In Redeeming Rhubarb by Bob Richley, an abandoned factory in Boulder, Colorado, is where a community of mice lives. Strawberry Mouse begins to see that her father’s hatred of rats is poisoning their home. Barnabas and his family of rats settle in nearby, and she sees how he repeatedly puts himself forward to help others, resulting in Strawberry’s loyalty to her family colliding with the prejudice her father, Rhubarb, refuses to abandon. After Strawberry is injured and lost, the search for her forces Rhubarb to depend on the very family he despises. Redeeming Rhubarb follows a daughter who sees the truth and a father whose prejudice has shaped every decision he makes. The struggle to bring Strawberry home becomes the moment that may finally break the beliefs destroying his family.

Bob Richley’s Redeeming Rhubarb reinvents questions on fear-driven beliefs and prejudice through a community of animals. Richley does an amazing job of balancing the heartwarming with the heartbreaking. It is so sad to watch Rhubarb's descent into vice as a coping mechanism, whereas Barnabus is pure love when he goes to save a child from the alley cat, Miley. I love the character of Bailey, a dog first introduced as an injured stray who has known mistreatment from humans. His arc feels so full, and once he begins healing, a gentleness emerges that is really beautiful. The prose makes the settings cinematically visual, from the factory transformed into tiny homes made from discarded human objects to Bart’s clinic, where cages, treatment rooms, and recovery spaces are familiar and realistic. Intelligently written and with well-rendered pencil sketches, as well as huge moral value, this story is worth reading. Very highly recommended.

Redeeming Rhubarb by Bob Richley is an absolute joy and revelation. Reminiscent of Watership Down or Animal Farm, it is the story of a disparate group of animals, who naturally either hate each other or view each other as prey, and imbues them with human characteristics and bigotry. Rhubarb is father to a family of mice living in an abandoned factory complex in a Colorado town. He has a natural hatred for rats because a rat killed his brother many years ago. When a rat family, led by the wise and caring Barnabas, moves in next door to Rhubarb, he is absolutely livid and forbids his family from having any contact with them. It is left to his wife and his children, led by Strawberry, to welcome Barnabas and his family to their neighborhood. Add a cat called Miley, with her litter of kittens, a pack of stray dogs, led by the tough Bailey, and a gentle “giant” human, in the form of veterinarian Bart, and you have all the necessary characters for an exciting, uplifting, and educational story.

Redeeming Rhubarb is slated as a young adult novel with a religious theme. Although the language and pace are aimed at this age group, this novel can be enjoyed by all ages, especially adults who may see themselves in Rhubarb. Bob Richley has constructed a delightful, fantastic world where animals think, act, and live, almost as a series of subcultures beneath human perception. Ultimately, this story exposes racism and bigotry as an example of how hatred and mistrust can be built up through generations simply because someone looks different. There is a faith element, but it is a natural outpouring of specifically Barnabas’ simple but powerful philosophy. Through Strawberry's courage and beautiful naivety, the author reminds us of the need to accept people who may seem a little different, and to give them the benefit of the doubt. This wonderful little tale is a perfect allegory of how racism and bigotry spread, but perhaps, more importantly, how it can be stopped and reversed. I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend it.