RATSCALIBUR, by Josh Lieb

The story: Turned into a rat by Gondorff the Gray, Joey is then sent on a mission to find King Uther and tell him of Gondorff's failed quest. On his way to the throne room, Joey pulls the Spork from the Scone and suddenly finds himself the owner of Ratscalibur, prophesied to awaken and save the kingdom. But will he be able to battle traitors and the squirrel magician (Squirrelin, pronounced Merlin, of course) in order to restore the kingdom to the king and get himself turned back into a 7th grader again? The odds do not appear to be in his favor...

June Cleaver's ratings: Language G; Violence PG; Sexual content G; Nudity G; Substance abuse G; Magic & the occult PG: GLBT content G; adult themes (kids disappearing from home) PG; overall rating PG.

Liz's comments: This one was really cute, with all its tie-ins to King Arthur and nods to the Lord of the Rings and other fantasy tropes. Brutilda, the huge guinea pig devoted to Princess Yislene, was a favorite, and there was just the right amount of fighting and biting to keep upper ES boys engaged. Plus, you have to give thumbs up to a book where a boy really loves his mom!