The loathesome Prince Brat and his whipping boy, Jemmy, are caught up in a series of adventures and misadventures when the two run away from home and exchange identities for a while. The familiar plot devices of a prince and pauper tale are revitalized with tongue-in-cheek humor. Although Fleischman uses a relatively simple vocabulary and simple sentence structure, the text is marked by eloquence, and numerous distinctive black and white drawings add to the overall richness of a fine, episodic novel. (Ages 8-12)