Mr. Pack Rat is such a cute book for kids! The illustrations are adorable, the writing was perfect for the age group so my son could read along. As a parent I always love books that teach children a moral ore behavioral lesson through the story. This wonderful book accomplishes a very important message about greed which which is a more prevalent issue among young children today.

Read this book on my own today because my son wanted to read by himself for bedtime last week. This book taught readers a lesson about hoarding. I love the illustrations. This book follows Mr. Pack Rat as he starts on building himself a midden - a nest. He starts with brown but soon realized how boring one color could be so he uses his magical bar to bring home a meadow full of beautiful multi-color flowers. After a week, all the flowers die and begin to smell. He then decides to go out for fresh air and finds himself at the beach wanting to bring home all of the different sea shells. He believes bringing home everything he wants will make him happy, until one day, something he wants nearly cost his life. This book is an excellent read! My son hoards toy cars and I hoard books and clothes and more. Highly recommended!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review. Please be assured that my opinions are honest.

Mr. Pack Rat Really Wants That is a cute little story about how having more things doesn't usually lead to more happiness. Mr. Pack Rat has built his first midden, a nest-like, cozy pile of whatever's lying around. Quite proud of his creation and his theme (all brown), Mr. Pack Rat takes a break and goes outside to get some fresh air.

As he relaxes, he becomes enthralled with all the colours on display in the meadow and becomes convinced that his all-brown midden is actually far too drab. Using his heirloom magical magnet, Mr. Pack Rat has soon collected all the flowers from the field and hoarded them back in his den.

Before long, though, the flowers are no longer so bright and cheery, and Mr. Pack Rat goes in search of more things to try to spruce up his joint. Eventually, his little den is so filled with stuff that Mr. Pack Rat can barely fit inside, but that doesn't stop him from wanting even more. It takes a near disaster for Mr. Pack Rat to finally realize that happiness doesn't come from things.

I really liked the rhythm of this book and the repetitive chanting lines would make for excellent group reads. This book has a strong message without being too preachy and it's a reasonable length making it not too bad for repeat reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and Parallax Press for a free DRC of this book.

Darling illustrations and a sweet sweet story about being satisfied with just enough make this a wonderful read for children — and a great reminder about what’s important for adults in this acquisitive culture!

Thanks to the author, Parallax Press and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.

#Mr.PackRatReallyWantsThat

5 cute little rat stars! The illustrations are well done. Mr. Pack Rat wants things, things, and more things! This will make him happy. He just wants to be happy after all. But, he learns things don’t make you happy. A great lesson here for young ones. I highly recommend it! Can open up a great discussion on mindfulness and what makes you happy.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Plum Blossom Books for a digital edition to review. I will be “happy” to add a copy to my classroom. Comes out in October 2018. So cute!

This is an excellent story for children about being content. It expresses hoarding with a rhyming verse, as Mr. Pack Rat visits places, sees something that catches his eye and decides he needs it in order to be happy. Eventually he asks for something more than he can handle and comes to his senses. I really appreciated that the story includes Mr. Pack Rat's process of decluttering and the discovery of what truly makes him happy. I will definitely buy this book to share with friends! It is an excellent read and I think it could be an inspirational tool for parents or grandparents, too as they work through the obstacles of too much stuff!

This is a sweet story about not getting too greedy. Mr. Pack Rat Really Wants That is about a greedy pack rat that wants to take everything colorful that he sees because he thinks his house is too brown. Unfortunately, every time he brings something into his home it turns brown as well. Finally, at the end of the story, Pack Rat learns that having things is not what he needs to make him happy- what he needs is a friend.

The central message of this story is an important one for children. The way the author intertwined the message into fun way with a pack rat was very clever. The illustrations were simple, yet cute, and they worked well with the story. Unfortunately, there were details that didn't work for me- such as returning the dead flowers back into the field- that made me not love this book. I also found the interaction with the toy shop owner was at first awkward. Overall, this was a good story, but just not one that I would read over and over again with my children.

Sweet, with a fun rhyme that kids are sure to get into, a nice build to that dramatic and silly tipping point of ‘OH NO too much stuff!’ A great entry point for a mindfulness convo without it feeling mindfulnessy. What makes us happy? Why? What stuff have we had the urge to buy or take? This could easily be a nice ‘leave no trace’ type lesson too.. But really, this is just great reminder for all—happiness doesn’t come from more more more all of the time! Enjoyed this one, it’s a great one for so many mini lessons and the art is beautiful and earthy, definitely worth a purchase!

The illustrations in this book are lovely. Mr. Pack Rat offers a valuable lesson about living with just enough. He's a cute character, and the added magical element will be interesting for kids. The storyline is easy for young kids to follow, and they're likely to recognize the message.

This is a very good early reader indeed. Our hero has a magic magnet to help him get everything he wants, only – of course – he finds having everything isn't the best way to live. No, what we really need is the chance to know when we're happy with what we have. More than decent illustrations, progressive escalation of the story, nice use of firm rhymed chant here and there – this ticks a lot of boxes. And if it stops one child from thinking 'I want, I want, I want' non-stop, it'll have served its purpose. You should want this.