Tim Harris (text), and Shiloh Gordon, (illustrator), Naughty for Good (Ratbags #1), Penguin, February 2023, 192 pp., RRP $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780143777441
Full of puns and comic-style black and white illustrations, this new graphic novel series is bound to be popular with junior primary kids. The first volume introduces Jigsaw; a rat who, like a mismatched jigsaw piece, doesn’t fit in. Unlike the other mischievous ratbags, Jigsaw lives to obey rules. Especially human rules.
But then, encouraged by trouble-maker rats, Ripple and Onion, Jigsaw follows the intoxicating smell of pizza into trouble! He begins to thrive on outsmarting humans and revelling in the joy of pizza with his pals.
It’s all super silly, light-hearted fun and will appeal to fans of the Dog Man books and Real Pigeons. Designed for reluctant readers, this story could also work in the classroom to discuss morals, particularly resisting peer pressure.
Reviewed by Heather Gallagher
