Review by Booklist Review
Gr. 1-3. Sarah and Rotten Ralph head to the carnival and learn lessons about honesty in this latest episode. They are joined by cousin Percy, an overachieving orange tabby, who, much to Ralph's disdain, has been practicing dart throwing and baseball tossing. When Percy wins prizes for Sarah, Ralph is jealous, and tired of losing, he gives himself "sneaky help when nobody is looking." Cheating at all the games, he wins an armload of toys for Sarah, who promptly suspects foul play. Ralph returns each prize, learns his lesson, and gets praise from Sarah: "Oh Ralphie. You don't need any practice at being my winner." Fans of the series will enjoy the story's humor, real emotions, and silly cat-inspired wordplay (cousin Percy styles his fur with "mouse mousse" ). And as always, Rubel's bright, clear illustrations nicely extend all the fun. Another solid entry in the Rotten Ralph Rotten Reader chapter book series. --Gillian Engberg
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Several stars of early readers return for more adventures. Let loose at the carnival, the star of Practice Makes Perfect for Rotten Ralph by Jack Gantos, illus. by Nicole Rubel, tries to outplay Cousin Percy and impress Sarah, his owner. The hero resorts to cheating, but, by the end of this Rotten Ralph Rotten Reader, he repents, returns his ill-gotten booty and wins a prize the right way. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-While visiting his cousin Percy, Rotten Ralph the cat and his human friend Sarah go to the carnival where Percy wins toys to give to Sarah. Rotten Ralph is jealous and decides to cheat at every game so that he may also give Sarah some prizes. As soon as Sarah and Percy realize the underhanded means that Ralph used to win, they encourage him to return the prizes and make amends for the way that he behaved. Author Jack Gantos provides a clear, well-paced reading of his picture book (Farrar, Straus, 2002) that reflects the spirit of the story and complements Nicole Rubel's bold illustrations. Subtle sound effects set the scene. The story may be listened to with or without page-turn signals. Newcomers as well as fans of Rotten Ralph will enjoy this fun story.-Veronica Schwartz, Des Plaines Public Library, IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
(Primary) The Rotten One returns in his second book for beginning readers with his feline conceit and egocentric greed firmly in place-once again depicted with devilish glee in Rubel's deadpan pictures. With the carnival in town, Ralph knows exactly what he wants: "to play games and win prizes." Unlike perfect cousin Percy, he's unwilling to work for these gains, and he scoffs at Percy's constant practicing. Naturally, Ralph shames himself, losing the dart throw, the beanbag toss, and then the "test your strength" contest. Percy performs admirably, winning a slew of prizes for Sara and prompting Ralph to devise a scheme, always a dangerous proposition. "Next time...I will give myself a little extra help. The kind of sneaky help when nobody is looking." As ever, Ralph's subsequent misbehavior is as entertaining as it is reprehensible, and the unavoidable moral lesson is tempered by Ralph's absolute oblivion to it. A true prize for newly independent readers, for whom "practice makes perfect" indeed. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Gantos brings back that rascally red Rotten Ralph for the second entry in the Rotten Ralph Rotten Readers series (Rotten Ralph Helps Out, 2001). This time, the irrepressible, irresponsible Ralph and his owner, Sally, are joined by Ralph's tiger-striped, supremely confident cousin Percy for a trip to a carnival and its midway full of familiar games of chance. To Rotten Ralph's chagrin, the perfect Percy wins all the carnival games (he practiced), and Ralph finally resorts to cheating so he can win some prizes, too. Ralph gets his comeuppance, of course, as he always does, and he has to return his ill-gotten gains and suffer some mild consequences before finally winning the last game of the day fair and square. (And guess who ends up in the dunk tank.) Gantos has a winning formula with this transitional easy reader series: a funny, somewhat "naughty" character; amusing art in a recognizable style; and a worthwhile little lesson that both kids and adults will appreciate. (This is just the title to recommend to teachers who want a story that will nip cheating in the bud.) Though this plot is not as innovative as the first entry in the series, Ralph has his own special niche in the world of children's literature, and now on the easy-reader shelves, too. And of course, he'll be back for more of these delightful readers-because practice makes perfect. (Easy reader. 5-8)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
