Malcolm is a rat undergoing a bit of an identity crisis, you see. Everyone thinks him a mouse because of his size, so he has gone from being on sale as python food to a comfy classroom pet. Then he meets the Midnight Academy during his first adventure outside the classroom. They are a secret society of classroom pets dedicated to keeping the kids of the school safe. They automatically assume he is a mouse too. His rat pride is yelling at him to tell them he is a rat, but rats have a terrible reputation: they are lying, skiving, thieving and selfish rats. When the Midnight Academy takes him on as a pledge, Malcolm is determined to prove that rats can be good too (excusing his lying about being a mouse), and tries really hard to be the fifth-grader he wants to be, one with merit and valor! However, almost everything he does leads the Midnight Academy’s second in command to think he is working with Snip - the cat who is terrorizing their school. And when Aggy the Iguana - the leader of the Midnight Academy - is kidnapped and all evidence points to him, he is locked in his cage. But Malcolm has nutter (kid) friends too and now it’s up to him (with encouragement from the nutters) to stop Snip from carrying out his evil plan, whatever that may be, find Aggy, be the fifth-grader he wants to be, and find Mr. Benny’s engagement ring. This book is a brilliant mystery and has characters with fully developed personalities. I think it will really appeal to fans of Humphrey the Hamster and other stories about animal/bug heroes. It is full of wit, humor, distrust and is all about learning who you really are and being who you want to be. After all, a critter reveals his true self at midnight.
Malcolm at Midnight
By W. H. Beck
| Interest Level | Reading Level | Reading A-Z | ATOS | Word Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grades 4 - 7 | Grades 2 - 5 | Q | 3.8 | n/a |
When Malcolm the rat arrives as the pet at McKenna School, he revels in the attention. He also meets the Midnight Academy, a secret society of classroom pets that keeps the nutters (kids) safe. There’s just one problem…rats have a terrible reputation! So when the Academy’s iguana leader is kidnapped, Malcolm must prove his innocence—and that even rats can be good guys. Illustrated by Brian Lies of Bats at the Beach, this engaging middle-grade novel will have readers rooting for Malcolm as they try to solve the mystery alongside him.
Book Reviews (17)
A good book. It is about a rat who becomes a hero, in the midst of an evil cat, missing iguana, and a school ghost.
This amazing mystery is about a rat that is a class pet, but everyone thinks he's a mouse. I think my favorite animal in the book was the cat because it made such an evil villain.There was a bunny named H.B; that stands for Honey Bunny. I would definitely recommend this utterly stupendous book to you.
Malcolm at Midnight is a book with a surprising main character: a rat. Malcolm is a friendly rat, but his new-found friends are suspicious of him at first because of it. This book is strange, funny, and a favorite! Malcolm makes a great family read aloud, and younger kids will especially like it. After all, doesn't everyone love a cast of animal characters? I definitely do. This book will appeal to animal fans of all ages, and anyone who is in need of a good book to curl up with. Throughout Malcolm at Midnight, readers will discover new things through the strong theme of accepting people (or animals) for who they are, and looking past the surface.
i love rats my mom hates them and that makes them better prof.hairball is my favorit pet and this book gives rats a good name like they desreve. i think our school pets have a secret society they all act weird at the same time
Malcom is a rat. He lives a life in a pet store , but doesn't really start living until he is bought as a class pet. He learns to communicate using a dictionary to one of the students. Oh, and he joins a secret group to help protect the school against an evil gray cat who would like nothing but to watch the school burn.
![magical223](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 12 12"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
its ok i could be better but when you get pulled in a book you get way to intrested to stop so i read it all the way