by Sue Heavenrich
Being a bug-loving person, I often read books with characters who, if we met them in real life, we might swat with a broom. One day I got into a conversation with Lynne Marie about picture books featuring “vermin.” In addition to being an author, Lynne Marie is the director of Rate Your Story and the Seasonal and Special Acquisitions Editor at The Little Press Publishing. Not only does she know a thing or two about picture books, she's written one with a main character who is a real rat! Before we get chatting about unlovable critters, let's check out Lynne Marie's book, The Palace Rat, illustrated by Eva Santana (Yeehoo Press, 2023).
Henri lives a pampered life in Versailles, the palace of King Louis the XIV! Cook serves Henri the tastiest tidbits. Tailor stitches up attire fit for … well, the King’s pet. The palace servants wait on Henri paw and food, but not everyone is happy to serve a … Rat! So they set out to rid the palace of vermin.
Fortunately, he escapes an untimely demise and ends up in the company of country rodents. They take Henri in, and teach him basic survival skills while he plans his return to the palace. But can Henri adapt to a simple life? I don’t want to spoil the ending for you; you’ll have to read it and find out for yourself.
Me: Hi Lynne Marie and welcome to the GROG! You already know that I love slugs and bugs as characters in a book. But do you feel there are readers who are reluctant to buy books with unlovable animals as main characters?
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| Lynne Marie |
Lynne: These characters do appeal to certain folks. There are people who gravitate towards creepy crawlies, and some who love monster stories. Others prefer bears and bunnies. But for some reason some people have a thing against rats. (my note: Despite that, the movie, Ratatouille received a 96% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes.)
And it’s not just rats. People also don’t like bugs, specifically spiders. They have preconceived notions about these creatures. This reluctance tends to disappear when you look at people who read STEM books featuring them. It could be that with nonfiction books, you’re already appealing to a subset of people, most of whom will like bugs, for example.
Me: I realize you wrote The Palace Rat a long time ago. What made you choose the rat as the main character?
Lynne: I went back to college a couple decades ago, and got to spend the summer in France. I was waiting on line at Versailles, gathering story ideas, and happened to see a rat running across the courtyard. That got me wondering: what if that rat was a relative of a rat from the French Revolution? Or a pet of the Sun King, Louis XIV? And what if it was dressed in finery, and dined on gourmet food at the palace?
And then I wondered: what would happen to a pampered rat if he escaped a plot to exterminate him and ended up in Avignon? In the countryside? I was thinking a bit “city rat/country rat,” only in this case the palace rat would be quite the snob.
I wrote this story in 1998, as I was studying and spending time in France, but it was published just a couple of years ago. It may sound like a simple story, but there are a lot of layers, a lot of things a reader can take away from the tale:
- It introduces us to new places and a historical era;
- It examines the question of what true riches are; and
- It asks what brings people happiness.
In Henri’s case, he discovers that what’s most important is paving your own path in life, having friends who appreciate you and finding your talent and audience.
Me: There is no shortage of rodents in kid-lit. I remember reading about Ralph in The Mouse on the Motorcycle.
Lynne: There are a few other literary rats, too, but often they are presented in a negative light. Templeton, the rat in Charlotte’s Web, helped save Wilbur the pig. But he had a number of undesirable traits that may not have endeared him to readers. Then there’s Scabbers, Ron Weasley’s pet rat in the Harry Potter books. Scabbers was old and scraggly, and eventually revealed to be the evil Peter Pettigrew.
Here’s a thing about rats: most people don’t understand how fascinating they are. Scientists taught rats how to drive small cars, and discovered that the rats preferred driving over walking! (There's a video of them driving around on YouTube)
Me: Thanks for sharing that video with me. I found out that the rats liked their cars so much that they would take a longer route to the rewards if it meant they could drive! Like some people I know...
Thank you so much, Lynne, for joining us here on the GROG today. Folks can learn more about Lynne Marie's books and other ventures at her website, literallylynnemarie.com
Rats aren’t the only unlovable critters in books. There are picture books featuring cockroaches, slugs, snails, naked mole rats, dung beetles, skunks, and ugly fish. Sometimes all these characters need is for a reader to take them home from the library for a few weeks and read their stories. Who knows – you might be amazed to find yourself falling for an unlikely, and possibly slimy – or smelly – hero.
After reading The Palace Rat, you might want to read some of these books (and there are tons more - check your local library and bookstore):
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