Starred review from August 1, 2016
Louie and Ralphie Ratso are determined to be as tough as their truck-driver father, but the rats’ efforts go hilariously awry in this funny, thoughtful, and smart chapter book. In episodic escapades, they steal a classmate’s hat, make a new student a sandwich from the “worst foods they can find,” and soap a neighbor’s windows, only to be met with gratitude. “Pickled mushrooms and beets and eggplant, just like my nana used to make!” gushes gleeful sandwich recipient Fluffy Rabbitski. LaReau packs substantial comedy and poignant emotion into each chapter (the boys’ mother has “been gone for a little while now”), adeptly amplified by Myers’s spot art. Ages 5–8. Author’s agent: Barry Goldblatt, Barry Goldblatt Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Steven Malk, Writers House.

June 1, 2016

Gr 2-4-Everyone in the Big City knows the Ratsos. Third grader Ralphie and fifth grader Louie live with their father, Big Lou, in the animal metropolis. Their mother's unexplained absence has the family resorting to "toughness" as a means of survival. Big Lou tells his sons to "hang tough." These half-pints surmise that talking about your feelings, making friends, and being kind are only for "softies." They plan to show how tough they are by pulling pranks on their classmates and neighbors. But all of their antics backfire, leading to unwanted consequences. This animal protagonist tale is lighthearted and fun. The writing is straightforward and easy, while the pen-and-ink artwork is detailed. These characters are complex enough to interest newly independent readers, and the story resolution is heartfelt and solid. The father-son dynamic is realistic and honest. Young readers will feel for the family as they learn to deal with the absence of a loved one. This slender novel packs a strong message of overcoming loss through love and kindness. VERDICT A solid purchase; a chapter book that entertains and uplifts.-Sada Mozer, Los Angeles Public Library

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2016
Two little rats decide to show the world how tough they are, with unpredictable results.Louie and Ralphie Ratso want to be just like their single dad, Big Lou: tough! They know that "tough" means doing mean things to other animals, like stealing Chad Badgerton's hat. Chad Badgerton is a big badger, so taking that hat from him proves that Louie and Ralphie are just as tough as they want to be. However, it turns out that Louie and Ralphie have just done a good deed instead of a bad one: Chad Badgerton had taken that hat from little Tiny Crawley, a mouse, so when Tiny reclaims it, they are celebrated for goodness rather than toughness. Sadly, every attempt Louie and Ralphie make at doing mean things somehow turns nice. What's a little boy rat supposed to do to be tough? Plus, they worry about what their dad will say when he finds out how good they've been. But wait! Maybe their dad has some other ideas? LaReau keeps the action high and completely appropriate for readers embarking on chapter books. Each of the first six chapters features a new, failed attempt by Louie and Ralphie to be mean, and the final, seventh chapter resolves everything nicely. The humor springs from their foiled efforts and their reactions to their failures. Myers' sprightly grayscale drawings capture action and characters and add humorous details, such as the Ratsos' "unwelcome" mat.A nicely inventive little morality "tail" for newly independent readers. (Fiction. 5-8)

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July 1, 2016
Grades 1-3 Louis and Ralphie Ratso yearn to be tough like their unsmiling, truck-driving dad, Big Lou. But stealing a hat from a hulking bully only makes them playground heroes, and concocting a smelly sandwich to prank a lonely new student only earns her gratitude, as they accidentally make her favorite lunch. In the frequent illustrations, Myers dresses the rat siblings in suitably seedy garb and places them in rundown urban settings. But when Big Lou learns of these good/bad deeds, he looks at the photo of Mama Ratso (ambiguously described as gone ) and tearfully says, I should be trying to be more like you. He continues, Life is tough enough. We might as well try to make it easier for one another, whenever we can. So right.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2017
Wanting to emulate their father, a tough rat named Big Lou, Louie and Ralphie Ratso decide to play mean tricks on classmates and neighbors. But each attempt at being tough backfires--winning sterling reputations for the Ratsos. What will happen when Big Lou finds out? Generous black-and-white illustrations evoke the rundown-city setting and reinforce the text's light tone. A beginning chapter book with heart.

(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

September 1, 2016
Since their dear mother's departure, Ralphie and Louie Ratso want only one thing: to emulate their father, a tough rat named Big Lou. There are two kinds of people in this world, ' Big Lou likes to say. Those who are tough, and those who are soft.' And, by golly, tough is what the Ratso brothers are going to be. They walk to school because softies ride the bus; during recess, they spit on the blacktop and glare at everyone because only softies run and play. To cement their tough-guy reputations, the brothers decide to play mean tricks on their classmates and neighbors. But their plans quickly go awry. First the boys swipe the hat a bully is wearing, unwittingly rescuing it for Tiny Crawley, its rightful owner, and becoming instant playground heroes. We need to step up our game, says Louie. But each successive attempt at being tough backfires, giving newly independent readers lots of room for making predictions concerning the failed outcomes, and winning sterling reputations for the Ratsos. What will happen when Big Lou finds out? Time for another prediction, more complicated, but one for which LaReau has laid the groundwork. Generous black-and-white illustrations evoke setting (a rundown city neighborhood) as well as reinforce the storyline and the light tone of the text, with its natural vocabulary. Here's a beginning chapter book with heart. betty carter

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)