Whittington by Alan Armstrong

My name is Lady, and I rule all the animals living in the barn. A ratter named Whittington arrived one day, and he's changed the atmosphere around here. The rats used to steal grain and the hen's eggs, but the cat has forced them into a truce. All of us look forward to his stories about a relative from centuries before and how its owner became very wealthy and respected. Ben and Abby, the barn owner's grandchildren, visit every day. Whittington's previous boy had reading difficulties, and the cat has some ideas on how to help Ben with his own learning problems. We don't understand how the markings on paper have meaning, but it's fascinating to watch the young boy slowly change.

An interesting book. Many of the chapters share anecdotes of the animals' experiences around the barn, but the two major plots concern a young boy's struggles with reading and Whittington's family's beginnings as ratters. Ben is dyslexic and treats reading as an enemy. It makes him angry and embarrassed, and he tries to avoid it at all costs. It's nice to see the story addressing the mental and emotional toll of the learning disability without making it the obvious focus of the whole book. Ridicule from his classmates is an especially powerful fear for Ben. Lady hopes Whittington's story of his ancestor will motivate Ben, while all of the barn animals just enjoy listening. The anecdotes about the various animals cover a wide range of events ranging from the mundane to the heroic. They offer entertaining distractions from Ben's issues, while creating personalities for the horses, rooster, goose, cat, and others. Overall, the book was a huge contrast from the other middle grade novels I've recently read, but it still kept me engaged. It was a Newbery Medal Nominee in 2006, so it has that recommendation too. Give it a shot.