Vasco, Leader of the Tribe

March 1, 2008
Gr 3-6-This adventure novel starts when Vasco, a rat, finds his tribe mysteriously decimated. He reluctantly joins another group, but has a violent encounter with its cruel leader and strikes out on his own. Though he is followed by several new friends, he constantly wrestles with self-doubt. Having determined that their kind is being aggressively exterminated in the city, Vasco decides to seek a safe haven in another land and leads his new tribe aboard an ocean freighter. Unfortunately, accidental imprisonment in the ship's hold, starvation, and warfare with other rats continue to threaten their survival. Their eventual landing still fails to provide a safe haven. An eventful trip through the jungle and final epic battle provide a satisfying ending. Chased by tragedy and certain death at every turn, Vasco transforms from quiet follower to thoughtful leader. All the while, he struggles with maintaining his control over the independent-minded members of the group and tries to convince them that the old ways are not always best. Bondoux does an excellent job of setting the story firmly and believably in the rodent world while imbuing the characters with enough human qualities to allow young readers to relate to them. Animal lovers who crave edge-of-your-seat action and the triumph of reason over violence will love this page-turner."Nicki Clausen-Grace, Carillon Elementary School, Oviedo, FL"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2007
Readers who can?t get enough tales about small talking animals undertaking long journeys through a dangerous world will enjoy this import. Young Vasco, whose whole rat clan has been nearly wiped out by human exterminators using a sort of ?pied piper? gas, gathers a small band of survivors and sets out to search for a safer home. The search goes from human settlements that are, from a rat?s-eye view, positively awash in tasty garbage and rotting filth, across a storm-tossed ocean aboard a freighter, and then into a rain forest where new hazards from men with chainsaws, snakes, and rival rat tribes await. Vasco is neither the strongest nor the smartest of the rats?but spurred on by a profound sense of responsibility for those in his care, he survives multiple battles and challenges to his authority. In the end, he finds both the haven for which he yearns and a blind but thoroughly capable mate. To make matters more intriguing, the author endows her furry fugitives with a smooth blend of rodentine and human characteristics.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)