the story of a band of lovable characters whose loyalty to one another in times of danger proves more important than their dreams of fame and glory.
“The rats of NIMH have nothing on Benny, Fletcher, Ella, Woody and Monk, five young jazz and tap dancing rats who set out for the fabled Big City in hopes of seeing their names in lights. Rat Hollow, which mirrors the thinly disguised New York aboveground, provides a side-splitting backdrop to this engaging tale of life on (and beneath) the boards.”
–School Library Journal
FULL CAST AUDIO Production of THE RED-HOT RATTOONS. Go to www.fullcastaudio.com or call toll free, 800-871-6152. Available on CD and Cassette Tapes.
ISBN: 0805072292
Audio ISBN: 1932076468
Paperback ISBN: 0-8050-7986-6
