How to Save Your Tail: *if you are a rat nabbed by cats who really like stories about magic spoons, wolves with snout-warts, big, hairy chimney trolls . . . and cookies, too.

From School Library Journal Grade 2–5—A book-loving, cookie-baking rat gives Scheherazade a run for her money in this whimsical collection. When a book on a bench catches his eye, Bob, the castle rat, becomes distracted and soon finds himself in the clutches of the Queen's cats. As the felines prepare to devour the savory rodent morsel, Bob attempts to postpone his fate by plying them with a batch of his fresh-baked cookies and regaling them with his ancestral tales. All of his stories are parodies of classic fairy tales, such as "The Three Pigs," "Jack and the Beanstalk," and "Rumpelstiltskin." Clever wordplay and large doses of humor make this a most enjoyable selection that has great potential as a read-aloud. The black-and-white cartoon-style illustrations add to the fun and will captivate even the most reluctant of young readers.—