Rick Walton. Just Me and 6,000 Rats 
Gibbs Smith  $18.95  ISBN 978-1-4236-0219-4  32 pg.
Reviewed by Heather, Age 13

We were walking down the street, just me AND... 6,000 rats.

A boy enjoys his visit to the big city, ALTHOUGH he is surprised at how the people react to his 6,000 rats.

This book was NEITHER boring NOR plain, BUT rather, great!  The cover design was bright, inviting AND made you want to know what was going to happen with 6,000 rats.  The text inside was easy to read SINCE it was nicely placed on the page.  The conjunctions, the educational part of the book, were highlighted in different colors, SO they stood out more.  The illustrations were appropriate BECAUSE they made it easy to understand what was going on.  They helped tell the story of the reaction to the 6,000 rats.

Rick Walton was born and raised in Utah AND now lives in Provo with his wife and five kids.  He loves to travel AND play guitar.  He has written over 60 children’s books in many genres such as joke books, picture books, activity books, mini mysteries and poetry books.  Some of his work includes: Bunny School, Cars at Play and Suddenly, Alligator.  I would recommend this story for ages 4 and up, THOUGH useful for teachers, too.

EVEN THOUGH Just Me and 6000 Rats has all the appearances of a children's book, Rick Walton has cleverly provided teachers, especially those at Middle School, with a fabulous educational tool.   The illustrations are appealing to this age group, WHILE the educational component of the text is presented through colourful rollicking fonts.  My grade 7 class had a lot of fun with this book, SO I am recommending it to you.  (Ms McD, Grade 7 Teacher)

This reviewer gives Just Me and 6,000 Rats 5 hairy stars and two thumbs up to Rick Walton!