Tim Harris (text) and Shiloh Gordon (illustrator) Midnight Mischief (Ratbags #2), Penguin Random House, May 2023, 192 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780143777458
Young rule abiders will enjoy taking another jaunt with Jigsaw, a rat who refuses to bow to peer pressure and be a rat bag. But as much as he loves rules, Jigsaw also loves his new friends, the irascible Onion and Ripple. When the most important rat in the city, Ratty McRatty, summons the rat population, Jigsaw’s in trouble. His kind ways have put rats in danger of having a good reputation. Ratty issues a decree, imploring the rats to receive newspaper coverage for bad behaviour. The rat who gets closest to the front page will win ownership of the old theatre. Of course, Onion and Ripple start getting up to their old mischievous ways in a bid to win the title. And Jigsaw reluctantly comes along to keep his friends safe.
This second volume in the Ratbags series is full of Harris’ dad joke puns backed by Shiloh’s comic-style black and white illustrations. Designed for reluctant readers, it’s suited to middle primary readers.
Reviewed by Heather Gallagher