‘I wear eye paint and earrings as a sign of my royal blood, you foolish rat,’ it hissed. ‘I am not an offering. Offerings are made to me. This temple belongs to me. I am the Great Cat, Bastet.’
Ramses Rat is looking for adventure and a place to live, so when he finds the Temple of Bastet, from which come delicious smells, he thinks he has found the perfect home. But what he has found, instead, is an adventure. When Ramses tries to get into the temple, he is stopped by the Rats of the Nile, who say they control the temple. Not only are they determined to keep Ramses out, but they want to remove all other rats from the city. Ramses and his new friend Ka are in danger.
But when Ramses meets the Great Cat, Bastet, he finds an unlikely ally. Bastet does not want the Rats of the Nile ruining her city. With Ramses’ bravery and ingenuity and some help from Bastet, peace is restored.
Ramses Rat and the Great Cat Bastet is a junior novel set in Ancient Egypt, apparently the first in a series. Ramses Rat is an adventurous, interesting character, and the story is told in his first person voice. Readers will enjoy the novelty of having a rat as a viewpoint character, as well as the chance to discover Ancient Egypt. The text is complemented with several full page black and white illustrations.
Ramses Rat and the Great Cat Bastet, by Sally Odgers, illustrated by Dushko Zafirovski
Prints Charming Books, 2015