Sharon Oliver (Children's Literature)
Emmy is invisible. At least, that is how she feels. Her formerly attentive parents have inherited a good deal of money and keep leaving on longer and longer trips. Her teacher cannot remember her name, and her classmates act like she is not there. The only one who seems to notice her presence is the classroom pet rat, and he is not happy with her either. After the rat bites her, Emmy is stunned to discover the rat can talk. It turns out that he is one of a group of rats with special powers being kept captive by the town’s resident mad scientist, Professor Capybara, and he is in cahoots with Emmy’s scheming nanny, Miss Barmy. When a boy in her class discovers he too, can hear the rat and talks to Emmy, they end up on a rollicking adventure to rescue the rats and undo Barmy’s control over Emmy’s parents before it is too late. This is a great can’t-put-it-down action story. Jonell’s characters are well fleshed out, including the standard evil villains. Emmy is definitely a heroine to root for, and there are moments of true humor mixed with some real peril on their adventures. Each page contains an illustration along the top edge that when flipped quickly, shows a rat falling from a tree limb. The only real quibbles with the book are the title and the cover art. The title is a bit misleading (the rat does not shrink, he shrinks other people) and is not quite in keeping with the fast-paced story. The cover is printed with old-fashioned looking art and dull oranges and blues. It is hardly eye-catching. This is a good addition to all collections, but you may have to push readers past the cover. 2007, Henry Holt and Company, $17.95. Ages 10 to 14.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, July 1, 2007 (Vol. 75, No. 13))
Ten-year-old Emmy lived happily with her parents in an apartment above their bookstore until an unexpected inheritance changed their lives. Now Emmy's parents spend their time jet-setting, leaving Emmy in the not-so-loving hands of her very strange nanny, Miss Barmy. Miss Barmy pretends to act in Emmy's best interests, but something's rotten in her rigid regimen. Emmy tries to be so good, but no one notices her except the talking Rat who lives in her classroom. Rat warns Emmy that she's "a big nothing" and urges her to stand up for herself and "try being bad." Emmy frees the Rat, triggering a landslide of fantastical events featuring the conniving Miss Barmy, cunning Professor Vole and The Antique Rat, his mysterious shop filled with rare rodents. As a transformed Emmy and some new four-legged friends try to outwit Miss Barmy and outrun Professor Vole, the irascible Rat turns the tide. Fun and funny, this fast-paced page turner appropriately begins and ends with the unforgettable Rat in an acrobatic flip-book feature. 2007, Henry Holt, 352p, $16.95. Category: Fiction. Ages 9 to 12. © 2007 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Karen Coats (The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, January 2008 (Vol. 61, No. 5).)
Ever since her parents inherited a great deal of money and a huge mansion from a distant relative, Emmy has seen them less and less as they take long vacations and leave her in the care of Miss Barmy, an officious and unpleasant nanny. What’s more, nobody seems to notice her at her new school except the class rat, and he bites her. Oddly, he also talks to her. In a fit of rebellion, she sets the rat free, skips her dance class, and wanders into a seedy section of downtown that she knows Miss Barmy would never approve of, where she finds a store with a secret business of renting out rodents with strange powers, including one that Miss Barmy has been using on her parents to make them stay away, and one that she has been using on Emmy’s schoolmates to make them forget about her. The rat she freed has the power to make people shrink, and when he accidentally shrinks one of Emmy’s classmates, the trio—Emmy, the rat, and the now-diminutive Joe—embarks on an adventure that leads them to discover a whole rodent city underground, a shrunken but still spry rodent scientist, and the way out of Emmy’s difficulties with the nefarious Miss Barmy. With an evil nanny, bewitched parents, and lots of cute, furry helpers, this is irresistible storytelling, drawing on the best traditions of Redwall, Narnia, and Wonderland with a healthy dose of Lemony Snicket thrown in. Jonathan Bean’s border illustrations form a flip book that features the rat, who is blustery, arrogant, and only accidentally helpful (though he does become a hero of sorts in the end), getting his just deserts by falling from a tree. As a readalone or a shared readaloud, this will be a winner with fans of light fantasy, animal tales, and mild gothic adventure Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2006, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2007, Holt, 346p., $17.95. Grades 4-7.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2008)
Emmy is ignored by everyone except her scarily perfect nanny, Miss Barmy. A rascally class pet rat introduces Emmy to a magical rodent subculture, which helps her discover the truth about her suddenly aloof parents and Miss Barmy. With its sinister elements beneath a light writing style, the imaginative plot is reminiscent of Roald Dahl. Black-and-white running-head illustrations create a flipbook effect. Category: Intermediate Fiction. 2007, Holt, 346pp, 17.95. Ages 9 to 12. Rating: 3: Recommended, satisfactory in style, content, and/or illustration.