The New Neighbors

Really impressed by this one! Not only does it tell the story of a bunch of neighbors worried about the rats who have just moved in downstairs, displaying their prejudices and fear-mongering that does not line up with reality, the level of detail and special touches in the text AND illustrations is amazing. I love that the polar bears have Nordic names and the yaks have Tibetan names. The pigs are obviously living in a messy apartment even though their concern is that rats are messy and smell bad. Every apartment shows its owner's personality with knickknacks, furniture, patterns and designs. Just a lovely picture book.

When the bunnies of Pickle Lake find out that rats have moved into the first floor of their apartment building, they are inordinately excited. But as they share the news with their neighbors, they discover that the sheep, pigs, polar bears, yaks and goats that also live in the building are less enthusiastic. Each time a new neighbor is told, the concern grows, until a mob arrives at the rats' front door, determined to confront them. Imagine their surprise when Natasha and Bertram Rat are clean and kind, inviting them in for homemade cake...

The New Neighbors is the first book I have read from author/illustrator Sarah McIntyre, but I certainly hope it will not be the last! The cumulative nature of the tale, in which the fears and outrage show more build, makes for a compelling story, while the accompanying artwork is colorful and expressive, communicating the humor of the narrative. On a deeper level, this picture-book grapples with important ideas of prejudice and preconception, and does so in a remarkably constructive and honest way. First, I appreciated the fact that the residents of Pickle Lake are a diverse group, and that they all (save the bunnies) have some degree of prejudice, as this emphasizes that this is a failing that all groups fall prey to. Far too many people here in the human world (especially here in the states) seem to want to assign this quality to one group only, whether from a lack of honesty or just muddled thinking. Second, I appreciated the fact that McIntyre demonstrates how utterly wrong-headed the animals' thinking is, without recourse to the kind of overt preaching and shaming that many activists seem to favor these days. I've read far too many reviews in the last few years, asking why the characters who do something wrong aren't more explicitly punished by their respective narratives. I find this zealotry, this desire for public shaming and repentance, rather disturbing, and am always glad when a story addressing issues of prejudice or other human misbehavior, avoids these pitfalls of didactic showmanship.

Recommended to anyone looking for entertaining and thought-provoking children's stories about prejudice. I understand that two of the characters also appeared in Sarah McIntyre's graphic novel, Vern and Lettuce. I'll have to see if I can track that down! show less

This cute book tries to defuse prejudice in a child-friendly way, but makes a few false steps. The news comes first from Mr. Pigeon on the roof - there are new neighbors! And they're rats! The bunnies have never lived with rats before and are excited... until they and their older sister, Lettuce, start talking to their other neighbors. Vern the sheep is worried that the rats might be messy. The pigs have heard that rats aren't just messy, they smell bad! Things get more and more scary, until the panicked animals meet their new neighbors - a very nice couple of rats who are clean, tidy, and have cake to share!

Cute cartoon illustrations and cheerful, onomatopoeic text show the animals' increasing panic until they realize all their fears show more were misplaced. I can see what the author was trying to do, and I think this is a perfectly fun book for storytime, but I see a couple problems with it and I don't know that it will really click with kids. First of all, kids are generally pretty literal. They're not going to connect an apartment of animals scared of a new animal with, say, immigrants from a new country moving into their neighborhood or a new kid in class with special needs. Second, there are some odd things in the book, most especially when Bertram the rat says he knows rats aren't everyone's idea of the best neighbors, so they baked some cake. That kind of implies that rats normally are smelly, messy, thieves and he had to reassure everyone? Not the best message for a book supposedly promoting not pre-judging people or being prejudiced.

Verdict: On the whole, it's a cute book and some older kids might find the humor amusing, especially when the pigs worry about the rats being messy, but it's not a necessary purchase in my opinion.

ISBN: 9781524789961; Published February 2019 by Penguin Workshop; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library show less

All of the animal inhabitants of an apartment building are nonplussed to learn that their new neighbors are rats - "big, dirty, smelly, thieving, dangerous rats!" Their hysteria builds until they actually meet the rats, who are, counter to the stereotype, quite clean and polite. The other animals are rather shamefaced and everyone becomes friends.

See also: What A Lucky Day by Jashar Awan, The Suitcase by Chris Naylor-Ballesteros, The Someone New by Jill Twiss