Kirkus Reviews

Two little rats decide to show the world how tough they are, with unpredictable results.Louie and Ralphie Ratso want to be just like their single dad, Big Lou: tough! They know that "tough" means doing mean things to other animals, like stealing Chad Badgerton's hat. Chad Badgerton is a big badger, so taking that hat from him proves that Louie and Ralphie are just as tough as they want to be. However, it turns out that Louie and Ralphie have just done a good deed instead of a bad one: Chad Badgerton had taken that hat from little Tiny Crawley, a mouse, so when Tiny reclaims it, they are celebrated for goodness rather than toughness. Sadly, every attempt Louie and Ralphie make at doing mean things somehow turns nice. What's a little boy rat supposed to do to be tough? Plus, they worry about what their dad will say when he finds out how good they've been. But wait! Maybe their dad has some other ideas? LaReau keeps the action high and completely appropriate for readers embarking on chapter books. Each of the first six chapters features a new, failed attempt by Louie and Ralphie to be mean, and the final, seventh chapter resolves everything nicely. The humor springs from their foiled efforts and their reactions to their failures. Myers' sprightly grayscale drawings capture action and characters and add humorous details, such as the Ratsos' "unwelcome" mat.A nicely inventive little morality "tail" for newly independent readers. (Fiction. 5-8)

ALA Booklist (Fri Jul 01 00:00:00 CDT 2016)

Louis and Ralphie Ratso yearn to be tough like their unsmiling, truck-driving dad, Big Lou. But stealing a hat from a hulking bully only makes them playground heroes, and concocting a smelly sandwich to prank a lonely new student only earns her gratitude, as they accidentally make her favorite lunch. In the frequent illustrations, Myers dresses the rat siblings in suitably seedy garb and places them in rundown urban settings. But when Big Lou learns of these good/bad deeds, he looks at the photo of Mama Ratso (ambiguously described as "gone") and tearfully says, "I should be trying to be more like you." He continues, "Life is tough enough. We might as well try to make it easier for one another, whenever we can." So right.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Louie and Ralphie Ratso are determined to be as tough as their truck-driver father, but the rats- efforts go hilariously awry in this funny, thoughtful, and smart chapter book. In episodic escapades, they steal a classmate-s hat, make a new student a sandwich from the -worst foods they can find,- and soap a neighbor-s windows, only to be met with gratitude. -Pickled mushrooms and beets and eggplant, just like my nana used to make!- gushes gleeful sandwich recipient Fluffy Rabbitski. LaReau packs substantial comedy and poignant emotion into each chapter (the boys- mother has -been gone for a little while now-), adeptly amplified by Myers-s spot art. Ages 5-8. Author-s agent: Barry Goldblatt, Barry Goldblatt Literary. Illustrator-s agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Aug.)

Horn Book

Wanting to emulate their father, a tough rat named Big Lou, Louie and Ralphie Ratso decide to play mean tricks on classmates and neighbors. But each attempt at being tough backfires--winning sterling reputations for the Ratsos. What will happen when Big Lou finds out? Generous black-and-white illustrations evoke the rundown-city setting and reinforce the text's light tone. A beginning chapter book with heart.