Definitely a dark tale for children, but I loved it as an adult. I love how sneakily we get to see the Rat dominating the good-willed mouse and the gerbil, with whom he is sharing a boat in the middle of the sea. The Rat convinces/deceives them into giving him more food and water, so he gets stronger and the fellow partners get weaker. Later on, he dominates the whole ship, but his arrogance and greed will result in his downfall as well. It would give a good example of the importance of not being selfish and survival as a group, but a kid might be scared of all the evil the Rat represents. It might be better to promote it for an older target group. Special thanks to NetGalley and The Witcherley Book Company for an ARC.