Hey, hey, hey, it’s time to BLOG!
May 4th, 2025 by The Rat
Helloooooo, and a big welcome to all you fifth graders reading my book with Mrs. Mclaughlin! Are you ready to blog with me? Because I’m ready to ratblog with YOU!
Notice my excellent posture at the keyboard? My beautifully curved tail? My perky ears? I even dabbed a little extra hair gel between my ears, just for you. I’m going for the spiky look.
Okay, I’m ready to start jumping around on the keyboard (I like to type with all four paws.) But there’s just one little thing that has me… well, not exactly worried. Not precisely anxious. But maybe just a little teensy bit… um… nervous?
So here’s the big question: What if some of you don’t like rats? What if you don’t like MEEEEEE?
Okay, if you can’t stand rats, please don’t tell me. We rodents have very sensitive feelings. But if you like me, maybe you could tell me? After all, I AM a very handsome rat… plus, I LOVE to blog. Do you?
Your friend,
Ratty
P.S. I hope none of you are cats.
- 26 Comments »
- Posted in Raston's Blog
May 5th, 2025 at 8:37 am
Good Morning, Ratty! My 5th graders are so excited to blog with you. We only have 19 days of school left and they are getting ready for Middle School. Do you have any Middle School advice for them? They are nervous about the transition. Thanks!
May 5th, 2025 at 10:33 am
And a big ratty good morning to you, too, Mrs. Mclaughlin! But hey, I’m sorry I can’t give your 5th graders any advice about Middle School. I DID spend a lot of time at school–YEARS of 4th grade, stuck in a cage–but it was only 4th grade, see? I might know my ratiplication tables backwards and forwards, but I never got into things like Ratgebra or Ratometry or Ratechnology.
On the other hand, I guess I can give advice on jumping into something new: stick out your fur, perk up your ears, use your tail for balance, and LEAP!
May 5th, 2025 at 10:55 am
Hi ratston! Question, do you have a sibling
May 5th, 2025 at 10:56 am
Hi Ratty I hope you are having a ratastic day! I was wondering if the other rat at the Antique Rat is your long lost brother or sister? Also what is your opinion about dogs? Hope you can answer the questions! With much love Gaby 🙂
May 5th, 2025 at 10:57 am
hi Ratsine this is Leah ,do you know about the rat that looks like you in the shop? and is ratiplication different then multipication?
(p,s im not a cat)
May 5th, 2025 at 10:58 am
Hi! Good evening Ratty. I am Mateo. I like rats, I think they are cool like Remy but your way cooler and better. And have you ever met the other rat that is in the shop? Plus, are there way more rats like you but with different powers? I’ve been loving your ratastic story so much, and now I imagine being a rat!
With love, Mateo
May 5th, 2025 at 10:59 am
Hey hey, Mateo, Leah, Gaby and Jayda, it’s great to hear from you! And I will do my ratty best to answer your questions, except I do NOT want to spoil the story for you, so… well, I’m not going to answer about the rat in the shop. Because–well, you’ll find out, just like I had to find out!
But Jayda, I can answer your question at least. I do have a twin sister. (Oh, Sissy, my dear ratty Sissy! (waaaah! sobs into Ratty paws) When I think of how we were so cruelly separated, so young… (sniffles bravely) Excuse me while I blow my nose (hoooonk!) Okay, that’s better. Yes, I do have a sister, but we were taken from the nest when we were very little and it was such a ratscruciating experience that I hate to dwell on it.
Gaby, I DO have an opinion about dogs. Ratactually, I have a few opinions. 1) Dogs are… well, a little too wet for me. (All that slobber.) 2) They are loud, and not exactly what I would call bright. (All that barking! And for what? Because some CAR went down the STREET? Seriously, what do they expect?) 3) They sm… sme… smel… Okay, I’ll just be blunt. They stink of Dog Breath. Which is not exactly what I would call a pleasant odor. 4) On the other hand, they are NOT CATS. So that’s a positive!
Leah, Ratiplication is very much like Multiplication! How clever of you to notice! Only, of course, it’s done by rats. And we get to use our front AND back claws to help us count– and sometimes our tails, too. (And I’m so ratly glad you are not a cat! Whew!)
Good evening, Mateo–or good morning or afternoon, whenever you are reading this! I ratotally appreciate your kind words… and they’re so true, too! I AM way cooler than Remy! But, you know, Remy’s a cool rat as well. And yes… I think there are other rodents with different powers… but I can’t remember all of them. Maybe, if you imagine being a rat, you can imagine the powers you might have! (Personally, I would like the power to zap cats.)
May 5th, 2025 at 11:00 am
Hello Ratty friend, my name is Sabrina. My answer to your question is yes, I do like blogging, but I haven’t done so yet, so it will be my first time. And luckily, I am not a cat. But I have a question for you. How did you come up with an idea to write this story?
May 5th, 2025 at 11:01 am
Hi Ratty! This book has been so great so far! My name is Ariel. I’ve never blogged before, so… this is my first time (and I’m super excited). I have a few questions for you. My first question is… do you like Emmy? Because in the book it seems like you have different opinions on Emmy, 1. you like Emmy and 2. you don’t. Or… there’s another possibility, your POV will change throughout the story. Later, you may or may not like Emmy. Well.. that’s it for today, thanks for your time. I look forward to seeing your first response!
P.S I’m not a cat, so I won’t eat you!
May 5th, 2025 at 11:02 am
Hello Ratty! My name is Reyna and I’ve never blogged before but I ‘ve heard that is really fun! To answer your question, I personally find rats interesting and very cute, so… no, I don’t dislike rats. I do have a question and it’s if you like Emmy, I mean you don’t seem to like her, but maybe you do. That’s all I have to say, thank you for your time!
Bye ratty friend!
May 5th, 2025 at 11:03 am
Hiya, Reyna, Ariel and Sabrina! Thanks for ratblogging with me, and I hope you like it (but then, what’s not to like about blogging with a rat? Especially a handsome and witty rat, such as myself? Not to brag or anything, of course.)
Reyna and Ariel, you have the same question about whether I like Emmy or not. And I have to say, sure, I like her fine! I mean, she set me freeeeeeee, didn’t she? So I have to be grateful. And she has a whole playroom FULL of the coolest toys–which are ratly fun to play with, I must say. But sometimes she can be very annoying. I try hard not to judge, though. Very few humans are perfect ALL the time. We can’t expect them to have the perfection of rats, now, can we?
And Sabrina, I have to say, I did NOT ratactually write this story. Lynne Jonell did. But I was her ratly inspiration! And I helped Emmy be less of a namby-pamby, wet-bread sort of person. If they ever make a movie of this book, I am pretty sure I will be the STAR!!
Oh, and I am very relieved that you are not cats. (wipes sweat from ratty brow)
May 5th, 2025 at 11:04 am
Hello ratty friend, my name is Harper and I’m so excited that we get to do this today. Personally, sometimes rats scare me a little but most of the times I think they are really, really cute. But I just have a couple questions to ask though like, does this handsome rat like that he gets to shrink people or, what’s one thing the rat likes to do? Well anyway, I’m glad that I can finally know more about our rat friend and thank you for your time today!
– Harper
May 5th, 2025 at 11:05 am
Hello there Ratty! I’m Cloe and I’m here with Alaisha and Aspen. We are so excited to blog with you! And YES we all love rodents. But, I have a question. Where did you get the gel for your hair, did you take it or borrow it from Emmy? But either way really cool hair!
P.S. We are not cats.
May 5th, 2025 at 11:06 am
BIG, WARM, RATTY, morning Mr. Ratson! As one of the 5th graders, we are super excited to blog with you. To answer one of your…interesting questions, YES I do like rodents! Specific rodents…Anyway it would be extremely kind of you to answer one of my ratty questions! How is your life as a rat? And what do you eat, daily?
P.S. None of the students are cats, that I know of.
May 5th, 2025 at 11:07 am
Hello, hello, Alaisha, Cloe, Aspen and Harper–so ratly nice of you to write to me! I’m super excited to blog with you, too. And it’s ratastic that you love rats— which means that you love MEEEEEE!! So, on to your questions.
Alaisha, my life as a rat is… hmmm. Well, it’s usually close to the ground (unless I climb a tree, for example.) I have my sports (pawball) and friends (everyone loves me! Well, most everyone… I can think of a few chipmunks I don’t care for. And some rodents are frankly boring. But I’m polite to all of them… more or less.) I mostly live in Rodent City, but sometimes I hang out at Emmy’s house when I need a break–or a ride on her electric train. I like to read books, too, but–there are VERY FEW books written especially for rodents! I can’t understand why! Maybe YOU could write a book for us? Hmm?
Cloe and Aspen, I have to say that I have yet to find hair gel that is made specifically for a rat’s fur. Or hair. You know what I mean. So I have to borrow from Emmy. But hey, it’s ratastic that you like my hair! Maybe you could invent a hair gel just for rodents? I wish you would. (Oh, and thanks for letting me know you aren’t cats. I would hate to think I was corresponding with felines!)
Harper, my friend, I have to tell you that we rats ARE scary–to our enemies (sharp teeth! Pointy claws!) but we are very kind to our friends. So if you are my friend (and you are!), then you have no worries. Oh, and it also helps that you think I’m handsome. (I am, aren’t I!) As far as your question goes, I guess I don’t ratzactly get a kick out of shrinking people. I mean, usually they don’t taste all that good, you know? But sometimes–in certain cases– it seems necessary. And, you know, a rat is BOLD and DETERMINED, and never shirks his duty!
May 5th, 2025 at 11:08 am
Ratty I have been wondering about a few things but I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag but is Ratatouille your friend, and if he is your friend could he teach you on how to cook.
Ps from the Ratatouille movie “anyone can cook”
From Adrian and Leandro
May 5th, 2025 at 11:08 am
Hi Ratty I have been wondering about few things such as how old are you its been fun to talk to you Ratty.
May 5th, 2025 at 11:09 am
Hello, ratty, I hope you have not been in the sight of a cat recently and you most likely know why. Anyway, do you know anyone by the name of ratatouille? If so, do you guy plan to hang out any time soon? Also do you have any idea of how teachers are in middle school? Because I am really scared about transitioning to a middle school. Thank you for taking time out of your day to read this. With much love, Sebastian
May 5th, 2025 at 11:09 am
Hai ratty! I’ve never talked to a rat before! I only have one question, do you like ratatouille?
From Julieta and Liliana
PS I’m NOTT a cat
May 5th, 2025 at 11:10 am
Middle school is easy just follow the teachers rules and pay attention. Just like that you will become an excellent student.
May 5th, 2025 at 11:11 am
A big ratty HI to all of you–Jadian, Julieta, Liliana, Sebastian, Leandro and Adrian! Lots of you had the same question about Ratatouille, so I’ll answer that first.
I LOVE ratatouille (the vegetable dish!) Mmmmm… such flavors! Such crunchiness and yet squishiness! Such herbs, such spices, such– oh, wait, I suppose you are asking about the MOVIE. Well, I love the movie, too! I mean, any movie that highlights the talents and perseverance of rats has got to be good, right? And I don’t know Remy personally, but my second cousin once-removed knows his great-aunt’s best friend, so we’re practically related, right? Of course, he’s a movie star, whereas I… am not. (heavy ratty sigh.) But maybe someday!
Julieta and Liliana, I’m so glad you’re not cats. (I suspect you’re glad you’re not cats, too. Because–well, who would want to be a cat? Not me!)
Leandro and Adrian, I am sorry to tell you that I don’t know how old I am. (sniffle) I don’t even know when my birthday is! (gulp) Why, you may ask? It’s a tragic story… I was taken from the nest when I was so young, I didn’t even know the date of my birth. And they took me away from my Ratmommy (waaaaah! sob! sob! sob!) Oh, this is too much… on to the next question!
Sebastian, the thing about teachers in middle school is the same as teachers in grade school, or college, or preschool! Teachers are just people, like kids are people. Have you ever showed a little rat–I mean a kid– how to do something? Then you were a teacher, see? You were a little older, and you knew a little more. That’s all. And if you were teaching a baby ratling–I mean a baby human–you would teach them things they could learn (like rolling a pawball back to you along the floor) and not something that was too hard for them. But when the babies turned into fourth graders, they could learn something harder, like maybe ratiplication. Middle school teachers will just try to teach you things that are a little bit harder, but they will be things you are ready to learn. I mean, hey–no rat wants to keep learning the same old things he knows already, right?
Jadian, you didn’t have a question, but I think you had a good answer. And here’s something else: Lynne Jonell told me she had a middle school teacher who didn’t like her… but she says that she (Lynne Jonell) started it first, by not liking the teacher. And she’s pretty sure she showed it! So that made the teacher not like her right back. (Would you believe it, it was an English teacher, which was Lynne Jonell’s favorite subject! Go figure.) So the advice Lynne Jonell would add is, try to find something you like about each one of your teachers. That will help things go ratsmoothly, I think!
May 5th, 2025 at 11:12 am
Good morning Ratty, My favorite part of the book (so far) is when we found out about the rats powers which were one bite to make people here the rat, two bites makes the person that is bitten shrink. I also have a question, if the rat bites someone, does the rat get affected by the bite?
Many people don’t like rats, but I do, I think they are cool. I would like to meet you in person.
From , Benji
P.S Do you like moldy cheese and do you live in New York with Big city rats?
May 5th, 2025 at 11:12 am
Hello, ratty, I hope you are not being eating by a cat right now. I have a few questions, what do teachers do when all the students leave? Do you wish to live in New York with all the ratty friends and the food? Do you know ratatouille? Thank for taking your time and reading this?
May 5th, 2025 at 11:13 am
Hi, what is your favorite food? is it cheese? is it something else? I’m very curious, I don’t know why.
May 5th, 2025 at 11:14 am
Dear, Ratty I’m not really a big fan of rats but you I think your very handsome and extraordinary. I love that in your photo you made sure you looked your very best. My one question is what happens when you bite someone a third time?? PS. Natalia
May 5th, 2025 at 11:17 am
So good to hear from you, Natalia, Giovanni, Cam, and Benji–thanks for taking the time to write me! Okay, question and answer time for this rodent!
Natalia, you’re not a big fan of rats? I can’t imagine why! But it’s very kind of you to notice my rathandsomeness and my ratzastrodinariness (not sure about that spelling, but whatever). And yes, I DID try to look my very best in that photo; thanks for noticing! I do think a little dab of hair gel, right between the ears, is a sign of a distinctive rat, don’t you? But as to your question, I am very sorry that I can’t answer that just at the moment. Because (drum roll) I DON’T WANT TO SPOIL THE STORY FOR YOU!!! But from that answer, you have probably figured out that you just might find out, later on in the book. I guess you’ll have to wait and see.
Giovanni, while I admit I do love cheese (mmmm, sharp cheddar! And Roquefort! And Asiago! And Gruyere! And… I could go on, but I won’t.) anyway, while I love cheese, it is NOT my favorite food. Can’t you guess? My favorite, my ratsolutely FAVORITE food is… you guessed it… PEANUT BUTTER CUPS. Yes, it’s the perfect food. Peanuts are, basically, vegetables… and chocolate, made from the cacao BEAN, has got to be a kind of vegetable, too! I don’t know why it’s not on everyone’s list of health foods.
Cam, you will be relieved to know that I am NOT currently being eaten by a cat. (Thanks for that image, though–I hope I don’t have bad dreams tonight!) Okay, I don’t know Ratatouille (if by that you mean Remy), but I have seen the movie, and it’s ratsoriffic! I would certainly consider visiting New York–I hear there is a very sophisticated population of rats there–but, you know, there’s no place like home. I kind of like Rodent City. And Emmy’s town of Grayson Lake is ratly cool, too. I just made friends with a beaver down by the lake, and he’s going gnaw down a hollow tree for me, so I can have a tunnel to play in!
But as far as what teachers do when all the students leave, I can only tell you what Emmy’s 4th grade teacher, Mr. Herbifore, did. He would clip his nails… then he would correct a few papers… then he would eat a little snack (he was fond of chocolate covered granola bars). After a while he would add up a few numbers on a piece of paper, and then check them with his calculator, and then he would sigh and look out the window. Sometimes he would mutter things to himself, like “I should have gone to law school.” Or “Maybe it’s not too late to run off and join the circus?” And then he would look sneaky and pull a piece of gum out of his desk (gum was NOT allowed at Grayson Lake Elementary) and chew it. Rebelliously. It seemed to make him happy.
Benji, good morning (or afternoon) to you, too! I ratly agree with you–that is a cool part of the book. (Of course, anything having to do with ME is a cool part of the book, but I guess that’s obvious.) And I’m glad you think rats are cool! Of course, some of us are cooler than others. I would like to meet you in person, too, but I hear that RodentAir doesn’t fly to Florida anymore, sadly. To answer your question, though, the way I am affected when I bite someone is, I usually get a ratisgusting taste in my mouth! I can’t say that people taste very good, when you bite into their raw flesh. Blech.