Rat Boys

Fourteen-year-olds Marci and Summer use a magic ring to turn two rats into cute boys so that they can have dates for the Spring Fling.

A Quill & Quire Best Book of the Year A Globe & Mail Best Short Fiction Title A National Post Best Short Fiction Title A January Magazine Best Book of the Year Shortlisted for the 2014 Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize Longlisted for the 2014 Frank O'Connor Award "Complicated, passionate, genuine."—Chatelaine Women. Young women, old women. The hair-obsessed, the politically driven, the sure-footed, the bony-butted, the awkward and compulsive and alone. Sleep-deprived and testy. Exhausted and accepting. Among the innumerable wives, husbands, sisters, and in-laws vexed by short temper and insecurity throughout this short story collection, Cynthia Flood’s protagonists stand out as citizens of a reality that the rest of the world will only partially understand. New from the Journey Prize-winning author, Red Girl Rat Boy is a collection of astonishing range and assured technique, whose voices—gothic, peculiar, domestic, and strange—remain as passionate and complex as ever. Praise for Red Girl Rat Boy “Revenge and politics season this potent and passionate collection of stories. Flood excavates indelible histories that haunt even those who’ve shaken the dust of the past.” —Aritha van Herk, author of Judith “Flood’s eye is unflinching, her language energetic and precise, her vision bracing, passionate and entirely lacking in sentimentality.”—Nancy Richler, author of The Imposter Bride “The notary in ‘Dirty Work’ has ‘retired from witnessing how rough human existence is.’ Fortunately for us, Cynthia Flood has not … these stories prove her to be among our great North American fiction writers.”—Betsy Warland, author of Breathing the Page: Reading the Act of Writing “Raw energy is Cynthia Flood’s territory. This is a superb collection.”—Laurie Lewis, author of Little Comrades “Cynthia Flood is full of surprises. If there’s one thing that characterizes her elegant, crystal-sharp short stories, it’s that element of surprise … they reward the attentive reader with surprise and delight”—Dave Margoshes, author of A Book of Great Worth

Overview: In A Rat is a Pig is a Dog is a Boy, Wesley Smith explains how, over the past thirty years, the concept of "animal rights" has undergone literal and extreme interpretations in Western culture. Although there are activists who seek better treatment of animals through welfare work, there are also those who see "animal rights" as a belief system, an ideology, and for some even a quasi-religion that both implicitly and explicitly seeks to create a moral equivalency between the value of human lives and those of animals. Smith explains how animal rights ideologues embrace their beliefs with a fervency that is remarkably intense and sustained, to the point that some dedicate their entire lives to "speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves." Some believe their cause to be so righteous that they engage in vandalism, harassment, or even terrorism at the expense of medical research, the clothing and food industries, and others accused of "animal abuse." For those of us who respect and appreciate animals, but who also understand that our obligation to humanity matters more, A Rat is a Pig is a Dog is a Boy is an important case against an increasingly radical dogma.

With the help of anecdotes, this book aims to recreate the lives and times of the playwrights and actors such as, Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, and Jonson, as well as the world in which they lived from 1578 when Burbage built the first 'purpose built' theatre to 1620 when the great age came to its end.

Rats For Kids Table of Contents Introduction What is a rat? What kinds of rats are there? Where do rats live? The history of rats and humans What is a brown rat? What is a black rat? What is a lab rat? What kinds of lab rats are there? What is a fancy rat and what kinds are there? Conclusion Author Bio Introduction Rats are some of the most adaptable creatures in the world. It seems like everyone hates them, but they really are interesting and have contributed a lot to science and made good companions for people. So, are rats all bad? Easy answer, no. But that depends on what type of rat they are, and there are many that should be avoided. Like any animal, some rats are friendly, and others are nasty. But the rat is an enduring character, inspiring writers from Brian Jacques of the Redwall series and E. B. White in Charlotte's Web to cast them as nasty, icky villains or at least as unsavory characters. But then again, sometimes rats are portrayed as good characters, such as in Pixar's Ratatouille. In the end, a rat is simply an animal looking for food and shelter.

Tyler is a bully who enjoys frightening other students, but when his only friend, his class's pet rat, gets out of her cage he needs the help of a human friend, and fast.