Jonell, Lynne Emmy and the Rats In The Belfry

Jonell, Lynne     Emmy and the Rats In The Belfry     

 Henry Holt  2011  372p  17.99 978-0-8050-9183-0 

 elm/ms      VG-BN      Fantasy      

     Emmy is being harassed by her arch enemy, Miss Barmy, and her co-conspirator, Cheswick Vole, who trash her bedroom every night so that her parents begin to doubt their daughter’s character.  This is a rip-roaring adventure/fantasy story about Emmy and her friends, rats with magical powers who are able to turn her into a rat as well.  Emmy’s old nanny, Miss Barmy, has been turned into a rat, along with her sidekick Cheswick Vole, and they are making Emmy’s life miserable by invading her room to trash it every night, and get her in trouble with her clueless parents.   Emmy and her friend Joe go straight to the Professor, at the Antique Rat, for advice, and he shows them some technological innovations he has invented for preserving the kisses that will turn humans from their rat-like state back into humans.  From there, it is one narrow escape from defeat after another, as Emmy and her gang finally bring the evil-doers to justice, all without giving away any of their secrets to her parents or the police. 
The writing is masterful, and the illustrations, by Jonathan Bean, lend a spooky but  inobtrusive elegance to the story. 
This one will keep the fantasy lovers turning the pages.                      Carol Kennedy