Barbara Cairns Books Category:  Children Publisher: America Star Books ISBN-10:  1635082218 Pages: 46 Copyright: December 15, 2014 ISBN-13: 9781634486910 A captioned photo book of Nimh, a Dumbo Rat being trained as a wildlife park program rat. This 46-page picture book advocates fancy rats as pets. It features Nimh, an adorable little Dumbo Rat in captioned photos, along with factual information about caring for pet rats.        Excerpt Barbara surprises me with different kinds of toys. DID YOU KNOW? Rats are highly intelligent and need to be stimulated with challenging and intriguing toys. They can be commercially made and bought at pet stores or home-made. Some rat favorites are cardboard boxes, ladders, wheels, wooden things to gnaw on, hammocks, etc. Please make sure home-made toys are safe for me with no sharp edges or toxic ingredients.

The Not So Secret Life of Nimh
Any time I have the opportunity to read a good book on rats and rat care, I jump in and grab it. This book was no exception. It came to me by way of Facebook where a fellow rat owner had posted a link on her page about it, saying that if I wanted a copy, we should contact the author. I did this quite happily, explaining that I write for Your Pet Space and am always looking for books to review, especially when they are about rats. Within no time at all. I had a copy that arrived in my mailbox and I didn't even get to my front door before I had the package opened and was flipping through the pages.
Oh my gosh, if you could capture cuteness, this is the way to go! Just look at that face on the cover, curious and inquisitive, coming at the camera with all the busy action of a young rat. The essence of little Nimh is clearly captured right from the beginning.
Nimh is learning to be a program rat in a state park in Florida and the book follows the life of Nimh for a short time, introducing children (and adults) to the joys of having a rat. The book is written in the first person, from Nimh's point of view, each page also containing short little facts about rat care. The balance between the two provides excellent places to stop on each page and discuss what you are reading. It also gives you an excuse to check out the adorable photos on each page one more time. I found myself often looking at the picture, reading, then looking at the picture again.
As a teacher (and a rat owner) I found many learning opportunities throughout this book, where anyone of any age who is hoping to get a pet rat can learn about care and handling before they go out and bring a new baby home. As Nimh grows from being 4 weeks old to being 4 months old, the book touches lightly on handling, cages, toys, food treats, training, and most of behavior. I wouldn't say that this little story is meant to tell you everything but it is certainly the perfect introduction to having a rat as part of your household. Anyone who is considering having a rat as a pet should have some of their basic questions answered as they read.
Learning and discussion opportunities flood the pages. When I read the book to my students I find them asking about the photos or about what has just been read. This isn't because they don't understand the subject, but because they are curious about what they are seeing and hearing. On one of the pages, Nimh has learned to climb out of the "playpen" and that usually is the perfect time to pause for some creative thinking. What could Nimh do now? Where would Nimh go? What would Nimh do? We also had a discussion about how the person watching Nimh would be careful to keep Nimh safe outside of the "playpen" since earlier in the book we learned that rats don't like to get dirty and need to eat (and come in contact with only healthy things.)
Obviously, younger readers will find the storytelling to their taste the most, but adults will have no difficulty at all when it comes to enjoying Nimh's story. If you love rats, you will read for the love of the animal. If you are curious about rats, you will find yourself enjoying the story much more than you might have realized and maybe by the end of it, you might just find yourself thinking rats aren't so bad after all. Most importantly, this is a book that a child and an adult can read together, learn from together and discuss together. Are you ready to have a rat of your own? I highly recommend it as a starting block in the building of a rat care library. Joy Jones

The Not So Secret Life of Nimh, a Dumbo Rat
There is no way to describe my collection of rat related books except to say that it is, in some way, an addiction. I simply cannot get enough of them. So when a friend of mine pointed me to this book, I jumped right in.
By the very nature of the animal itself, all rat books just have to be cute. I mean, look at that face and tell me that isn't the sweetest thing you've ever seen! This book, though was very well thought out in order to maximize on cuteness. Not only is it written in Nimh's point of view, it is written so that it explains to young and old alike how to care for a rat. That combination of style and subject have the most heart melting impact of any combination I know and the author masters it so well you just have to read the book again right after you finish it, so that you can spend more time with Nimh.
As a teacher, I also read this book with an eye on education and found that it reads very well in that regard too. My young students enjoyed listening and would occasionally ask questions, which was okay because there were opportunities at each page to stop and discuss what was happening, usually in the pictures. The photos are very well thought out and provide for good out of text storytelling as well as complementing the story that is written. Children who are not yet reading can easily retell the story based on these pictures, which is important to their language development.
Topics covered include food treats, cages, toys, behavior and proper handling. I wouldn't say you can learn everything there is to know about rats just from reading this one book, but it is an excellent introduction, especially for young readers. If you love rats you will want to get this book simply for the love of them.
Mirrani