The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents

Title: The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents
Author: Terry Pratchett
Published: 2001
Genre: Humour Fantasy for Kids
Pages: 288




Rats! Rats and cats! It's the 28th Discworld book, based on things such as the well-known story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin (what? I thought it was Hameln. All my life, a lie...). Aimed at kids, or more accurately, appropriate for kids as well as adults.


Maurice is a cat who one day realised he could think, and talk. Same happened to a bunch of rats, who happened to eat something odd near a certain University. The cat and the rats threw their lots together, and set out to look for an island where the rats could live in peace, and be rats. But to get there they need money. So they picked up this stupid-looking kid who could play the pipe, and set out to con some money out of towns.



   It was a good routine, even Maurice had to admit. Some towns had advertised for a rat piper the very first time he'd done it. People could tolerate rats in the cream, and rats in the roof, and rats in the teapot, but they drew the line at tapdancing.


They have gathered a lot of money already, and Maurice talks the rats into conning one more town before quitting. Just one more town. Unfortunately they pick a town where all is not as it seems. There's something... evil going on.  

Amazin Maurice is aimed at kids, but it's also great fun for adults. Pratchett doesn't talk down to his readers, never mind what their age is, and I completely forgot that I was reading a kids' book. Even when the main characters were talking rats and a mischievous cat.