The plots for the Ratsos books run all over the place, both from book to book and within each book. This one touches on friendship, poetry, brotherly love and loyalty, crushes, pizza, paying attention, family, and talking to girls. It's all good, gentle, kind and upbeat.

I'm all for school daze slice of life, with mild dramas and small problems, and adults who get it and kids who want to do the right thing. That's wha you get with the Ratsos books. These wonderfully appealing and accessible early readers are always a happy find.

The third book in the Infamous Ratsos series follows the brothers as they try to help out the most popular kid in school. Louie is the one who was asked by Chuck Wood for assistance (he's got a crush on someone), and while Ralph suffers a tinge of jealousy, the Ratso Brothers use their writing skills to help win the heart of fellow classmate Fluffy. As ever, LaRue's focus on friendship and family shines but it's Big Lou's simple advice that really wins the heart (learn what they like!). A solid title in the ever growing series, great for beginning readers.

My students love The Infamous Ratsos series and they are sure to love this one as well. Each book is easy enough for a read aloud, yet challenging enough for students to become more competent readers. The use of words throughout the book is great and I just love the character's names, especially Fluffy Rabbitski.

This series is great for kiddos just getting into chapter books. It’s also pretty funny so it will really catch my ‘I don’t like reading’ kids.

These rats deal with every day school situations, shifting friendships, crushes, and brotherly love. A good beginning chapter book option. Review based on an ARC provided through NetGalley.

Louie and Ralphie Ratso are supposed to be working together to write a poem for their school's poetry contest, but Louie gets distracted when popular Chuck Wood asks Louie for help getting Louie's friend Fluffy to like him. As Chuck and Louie work on Project Fluffy, Ralphie's left on his own and misses his big brother.

My kids love reading about the Ratso brothers. This is a fun new edition to the series. The Ratsos are endearing characters, and the book has a good message about friendship. Although the book is marketed to kids, even as an adult, I had fun reading it to them (which is NOT true of all of the books I read to them).

I read an ARC via #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I love this series and so do my third graders. While this book may reach kids and adults on different levels I think kids will love to see these favorite characters back and follow their next adventures.

I love the first Infamous Ratsos! I thought it was funny. This book was okay. There was a “romance” in it which turned me off. While it was sweet, this would make a good book for my grade three library, but not one that I would book talk.

I have loved all the Infamous Ratso books so far. They all have a message taught with it which is nice.

Book 3 in The Infamous Ratsos series is another entertaining read! The Infamous Ratsos: Project Fluffy by Kara LaReau is a short and sweet story that many young readers will enjoy. Chuck Wood, the most popular kid in school, likes Louie Ratso’s friend Fluffy. When Chuck asks Louie for some help in getting Fluffy to notice him, Louie goes about it in all the wrong ways. Furthermore, Louie doesn’t realize that while he is spending all of his time with Chuck, he is ignoring his little brother, Ralphie, and the poetry contest they want to win.

The takeaway with this book is that it is most important to listen and learn about others, not just talk about you. This book is perfect for 1st- early 3rd graders, as the short chapters and fun illustrations will keep readers turning pages!

Thank you to Candlewick Press and NetGalley for this E-ARC. I always appreciate the opportunity to read and review!

The Infamous Ratsos by Kara LaReau is a really cute chapter book series that I wish I’d learned about sooner! The characters are fun and relatable, and this story, Project Fluffy, presented middle grade social issues with humor and grace. The Ratso brothers share a positive relationship, but older Louie finds himself trying to help cool Chuck with a problem that Louie doesn’t really know anything about: how to get a girl to like you. All of his misguided attempts end in failure, but he never gives up. Thankfully, his father gently teaches him a lesson about respecting others and finding out what interests them. The message is so positive and necessary for young kids to start hearing at an early age. I’m looking forward to adding this series to my classroom library. The illlustrations by Matt Myers are adorable too! Perfect for 2nd-4th graders who like short, humorous chapter books - a great need in many classrooms!

This book follows a good arc for early reader books... simple story, easy to understand characters, short chapters peppered with a few illustrations. There is an under-lying message of getting to know someone else and what they like in order to be their friend versus just talking about yourself. It was nice to have the connection to the Ratso brothers mom and hear a story about her and their father.

A good one for reading aloud with 5- to 8-year-olds.

This books are just so much fun. This early chapter book revolves around Louie and his brother Ralphie. There is a poetry contest happening at schools and the boys are determined to enter and win. But Louie gets distracted when his friend Chuck wants help wooing the cute bunny Fluffy. A great book for beginners, but still an enjoyable read for seasoned vets.

Full confession: I absolutely loved the first book in the series (as did my 2nd graders!), and had high hopes this one would be just as good - and I certainly was not disappointed. LaReau hits a nice balance between an almost slapstick style humor with the Ratso brothers as Louie attempts to play matchmaker (and how to not get the girl, in this case), and the realization that expressing interest in what others do works better than trying to force others to your interests. This was highlighted nicely with a new tidbit about Mrs. Ratso, and how her and Mr. Ratso met. Recommended for grades 1-4.

The Ratsos are back and learning more lessons! This was a sweet story of learning about how to relate to other people and to focus on others instead of ourselves. Sweet story and you learn a little more about their Mom in this story.

The Ratso Brothers are at it again. In this adventure, their school is sponsoring a poetry contest and all students are welcome to enter. Intertwined with that thread is a story that will appeal to a readers' sense of humor while teaching an important lesson at the same time.
The most popular student in the class has a crush on Fluffy who is interested in nothing but gardening. When Chuck tries to woo her in ways that center around his likes, he learns that you must be sensitive to others to achieve your goals. The other characters add to the fun. This will be another welcomed addition to the Ratsos collection.