Rotten Ralph

Ralph the cat displays a truly rotten attitude in this hilarious picture-book from 1976, behaving atrociously to his loving human girl, Sarah, as well as to Sarah's parents and everyone and everything else he meets. Things come to a head when the family attend the circus, and Ralph's rotten antics ruin the experience for all. Fed up, Sarah's father marches his family out leaving Ralph behind. A period of living rough on the streets follows for our feline anti-hero, and Ralph learns to appreciate what he had in Sarah. When finally reunited with her, he has learned to be less rotten... sort of.

I had a copy of Rotten Ralph as a girl, as well as a few others about the misdeeds of this cantankerous cat, and I recall reading and enjoying it show more countless times. There was something so transgressive and humorous about Ralph, who was truly rotten, and only ever marginally reformed, and it tickled my funny bone. The heartwarming conclusion was so satisfying to the younger me, providing some reassurance that even those who misbehaved in spectacular ways could be loved. I undertook my current reread because I would like to track down some later entries in the series, and I thought I would revisit the origin of the character. I am glad I did, as not only was I reminded of one of my childhood favorites, but I gained a greater appreciation for the somewhat trippy, 70s-style illustrations from Nicole Rubel. Somehow, although Jack Gantos' story stuck with me, I don't have a strong memory of reacting one way or another to the artwork. Perhaps this is because it didn't then seem so distant, aesthetically speaking, as it does now.

In any case, this is one I would recommend to young cat lovers, and to picture-book readers who enjoy slightly less sweet stories. show less

Hilarious. I loved the trippy illustrations by Nicole Rubel. Think about that time period between Yellow Submarine and disco. As one reviewer points out, despite the demonic expressions on Ralph's face, he doesn't actually seem to mean much harm - he's just exuberantly playful (usually) and self-centered. Um, like toddlers, maybe? ;) I'm definitely looking for more stories about Ralph.

The illustrations found here are fun and are much more detailed than you’d think after first glance. Ralph is drawn bright red and rather scary looking. Everything has a purpose in the picture and its own personality. This story provides lots of personification. Fun for children to read and see the this nasty cat performing practical jokes, but also shows that actions have consequences.

Not sure how I feel about this one. Ralph is so rotten that it’s hard to understand exactly why Sarah loves him like she does. Even though we feel bad for him by the end, it doesn’t seem like he’s ever had any redeeming qualities before his (possibly) transformative experience. It’s interesting that the entire first third of the book is basically just establishing the many ways in which Ralph is rotten and gets on everyone’s nerves. The middle third shows Ralph’s escalating rottenness and its consequences (about eight pages at the circus where his behavior finally results in his being abandoned by the family, and about ten pages of his being treated badly at the circus until he decides to run away). The final third shows his show more continuing downward spiral until he is found by Sarah and brought back home, having (mostly) learned the error of his ways. The shape of the story strikes me as sort of a long plateau followed by an inverted, lopsided V (representing Ralph’s decline and then rescue). show less

Rotten Ralph is one bad kitty. His owner, a little girl named Sarah, and her family are generally receive the brunt of Ralph's naughtiness. Ralph's bad behavior gets him into big trouble, ultimately ending up caged at a circus. But escaping to live in an alley is even worse! Just when things seem their darkest, Sarah returns, her heart full of love and concern for her lost kitty. Ralph returns home with Sarah and vows to be good cat...except with Mother makes lobster for dinner! This funny story with distinctive illustrations shares the very important message of unconditional love.

Rotten Ralph is very humorous and captures the essesence of a cat perfectly! I was glad to see that Ralph learned his lesson and appreciates his family. It was very sweet that the little girl never gave up on Ralph and went looking for him when he was down and out to bring him back home. A cute book and fun read for those of us who really don't like cats very much!

Ralph the cat, is a bad kitty. He is not nice to people and doesn't share. He is usually contrite by the end of the book. But he will be back to his naughty ways.