Everybody knows the movie It's a Wonderful Life. You know, everything goes wrong in the guy's life, and he wishes his life could be over. Then, miraculously, he sees what the world would be like if he could wish himself away. It's a poignant holiday movie that seems to be always playing during the Christmas season.
I just finished a great kids' book that tells the same kind of story. It answers that age-old question: what would you do if your life could be completely different?
In When You Wish Upon a Rat, the main character gets a chance to find out. Ruth is unhappy with the way her life is going: she's lost her favorite relative, her family is a bit bonkers, and she no longer has any close friends at school. All she really has is a stuffed rat that her aunt gave her before she passed away.
This was a fun story, a unique interpretation of that classic "give me a different future" story. Ruth gets to try out three different versions of her life, before deciding that her "real" life is really the best one. She also finds a friend along the way (not just a rat).
Tweens will love reading this book. I bet my daughter will love it, if she can get past the beginning sad part, where the aunt is dying from cancer. The rest of the book is fun, even though it teaches an important lesson about loving your life just the way it is.
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