| That Pesky Rat | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Lauren Child |
| Illustrator | Lauren Child |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Children's |
| Publisher | Orchard Books |
| Publication date | May 23, 2002 |
| Pages | 32 pp |
| ISBN | 978-1841218304 |
| OCLC Number | 48979470 |
That Pesky Rat is a children's picture book by Lauren Child, published in 2002. It won the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize Gold Award and was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal.[1][2]
The story is narrated by a rat who wishes he could live the life of a proper pet. He visits several friends he has that are proper pets, including a chinchilla and a cat. However, he doesn't like the way any of them live. In the end, he puts up signs, asking if there is any one who wants a rat as a pet, and goes to a pet store. At the pet store, an old man sees the rat through the display window. He thinks that the rat is a cat, and takes him home to keep as a pet. In the end, the rat says that he doesn't mind pretending to be a cat and that he likes his life as a pet.
In 2008 a special UNESCO edition was published in the UK. All author and publisher profits from this book now go to support UNESCO projects around the world.