Rats on the Page Read online

  Chapter 1: IN THE ALLEY

  Chapter 2: FURRY PAGES

  Chapter 3: RAT BOY

  Chapter 4: FOLLOW THE PIPE

  Chapter 5: THE MAGIC FLUTE

  Chapter 6: E

  Behold the Library of Doom! The world’s largest collection of deadly and dangerous books. Only the Librarian can prevent these books from falling into the hands of those who would use them for evil.

  WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SOMETHING DECIDES THAT BOOKS ARE GOOD TO EAT?

  Chapter 1

  IN THE ALLEY

  Two boys rummage through garbage cans.

  “Find anything good?” asks the SMALLER boy.

  The older boy, named Alex, shakes his head.

  “But look at this,” he says.

  Reaching deep inside the can, Alex pulls out a LARGE, thick book.

  He drops it on the floor of the alley.

  “Don’t do that!” says Mattie, the smaller boy. “It might be valuable. We could sell it for a lot of MONEY.”

  The covers are made of smooth, dark leather. The edges of the pages SHINE like gold.

  “Rats!” says Alex.

  The smaller boy looks over his shoulder. His eyes search the DARK corners of the alley.

  “I hate those FURRY things!” Mattie says.

  Alex laughs. “Don’t be scared,” he says. “I meant the book.”

  He points to the old leather cover.

  Mattie looks CLOSER.

  “Who’d want to read a book about rats?” he says.

  Then he sees something sticking out from the pages.

  A TAIL.

  Chapter 2

  FURRY PAGES

  Mattie JUMPS back from the book.

  Alex laughs again. “It’s only string,” he says. He opens the book and pulls on the tail. “It’s a fake rat. See?”

  When Alex pulls the tail, a paper rat moves its FEET.

  “Cool!” says Mattie. “I bet we could sell this and make a lot of money!”

  Mattie REACHES down and pets the fake fur.

  “It sure feels soft,” says Mattie.

  “Let’s get out of here,” says Alex. “I’m still hungry.”

  Alex starts walking down the alley.

  Then he hears a loud SQUEAK behind him.

  “Al!” CRIES Mattie.

  Mattie holds out his arm.

  It is covered in rat-colored fur.

  Chapter 3

  RAT BOY

  Alex’s eyes grow wide with HORROR.

  Mattie hunches over on the floor of the alley. He feels sick.

  Fur spreads across his back and legs.

  His fingers sprout hard, yellow nails.

  Mattie’s face GROWS long and hairy. Whiskers bloom on each side of his nose.

  His EYES are dark and shiny.

  “Mattie!” yells Alex.

  Suddenly, the RAT BOY jumps away from the book.

  He SCAMPERS down the alley on four furry legs.

  “Come back!” yells the older boy.

  He follows the rat boy through the TWISTING alley.

  As Alex runs, he sees other rats running in the same direction.

  The alley is soon filled with the furry creatures.

  Alex can’t tell his friend apart from the other RODENTS.

  Finally, the rats all stop. They sniff the air.

  Alex hears a WHISTLING sound.

  The sound seems to come from a dark opening in the alley.

  It is a manhole with its cover missing.

  One by one, the rats throw themselves into the manhole.

  Alex watches as their flicking tails disappear into the darkness. Soon, there is only ONE rat left.

  The last RAT squeaks and squeaks. It stares at Alex.

  Its dark, shiny eyes blink with fear.

  “Mattie?” asks Alex.

  The rat DIVES into the opening.

  Alex steps closer to the manhole.

  He sees the metal rungs of a ladder.

  Without a pause, the boy climbs into the dark hole.

  He must FIND his friend.

  Chapter 4

  FOLLOW THE PIPE

  Alex follows the sound of tiny feet.

  The scratching and scraping of the rats echo through the large sewer pipes.

  Soon, Alex is swallowed up in darkness.

  He stretches his arms out on either side to feel his way.

  His fingers brush the cold, damp bricks of the tunnel walls.

  His shoes squish through a trickle of dirty water.

  Squeak! Squeak!

  He hears the cries of the rats in the distance.

  The whistling sound has grown louder.

  A dim LIGHT glows up ahead.

  Finally, Alex enters a gigantic room.

  “Mattie,” calls Alex, quietly. “Mattie, where are you?”

  There are more and more rats. They cover the floor like a moving, living CARPET.

  The rats climb over stone benches. They wade through empty fountains. They SCURRY onto shelves and nibble on the books.

  Alex hears someone laughing. HA HA HA HA

  Carefully, the boy creeps past the feasting rats.

  From behind a large bookcase, Alex sees a MAN standing in the center of the huge room.

  The man is old and thin. His eyes GLOW like red flames.

  In one claw-like hand he holds a flute. In the other, he holds a leash.

  At the end of the leash is a GIANT, angry rat.

  The rat gives a fierce shake of his leash.

  “Don’t worry, my pet,” says the man. “I know that your little friends will soon eat all the books in this chamber. But there are many more rooms in the Library of Doom. It will take years before my rats run out of food! And there is no one to stop them!”

  Chapter 5

  THE MAGIC FLUTE

  The man holds the flute to his lips.

  He plays a WEIRD tune. The rats seem to move to the music.

  The man plays faster and faster, and the rats twitch their tails. They are nibbling faster and faster on the books.

  How will I ever find Mattie? wonders Alex. There must be HUNDREDS of rats in here.

  There are a thousand.

  And each one is chewing on a priceless book.

  Except for one rat. The giant rat on the man’s leash struggles and squirms.

  The man keeps
playing his tune.

  That rat doesn’t look happy, thinks Alex. I wonder what it likes to eat?

  The flute STOPS playing.

  The man is looking into the air.

  Alex turns to follow the man’s gaze. He sees a STRANGE woman flying above them.

  “Call OFF your beasts, Spellbinder,” the woman demands. “And return these children to their original forms!”

  The man’s lips twist in an evil grin. “Try to stop me, Specialist,” sneers the man. “You can’t fight against a thousand!”

  Chapter 6

  E

  The Spellbinder quickly plays a few NOTES on his flute. The rats stop nibbling.

  A thousand tails stop TWITCHING. A thousand pairs of dark eyes gaze at the Specialist.

  Suddenly, they all rush forward.

  The Specialist smiles and leaps into the air.

  “You forget that I can fly,” she says to the evil magician.

  “Yes, I know you can,” replies the man. “But I also know that he can’t!”

  He points a BONY finger at Alex.

  The rats run toward the boy.

  Alex SCREAMS and covers his face with his arms. Something touches his wrists. “Ah!” he yells.

  “Don’t be scared,” says the Specialist. Alex keeps screaming as the woman LIFTS him into the air.

  The rats leap at his wiggling legs. Their claws try to grab his feet.

  The woman looks down at the frightened boy.

  “You gave me an idea,” she says.

  She rises higher and higher above the rat SWARM. Then she opens her mouth.

  The rats don’t move. They are silent.

  Alex doesn’t hear a thing.

  The WOMAN seems to be screaming, but no sound comes from her throat.

  Then the rats begin to scream. “EEEEEE!”

  The scream of the rats GROWS louder and louder.

  Alex wants to cover his ears, but the Specialist is still holding his wrists.

  Then the Spellbinder’s flute shatters.

  The Spellbinder drops the leash.

  He flees into the shadows of the farthest bookshelves.

  As the broken flute falls to the floor, the rats begin to shake.

  The rats shiver and shudder. Their tails begin to SHRINK.

  Alex looks down and sees Mattie WAVING at him.

  The rats have disappeared. The floor of the library chamber is now covered with hundreds and hundreds of children.

  A THOUSAND of them.

  The Specialist returns Alex gently to the floor.

  Alex looks around quickly. “What happened to that GIANT rat?” he asks.

  The Specialist points behind them.

  Alex and Mattie turn and see another man. “This leash is a little too tight,” he says.

  “This is the Librarian,” says the woman. “He is the guardian of the Library of Doom.”

  The two HEROES raise their arms and torches appear out of the air. “Follow us!” they shout to the children.

  Soon, a thousand pairs of feet are padding through the pipes and returning to their homes.

  Soon, Alex and Mattie are back in the ALLEY.

  “How did you make the rats scream?” Alex asks.

  “I made a sound that only they could hear,” explains the Specialist. “The sound I made was much worse than theirs. That is why they SCREAMED.”

  “And the vibrations shattered the evil flute,” adds the Librarian.

  “But you were so quiet,” says Alex.

  The Specialist smiles. “You’re supposed to be QUIET in a library, remember?” she says.

  The two heroes dissolve into the DARKNESS.

  Then Mattie says, “I remember something else. I remember that we’re hungry. Really HUNGRY.”

  “Look!” shouts Alex. He points at the BOOK that he had found in the garbage can.

  One of the letters has changed.

  Now the book’s cover reads EATS.

  AUTHOR

  Michael Dahl is the author of more than 200 books for children and young adults. He has won the AEP Distinguished Achievement Award three times for his nonfiction. His Finnegan Zwake mystery series was shortlisted twice by the Anthony and Agatha awards. He has also written the Library of Doom series. He is a featured speaker at conferences around the country on graphic novels and high-interest books for boys.

  ILLUSTRATOR

  Bradford Kendall has enjoyed drawing for as long as he can remember. As a boy, he loved to read comic books and watch old monster movies. He graduated from Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Illustration. He has owned his own commercial art business since 1983, and lives in Providence, Rhode Island, with his wife, Leigh, and their two children Lily and Stephen. They also have a cat named Hansel and a dog named Gretel.

  GLOSSARY

  chamber (CHAYM-bur)—a large room

  forms (FORMZ)—shapes

  gigantic (jy-GAN-tik)—huge, enormous

  guardian (GAR-dee-uhn)—someone who protects a person or a place

  horror (HOR-ur)—fear, terror, or shock

  original (uh-RIJ-uh-nuhl)—first

  priceless (PRISSE-liss)—very valuable

  rodent (ROHD-uhnt)—a mammal with large, sharp front teeth that it uses for gnawing things

  rummage (RUHM-ij)—to look for something

  sewer (SOO-ur)—an underground pipe

  sprout (SPROUT)—to grow quickly

  valuable (VAL-yoo-uh-buhl)—worth a lot of money

  vibrations (vye-BRAY-shuhnz)—very fast movements

  Real name: unknown (may begin with a T or a G)

  Parents: unknown

  Birthplace/birthdate: unknown

  Questions: Has he always existed? Will he ever be defeated? Are there books he doesn’t protect?

  Weaknesses: Water, crumbs, dirty fingers

  Strengths: Speed reading, ability to fly, martial arts

  Real name: Sophia (last name unknown)

  Parents: unknown

  Birthplace/birthdate: America, 20th century

  Questions: What is her role in protecting the Librarian? Can she be stopped?

  Weaknesses: Bad listeners

  Strengths: Does not need sleep, can research anything

  SPELLBINDER

  T he Spellbinder and the Librarian have battled before. In their first fight, the Spellbinder created a devious trap: once someone read a certain comic book near a scroll he had disguised to look like an ordinary grain silo, the scroll would unravel. The scroll would continue to open until it had covered the entire world.

  Luckily, the Librarian discovered the evil plot before the Spellbinder’s scroll could destroy the planet.

  The Librarian and the Spellbinder are sworn enemies. Although the Librarian and the Specialist have defeated the Spellbinder again, he may
return . . .

  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  Why was the Spellbinder trapping children?

  In the first scene of this book, Alex and Mattie are looking through GARBAGE cans. What do you think they’re looking for?

  What did you think about the title of this book? Does it match what you felt when you read the story?

  WRITING PROMPTS

  Imagine that the Spellbinder has turned you into a RAT. What is it like? What do you see, feel, hear, and smell? What do you do? How is it different from being a human?

  In the last scene of the book, Alex and Mattie have discovered a MAGICAL book that gives them food. Write about a made-up book of your own that gives you something. What does it give you? Why do you like it? What is the title of your book?

  Create a COVE R for a book. It can be this book or another book you like, or a made-up book. Don’t forget to write the information on the back, and include the author and illustrator names!

  EDGE BOOKS ARE PUBLISHED BY CAPSTONE PRESS,

  1710 ROE CREST DRIVE, NORTH MANKATO, MINNESOTA 56003.

  WWW.CAPSTONEPUB.COM

  COPYRIGHT © 2011 BY STONE ARCH BOOKS

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO PART OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE REPRODUCED IN WHOLE OR IN PART, OR STORED IN A RETRIEVAL SYSTEM, OR TRANSMITTED IN ANY FORM OR BY ANY MEANS, ELECTRONIC, MECHANICAL, PHOTOCOPYING, RECORDING, OR OTHERWISE, WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE PUBLISHER.