Rotten Ralph Feels Rotten

This is a very funny book I happened to run across at the library. Have never heard of Rotten Ralph before and feel like I missed out on something special. His garbage can feast and subsequent stomach ache are the beginning of a hilarious adventure. I love Ralph's dry sense of humor!!! Im over 30 but it made me laugh. Will definitely read the other Rotten Ralph books.

My daughter loves Rotten Ralph books, especially this one, since she is also wild about doctors. The only problem is that she wants to BE Rotten Ralph, which can sometimes be ... rotten. I still have to recommend any chapter book that can engross an active three year old.

Jack Gantos and Nicole Rubel deliver one of their best Rotten Ralph books in this recent book. Rubel's illustrations capture the irrepressible spirit of Ralph (that is: mischievous, naughty, but competely loveable), and author Gantos cooks up a truly funny, very authentic Ralph adventure in four linked chapters. Owner Sarah wants Ralph to eat a healthy meal of fruits and vegetables (her refrigerator also contains miso, dates, yogurt, and hamburgers made without meat), but Ralph thinks the food "will finish me off." Sneaky Ralph climbs into the alley while Sarah sleeps and becomes a "trash-can gourmet." The gross-out food he eats, and the piggy manner in which he eats it is true Ralph: "He lifted a lit and got busy. He started with a green chicken wing. Then he nibbled on some squishy squid. After that he licked a furry fish. For dessert he found a hunk of blue cheesecake..." The result? A nightmare of "little rats with spears...jumping up and down on his belly," and a quick trip to the vet. The very, very sick feeling Ralph is asked to cooperate at the vet's office, but he spits out the thermometer. When the vet tries to check Ralph's reflexes by thwapping him on the knee with a little hammer, Ralph kicks the vet off his stool. (There's a very funny picture accompanying this scene, while frustrated Sarah says, "Behave...or you'll just feel worse." More comical resistance follows, until the vet and Sarah and a nurse pour an emetic down a funnel placed in Ralph's mouth. Rubel's talent is very evident in making these potentially violent and unpleasant situations seem jokey instead of upsetting. When Ralph wraps the vet and the nurse up in surgical tape; however, the vet decides Ralph need to stay overnight for observation. This is his comeuppance, so to speak, and Ralph misses Sarah and home terribly. What to do? Escape, of course! However, even Ralph learns his lesson about the perils of garbage cuisine, and when he arrives home he just grabs some nuts-to pile on top of a gigantic banana split! Sarah and Ralph are happily reunited. After 30 years, the Rotten Ralph series is as fresh as ever. I'm a big fan of these zany adventures for young kids, and the plot, the humor, and the pictures are vibrant and incredibly engaging. You might want to also look at Rubel's "A Cowboy Named Ernestine" and "Cyrano the Bear" for more humorous pictures and stories! "Rotten Ralph" is printed on high quality paper with superb color reproduction.