The true story behind it
I didn’t plan to write about building things. Looking back, it crept into a few of the books anyway, and Penny the Rat is one. The friends build a kind of greenhouse, a roof over her garden. As a boy I made my own toy car out of a soap box and a plastic cream box, so I think that’s where it comes from.
Penny the Rat is one my son still talks about.
What happens in the story
It hasn’t rained for weeks. Penny the rat’s stream has dried up, and she can’t carry enough water from the far river. Her carrots and radishes are drooping, and she’s in tears.
Kitty finds a little water deep in the ground and brings it up into a small pool. That helps, but it isn’t enough, because the sun is just too hot. Dino cools the air around the garden, but he can’t keep it up all day and night. Then Kitty has an idea: a roof that lets light in but keeps the heat out.
So they build one. Dino grows a circle of tall bamboo, Kitty’s wind bends it into a dome, vines tie it together, and a thin layer of mud makes the roof. Dino heals the tired plants, Kitty digs little ditches so water always reaches them, and by sunset the garden is growing again.
Looking for a children’s book about rats?
Rats don’t often get to be the hero of a picture book. Penny is a gardener with a burrow, a door made of sticks and a lot of vegetables, and she’s easy to love.
It’s a good one for kids who like to build things. Every fix in the story is something you could almost sketch on paper: a pool, a dome, a set of little ditches.
Look inside
Flip through the opening pages of the book.
Questions to ask after reading
A few questions for the minute after the book closes. There are no wrong answers.
- Water helped Penny’s garden, but not enough. What was the next problem?
- How did Kitty and Dino build the roof? What would you use to build one?
- Have you ever grown something? What did it need?
Perfect for
- ✓ Kids who love building and making things
- ✓ Little gardeners and veggie growers
- ✓ Showing how one idea leads to the next
- ✓ A calm, happy bedtime read
Quick answers
For the kid who loves to build things
One short story. One thirsty garden. Ready for tonight.
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