Little Rat Sets Sail

This is a story about a little rats who sets sail and faces many obstacles and fears along the way. The fears that Little Rat faces are fears that many elementary students could have. By the end of the book she is more confident and she is able to face her fears through her experiences.

This book

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would great to read to K-2 graders. It helps teach them how to get over some fears and to be brave.

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This book was very odd to me because I didnt feel like a lot went on in the story. I was confused so I reseached Molly Bang on the internet and discovered that she actually bought a mouse and based the series of stories off of him. I feel like this was a good idea but I think she should have

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focused more on the point of the story instead of the pictures as much. Although, I really enjoyed the pictures.

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The pictures don't seem to go with the text - pictures are very old-fashioned retro feel (40s?) but text is modern (Little rat feels like a "dork" because her life jacket doesn't match. Also the animals are not very anthropomorphized in the pictures - which is nice in some ways but odd when they're

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having discussion about going sailing etc. (Also I keep thinking the bear is going to eat the rat, And Buzz Bear is a stupid name).

However - excellent illustration of the parts of the boat - kids who like boats at this age (pre-school - K?) would love that. And I guess the story might be reassuring to kids that they will eventually get over their fears.

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This is a good example of a folk tale. It is written in a simple way and the setting and characters are all established quickly and only in a few sentences. The story is simple and the action takes place quickly and the characters are stereotypical.

Characterization

This is a great book for those children who are worried about just about everything. It opens up opportunities to talk about such issues and thus opens up better communication on things that would otherwise be left unsaid by a child. This could be a good book for read alouds for teachers in the

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younger grades. Could be used to open up discussions on fear and feelings and such.

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Little Rat's parents have signed her up for sailing lessons without even asking her and she's scared! Slowly over the course of her summer of sailing lessons, Little Rat learns to deal with her fears. The fears don't go away by any means, but Little Rat learns to handle them. While some more

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adventurous children may not understand Little Rat's trepidations, this is pitch perfect for those who approach life with a little more caution. The illustrations add lots of fun details too as when the text described Little Rat as making herself as small as possible and all we see are her ears sticking out from behind a rock. However, I was annoyed by the passage in which Buzzy Bear "rounded up three other students" besides Little Rat and then the illustrations show Buzzy Bear and three students total including Little Rat. I think kids will notice this sort of thing and deserve better; it's sloppy. Still, good enough to recommend to some beginning readers who are just reaching fluency. This would also be good for children who are just being introduced to sailing.

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Review:
I thought that "Little Rat Sets Sail" was a very cute book. This book is a beginning chapter book filled with lots of new vocabulary dealing with boating and sailing. This story talks about Little Rat overcoming his fears and all children can relate to that.

Summary:
The children's book,

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"LIttle Rat Sets Sail", is about Little Rat whose parents signed her up for sailing lessons in the summer. But theres a problem. Little Rat is afraid of the water! As the book goes through Little Rat's sailing lesson she overcomes her fears and begins to love sailing! Little Rat learns all kinds of new vocabulary dealing with boating and sailing and by the end of the summer she realizes she's a "brave little rat" and cant wait for next summers lessons.

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Little Rat has a terrible fear of sailing and the ocean. When her parents sign her up for a sailing class, she is forced to face that fear.

In this book, Little Rat faces her fears and learns how to sail a boat after her mom signs her up for lessons. This book is a good example of fantasy because the rats, bears, and other animals are learning how to sail boats.