This one is sweet–a children’s book concerning the secret lives of classroom pets, mainly the titular rat Malcolm. Malcolm was purchased by a teacher who mistakenly thought he was a mouse, and thus saved from being sold as snake food. But as rats have a pretty bad reputation (among other classroom pets, not to mention humans) he kept up the pretense–and things quickly got complicated.

Malcolm at Midnight is a slight but good-hearted story covering some important issues for kids–the value of honesty, the harm of stereotyping, how easy it is to be wrong when we jump to conclusions, and of course, how crucial friendships can be. Malcolm, for all the mistakes he makes, is a likable protagonist: a rat of valor and merit, as he tells himself. The illustrations (by Brian Lies) are pretty charming as well–it’s hard to resist a rat this cute.

If a kid in your life likes animal adventures and mysteries, it’s a treat to see how Malcolm saves the day, saves a friend, and saves his own reputation. Read this one aloud to a six or seven year old, or read it along with an eight or nine year old, or just hand it over to a ten or eleven year old. You’ll be glad you did.

NOVEL: Malcolm at Midnight

AUTHOR: W.H. Beck

YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2015

IMAGE: book cover, Clarion Books