The Infamous Ratsos Are Not Afraid by Kara LaReau

Readers will be following right alongside these two likable rats as Ralphie confronts his past misdeeds and Louie screws his courage to the sticking post to ask the haunted house's resident for permission to use part of the yard.

The arcade’s triumphant opening adds an upbeat closing flourish to another tale for fledgling chapter book readers that highlights the profound value of kindness to others. Myers endows LaReau’s large type, well-leaded narrative with plenty of cartoons infused with humor (one of the Arcade games is a variant on “Whack-a-mole” dubbed “Whack-a-Chad”) and featuring an expressively posed, all-animal cast in human dress. But they’re Ratsos, and like their dad, Big Lou, Ratsos aren’t afraid of anything - right? Kara LaReau and Matt Myers team up for a second surprisingly touching chapter book proving that sometimes the things you fear the most aren’t at all what you thought - and might be exactly what you need to feel better. Ralphie’s head’s not exactly in the game, either, because of some rumors that have been swirling around school. Everyone says the house next to the lot is haunted, but if Louie just pretends it’s not there, maybe he can ignore the goose bumps he gets every time he looks at it. Louie and Ralphie Ratso have a genius idea: if they clear out the lot down the street, they can use all the junk lying around to build makeshift games for a Big City FunTime Arcade! With their friends to help, they’ll be able to recycle all the old abandoned stuff into whack-a-mouse, a high-striker, a fortune-telling booth, and more. Ralphie’s head’s not exactly in the game, either, because of some rumors that have been swirling around school.When Louie and Ralphie Ratso set out to transform a cluttered lot into an arcade, they end up conquering a few surprising fears along the way in this follow-up to the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book The Infamous Ratsos. The Infamous Ratsos Are Not Afraid: Louie and Ralphie Ratso have a genius idea: if they clear out the lot down the street, they can use all the junk lying around to build makeshift games for a Big City FunTime Arcade! With their friends to help, they’ll be able to recycle all the old abandoned stuff into whack-a-mouse, a high-striker, a fortune-telling booth, and more.

What’ll Big Lou do when he finds out they’ve been acting like softies all over the Big City? But every time they try to show just how tough they are, the Ratso brothers end up accidentally doing good deeds instead. Louie and Ralphie are tough, tough, tough, just like Big Lou, and they’re going to prove it. The Infamous Ratsos: Louie and Ralphie Ratso’s dad, Big Lou, always says that there are two kinds of people: those who are tough and those who are soft.

The Infamous Ratsos Are Not Afraid by Kara LaReau