Edgar Wants to Be Alone

K-Gr 2—Edgar is a cranky rat who prefers to be on his own, and because of his bad temper (he bites in anger), the other animals avoid him and his home at the back of the garden. One pesky worm doesn't want to leave him alone, though. Edgar can't seem to outrun or outswim him, and when he asks a mole, a woodpecker, and a pig to get rid of it for him, the animals cannot help, because they don't see any worm. Edgar takes matters into his own hands and bites down hard on it. All of the animals have a laugh about "the rat who mistook his tail for a worm." The illustrations include views of worms in their underground tunnels, so readers are fooled into believing (until the last page) that there is a worm following Edgar. The fiery reddish-orange backgrounds reflect Edgar's nasty mood. Older readers may be reminded of Templeton the rat from E.B. White's Charlotte's Web when they read this story.—Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, AB, Canada