Sadie and Ratz

Starred review from January 9, 2012
Lindgren Award–winner Hartnett has been writing for younger and younger readers in recent years, but whether her audience is teenagers (Butterfly), middle-graders (The Midnight Zoo), or now chapter-book readers, she remains willing to expose humanity’s more selfish and destructive tendencies, while handling such themes in a way that’s on-target and appropriate for her audience. In this three-chapter story, “strange things” are happening at the home of Hannah, a girl who is used to terrorizing her four-year-old younger brother, Baby Boy, with her very capable (and often vicious) hands, which she refers to as Sadie and Ratz. “Together, they make a good team. This is what they do: crush things up/ twist and scrunch/ scratch! scratch! scratch!” Given Sadie and Ratz’s rap sheet, when Baby Boy blames Sadie and Ratz for a string of accidents, no one believes he’s anything but a “good boy.” This emotionally fraught terrain is captured exquisitely in James’s perceptive charcoal drawings, which recall the work of Suzy Lee. Despite Hannah’s capacity for violence, Hartnett makes her sympathetic, even without a rosy “all’s well” ending—pray for Hannah and Baby Boy’s parents. Ages 5–8.

April 1, 2012

Gr 2-4-Playful, spritely Hannah has two hands named Sadie and Ratz, personified to keep her company and do all manner of mischief in retaliation to her annoying sibling, four-year-old Baby Boy. Yet even before the conflict, strong character development, authentic voices, and fluidity of language set this beginning chapter book apart, as do the remarkable charcoal illustrations, full of tenderness and verve. Play is paramount, as the wildly imaginative Hannah copes with the blossoming presence of Baby Boy and unfailingly implicates Sadie and Ratz. Her mother suggests yoga for relaxation and the hands become snowflakes, but as soon as Baby Boy turns the bend, they revert to Hammerheads and he responds with his "banshee bull" scream. Yet when Baby Boy starts to blame Sadie and Ratz for his own bits of mischief, Hannah must take notice. She muses that he used to be, "a spaceman who never heard or spoke," but now has become tricky. She has to come up with a solution. Witnessing her thought process is unforgettable in its sincerity: "A horrible thought came into my head./Maybe Sadie and Ratz would have to change." Hartnett adeptly conveys the pain and loneliness of an older sibling facing a monumental moment of change and captures what growing up really means to a child. This joyful choice for reading aloud serves as a discussion starter on coping, acceptance, and maturity, and as an instruction manual on personal narratives. There are myriad ways to appreciate this pitch-perfect story.-Sara Lissa Paulson, American Sign Language and English Lower School PS 347, New York City

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from January 15, 2012
Sadie and Ratz, Hannah's menacing hands, help her to handle her sibling rivalry in this piercingly intelligent foray into chapter books by much-awarded teen author Hartnett. Hannah lives with her parents and her stick insect, Pin. She would like to have a real pet, but all she has is the disappointing Baby Boy, who is the object of Sadie and Ratz's anger. When he does the things little brothers do (going into her room, changing the channel or using markers), Sadie and Ratz wake up, jump onto Baby Boy's head and rub his ears off. One day, the game is changed when Baby Boy starts acting like a crafty 4-year-old. He spills milk, writes on the wall and breaks a valuable timepiece but blames everything on his sister's naughty hands. When Pin is found missing a leg after Hannah sends her hands on vacation, the parents start to see the truth. The tale is accompanied by warm, expressive gestural charcoal drawings on every page that add much to the story, drawing readers' eyes to the characters' real feelings. Ending on the hopeful note that Baby Boy's hands and Hannah's hands are going to be friends, this is one story of sibling rivalry that seems realistic. The kids might not be friends, but their naughty hands can be! For big sisters and Baby Boys adjusting to each other. A real slice of family life, the sweet with the bitter. (Fiction. 5-8)

COPYRIGHT(2012) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

May 1, 2012
Grades K-3 Young Hannah's handsSadie and Ratzbehave like beasts, especially if her four-year-old brother is near. Whenever Baby Boy annoys Hannah, Sadie and Ratz wake up, jump on his head, and attempt to rub his ears off. In retaliation, Baby Boy begins to blame the pair for his own misdeedsscribbling on walls, spilling milk, and breaking clocks. Puzzled, Hannah reassesses, then sends Sadie and Ratz away to prove their innocence. Eventually Mom and Dad catch on, and Baby Boy proudly introduces the real culpritshis hands, Colin and Scraps. Australian Hartnett, winner of the 2008 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, writes convincingly of sibling rivalry and imaginative play. James' black-and-white sketches feature mischievous hand-shadows and convey a wide range of emotions, from Hannah's smoldering anger to Baby Boy's sly cleverness. While not as dark as her YA novels, this has an edginess (think Rosemary Wells' Max and Ruby) not often seen in beginning readers. Pair with Geoffrey Hayes' Benny and Penny in Just Pretend (2008) or Kady MacDonald Denton's Watch Out, William! (2006).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)