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A review by chitownjr
Sadie and Ratz by Sonya Hartnett
5.0
I thought this was a wonderful charming book which would appeal to beginning readers transitioning to chapter books. I must also say it’s one of my favorite among the books we’ve read so far.
The gorgeous evocative charcoal drawings beautifully illustrate the main scenes in the book and also do a good job of conveying emotion, something that is harder for kids to understand from words alone. The story of a girl, Hannah, who has named her hands Sadie and Ratz and who sometimes loses control of them, is one which many a child struggling with self-control can relate to. The fact that her parents suggest Sadie and Ratz try yoga is indicative of the humor and gentleness in the book. It’s also a great parenting tip!
Hannah’s main problem seems to be her younger brother, referred to in the book as Baby Boy. The three chapters describe how Hannah keeps getting in trouble for things that she insists neither she, Sadie nor Ratz did. Being unjustly accused is certainly something any child with a sibling can relate to. Hannah reacts by wanting to rub out Baby Boy’s ears and by sneaking into his room so that Sadie and Ratz can attack.
Jealousy is another theme with which the book deals. Hannah never uses the word but it’s clear she’s jealous when Grandma gives Baby Boy kisses and extra cookies. A lot of kids feel this way about siblings, especially younger ones.
One thing I really liked about this book was the realistic way it dealt with how kids view their own actions. Hannah disassociates her badness by naming her hands and blaming them. This seems like a creative way for a child to cope with the fact that she’s not always good. Since it’s difficult for children to admit when they are wrong, externalizing one’s badness by projecting it onto something else is one way to still keep a positive self-image. It’s clear, however, that Hannah knows that Sadie and Ratz are still a part of her. At the beginning of the book she lists the things she likes and the things she does when she is kind. I think this shows self-knowledge.
The vocabulary in this book was quite interesting. This book introduces a lot of words that would be challenging such as rampage, wobble, banshee, and strife. These are probably words that many children don’t hear or use in everyday life. Other words such as happened and vacation are not beginning vocabulary words but would be familiar to kids from everyday speech. The use of different style fonts and formatting are effective ways to emphasize certain parts of the text.
A child reading this book would like that Baby Boy gets his comeuppance at the end, and the final page in which Baby Boy decides to name his own hands is a fitting end to Hannah’s humorous tale.
This book would make a great library or school read aloud as well as a lovely book for a boy or girl transitioning to chapter books.
The gorgeous evocative charcoal drawings beautifully illustrate the main scenes in the book and also do a good job of conveying emotion, something that is harder for kids to understand from words alone. The story of a girl, Hannah, who has named her hands Sadie and Ratz and who sometimes loses control of them, is one which many a child struggling with self-control can relate to. The fact that her parents suggest Sadie and Ratz try yoga is indicative of the humor and gentleness in the book. It’s also a great parenting tip!
Hannah’s main problem seems to be her younger brother, referred to in the book as Baby Boy. The three chapters describe how Hannah keeps getting in trouble for things that she insists neither she, Sadie nor Ratz did. Being unjustly accused is certainly something any child with a sibling can relate to. Hannah reacts by wanting to rub out Baby Boy’s ears and by sneaking into his room so that Sadie and Ratz can attack.
Jealousy is another theme with which the book deals. Hannah never uses the word but it’s clear she’s jealous when Grandma gives Baby Boy kisses and extra cookies. A lot of kids feel this way about siblings, especially younger ones.
One thing I really liked about this book was the realistic way it dealt with how kids view their own actions. Hannah disassociates her badness by naming her hands and blaming them. This seems like a creative way for a child to cope with the fact that she’s not always good. Since it’s difficult for children to admit when they are wrong, externalizing one’s badness by projecting it onto something else is one way to still keep a positive self-image. It’s clear, however, that Hannah knows that Sadie and Ratz are still a part of her. At the beginning of the book she lists the things she likes and the things she does when she is kind. I think this shows self-knowledge.
The vocabulary in this book was quite interesting. This book introduces a lot of words that would be challenging such as rampage, wobble, banshee, and strife. These are probably words that many children don’t hear or use in everyday life. Other words such as happened and vacation are not beginning vocabulary words but would be familiar to kids from everyday speech. The use of different style fonts and formatting are effective ways to emphasize certain parts of the text.
A child reading this book would like that Baby Boy gets his comeuppance at the end, and the final page in which Baby Boy decides to name his own hands is a fitting end to Hannah’s humorous tale.
This book would make a great library or school read aloud as well as a lovely book for a boy or girl transitioning to chapter books.