Rodents in Childrens Books
Why rodents in children's books you may ask?
Simple answer - my husband and I are the proud owners of four beautiful dumbo-eared rats. We got our four girls ('does') back in March 2015.
After much deliberation (which pets should we get - cats? rabbits? hamster? rats?), we decided on rats. So we researched cages, food and all necessary equipment. When all this was purchased and set up, we had another choice to make: boys or girls? After much changing of our minds (we'll definitely have boys – two – called Caspian and Reepicheep – so we thought!), finally we decided on girls as they were just so pretty. We picked them up from a breeder not too far away from us and set about getting to know their individual characters.
Above: April (left) and Bluebell
At first, they were fairly shy as they became familiar with their big cage with room to roam - and us, of course! However, they soon settled in and now, nearly a year later, they are definitely part of the family and enjoy roaming the living room, scaling their cage, and learning new tricks (jumping seems to be one of their favourite things at the moment).
Our rat family consists of: firstly - April - a black and white hooded, she's the oldest and probably the most bossy and vocal and especially hates cleaning days – so we have to watch our fingers! Secondly - Bluebell, a blue hooded, is definitely the shyest but likes to wind her sisters up. Thirdly – Millie, who has black and white markings, with a distinctive diamond shape on her head. She is our adventurer and was the first one to explore the whole cage when they first came home; she is also the most affectionate and loves to lick fingers! Finally, Jemima, a huskey – named after her mum, (who was also a huskey and named Jemima) - she is an out of cage rat – who likes nothing better than to explore, and especially likes to dig the soil in my house plants, which has led to their removal to other rooms!
Above: Jemima (left) and Millie
When deciding on names for our ratties, we did look into rats and rodents in famous children's books. On reflection, we found that there are many such books (a lot that I had never heard of!), but a higher percentage of these titles feature mice, rather than rats.
Beatrix Potter, of course, came to mind straight away, with such characters as Nutkin (the red squirrel) in 'The tale of Squirrel Nutkin'; Hunca Munca and Tom Thumb in 'The Tale of Two Bad Mice' and Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, the hedgehog washer woman in 'The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle'. Then of course you have Mr. Samuel Whiskers the large rat and his wife Anna Maria in 'The Roly-Poly Pudding' (Later renamed The Tale of Samuel Whiskers or The Roly-Poly Pudding), who capture Tom Kitten (From the earlier book 'The Tale of Tom Kitten') after he escaped from his mother up the chimney. Mr. & Mrs. Whiskers plan to make Tom Kitten into a pudding using the butter and dough they have stolen!
Above: April on the cage (left) and Millie at the bookcase
The first book that I remember reading with rats and other rodents as dominant characters is probably 'Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH' (1971) by Robert C. O'Brien. Mrs. Frisby is a widowed field mouse. The trouble with re-locating is that her son, Timothy, is too ill to be moved at the time – she is afraid that he wouldn't survive.
While seeking help for her predicament, she is advised to seek the help of the rats that live near her. Mrs. Frisby meets Nicodemus (the rat's leader), who tells her how the rats came to live near her, after escaping from the laboratories of the Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), where they had been experimented on to the point that their increased intelligence meant that they had acquired human skills. These skills meant that the rats could read and write, use and operate heavy machinery, and harness electricity for these machines. It was also these human abilities that enabled the rats to escape from NIMH.
The rats agree to help Mrs. Frisby and her family and the book describes the perils and adventures that ensue!
I felt that the above title really shows the rats in a favourable light, where titles can often make the rats the villains or darker characters.
Other rodent characters/titles that I remembered were 'Stuart Little' – the mouse in this eponymous tale; Ratty, the water vole, from 'The Wind In the Willows' by Kenneth Grahame; Reepicheep from 'The Chronicles of Narnia' by C.S. Lewis – the valiant leader of the talking mice of Narnia, who was also knighted for his loyalty and bravery.
Among the titles that I haven't fully read but have catalogued at Stella & Roses Books are:
the Redwall series by Brian Jacques;
The Church Mice series by Graham Oakley;
Mary Mouse in the books by Enid Blyton;
Angelina Ballerina the mouse in series by Katherine Holabird;
Mickey and Minnie Mouse by Walt Disney;
The list of mice in books really is much longer than other rodents! For a full list of our 'Mice' titles – please click here.
Above: A rat in the hand...
One particular title that I enjoyed looking through whilst cataloguing was 'The Hole in the Wall' by May Byron, with wonderful illustrations by Ernest Aris showing great attention to detail. When I looked at some of these pictures, it was like watching my pet rats while they are grooming!
With more than 2,000 species or kinds of rodents worldwide, including Beavers, Mice, Rats, Squirrels, Prairie Dogs; Hamsters, Gerbils, Porcupines; Hedgehogs; Chipmunks, Chinchillas; Gophers, the above are just a very few of the rodent characters that I remembered – there are surely many, many, many more!
Contributed by Joanne
(Published 1st Mar 2016)
