About the Author

Anthony France trained and worked as a journalist and has since spent much of his career in public relations, including several years on the Channel Tunnel project. He has previously written 'The Book of Mice' (Evans Brothers), 'The Mice Next Door' (Hodder & Stoughton) and 'Christmas with the Mice Next Door'. Anthony has four children and lives in Kent with his partner. The illustrator - Tiphanie Beeke was shortlisted for the Mother Goose Award for Illustration in 1997 for her first picture book, ' The Brand New Creature', by Gullane Children's Books. Tiphanie's other books for Gullane include 'Snow Friends', 'Roar Like a Lion!' and 'Wake Up Baby Bear!' Tiphanie attended the Royal College of Art where she gained a Masters degree in Communication and Design (illustration). She lives in France and her favourite bookshop is Heffers Children's Bookshop in Cambridge.

Reviews

K-Gr 2-Rat has the "bathrobe blues." He feels miserable and unloved, is uninterested in food, has no energy, and doesn't wash or change out of his pajamas for days on end. In short, Rat meets most of the accepted criteria for clinical depression. When he receives an anonymous letter from an admirer, he pulls himself together and sets off to find the sender. In the course of his search, he discovers that he has many friends who care about him, and that if he is to be a true friend in return, he cannot shut himself away. While the message here seems to be that friendship is what gets you through tough times, children may be puzzled by the intensity of Rat's unexplained doldrums. Beeke's sunny watercolors lighten the mood significantly, but the likely audience for this book will be confused as to what the problem was in the first place.-Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Rat wakes up with a "case of the bathrobe blues." He's down in the dumps because his friends haven't come to visit, and "doing nothing with no one is no fun at all." But the day brightens with the arrival of an unsigned note telling him he's "very special." Cheered by this gesture, Rat sets out to find the letter's author. He quickly discovers that, far from ignoring him, his buddies have problems of their own: Mouse's roof needs fixing, Frog has a broken leg and Bat, who is hanging around his house in his own bathrobe, is just plain lonely. Seeing his friends in need erases Rat's self-pity, and British author France underscores this point in a touching but not heavy-handed, scene: "If I were a real friend," says Rat, "I would have visited [Bat] before. The only reason I went today was to find out something for myself." Young readers exploring early relationships will find much in common with Rat as he transforms from self-absorbed to thoughtful of others. Beeke's (Book! Book! Book!) intense watercolor tones echo Rat's journey, evolving from cool blues to bright hues; she uses depth, texture and intriguing details (such as Rat's flowerpot-shaped house) to draw in readers. With its absorbing visuals and positive message, this standout will become a familiar, well-thumbed friend. Ages 4-7. (Jan.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.