Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat

Emmy is a rich, but very lonely little girl. Her parents are obsessed with the latest fads and spend most of their time on vacations to faraway places. Emmy is left at home with a horrible nanny Miss Barmy. The other kids in her class at school act like she doesn't exist. When Emmy starts to hear (and understand) the class's pet rat talking to her, an amazing and exciting series of events are set in motion. Written by Lynne Jonell, with artwork by Jonathan Bean, this would be a wonderful read aloud for upper elementary grades. It won the Minnesota Book Award in 2008.