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Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NimhMass Market Paperback – January 1, 1971
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherScholastic
- Publication dateJanuary 1, 1971
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Product details
- ASIN : B001J2KQTI
- Publisher : Scholastic; Later Printing edition (January 1, 1971)
- Language : English
- Reading age : 7 - 10 years, from customers
- Item Weight : 4.8 ounces
- Best Sellers Rank:#1,839,184 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
![Robert C. O'Brien](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/S/amzn-author-media-prod/9ar2rgo4s7jt13r08tatfh8567._SY600_.jpg)
Robert C. O'Brien In real life, Robert C. O'Brien was Robert Leslie Conly. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, attended Williams College and graduated from the Universtiy of Rochester. While there he studied piano at Eastman School of Music, and at one time considered being a musician. Instead, he became an editor and writer for Newsweek magazine from 1941 to 1944, and for Pathfinder from 1946 to 1951. From 1951 until the time of his death in 1973 he was employed as a writer and editor by the National Geographic Magazine. He made his home in New York City before 1944 and in Washington, D.C. after that. He also had a home in Morgan County, West Virginia, after 1965, a place he loved and visited as often as he could. He was married and the father of one son and three daughters. His books include The Silver Crown, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, which won the Newbery Award, and A Report From Group 17. His last book, Z is for Zachariah was nearly completed at the time of his death; the last few chapters were written from notes by this wife and one of his daughters.
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I remember reading this book when I was in elementary school. I don't believe it was for a class or anything, it was just a random book (I probably wasn't aware of what the Newbery Medal was at that point) I found in the library. Anywho, I recently decided to purchase the book and re-read it. I couldn't recall much about the narrative beyond the origin of the rats and the general vibe I got from reading it. Maybe it's partially due to nostalgia, but the vibe of magic/mystery I originally got from NIMH is still there. It's definitely a page-turner, for a children's book it doesn't seem overly simplistic, the pacing is fairly brisk while the descriptions of the different characters/settings are sufficient without bogging the narrative down. The author, Robert C. O'Brien, did a great job in balancing all of these elements and readers of all ages should be able to enjoy this well crafted work.
If you liked / are interested in this, I also recommend checking out the 1982 Don Bluth film adaptation, The Secret of NIMH. Bluth takes some liberties with the plot, but more importantly he nails the aforementioned ethereal quality of the book (and with the brilliant animation perhaps expands on it in some ways). There's also a direct-to-video (...yeah) sequel, called The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue (released in 1998), that seems to be universally panned (as of writing this the IMDB rating is 3.3 out of 10).
As for the product itself, if you're going to be buying this I recommend getting the Hardcover Edition. I suppose this is a matter of personal preference but I usually stick with buying hardcover books due to their superior durability and appearance. I also like the cover art (the one where a caped Mrs. Frisby is standing next to a fence/tuft of grass, in front of a barn) better than the paperback (Mrs. Frisby looks like she's going to the Kentucky Derby on that one). The print is large / clear and there are also several illustrations (I believe these are present in all editions of the book). So yeah, I'm happy with this edition but I'm sure if you look around you could find several other editions/printings.
While I was reading Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, it became evident about 3/4ths of the way through that there was a lot of potential for the story and that the foundation was strong enough to support more stories based on NIMH. Not to spoil anything, but the ending doesn't exactly neatly tie up everything that happens. This does lend a uniquely melancholic affect to the ending, and also spurs your imagination and serves to add to the overarching mysterious element that I mentioned earlier. Unfortunately, Robert C. O'Brien died in 1973 at the age of 55, 2 years after he had written NIMH, so it's difficult to say whether or not there would've been other books centered around it or if he intended the book to be a stand-alone work.
However, in 1986 there was a follow-up/sequel to Mrs.Frisby & the Rats of NIMH called Racso and the Rats of NIMH (yes, Racso, not Rasco). This book was written by Jane Leslie Conly, who is actually Robert C. O'Brien's daughter (turns out Robert C. O'Brien was the pseudonym he wrote under, his real name being Robert Leslie Conly). She also wrote a third book, titled R-T, Margaret, and the Rats of NIMH. I haven't read either of the 2 follow-ups, so I can't directly speak of their quality, but based on skimming thru a few reviews the opinions seem mixed.
So yeah, that's it for my review. Definitely check out this book plus the original film adaptation by Don Bluth, I don't think you'll be disappointed. Then if you're curious I guess check out the 2 book sequels by Conly, and finally the movie sequel if you're really desperate for NIMH related stuff (kids might not be too discerning). I'll possibly update this review after I've read/watched those.
Mrs. Frisby is a widowed mouse with four young children living in a field. Her youngest son, Timothy is very ill and unfortunately it is time to move to summer quarters before Farmer Fitzgibbon starts to plow his fields. Mrs. Frisby seeks help amongst her neighbors and is told by a wise owl to get help from the Rats. When Mrs. Frisby meets the rats, she discovers far more about them and her late husband than she had ever imagined. Will they be able to save Timothy before the plow comes?
Daniel and I both greatly enjoyed the story as did Kile as well. We had to have a discussion about it after we all finished. I fell asleep one night and couldn’t read further so Daniel took the book and finished it himself that night, I had to catch up the next day to see how it ended! It was a great heroic tale of Mrs. Frisby and her love for her children, but the entire rats sequence was very intriguing. Daniel loved finding out where they came from, but was a bit stressed out about the more suspenseful parts of the novel. We still want to know who the mysterious two rats were in the end! I really liked the ambiguous ending and the questions of ethics and morality that permeated the story.
Overall, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH is a wonderful fantasy novel that will delight readers of all ages.
Book Source: The Kewaunee Pubic Library
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Enfant, j'avais vu le dessin animé de Don Bluth (une vraie merveille) et j'avais déjà été interpellée par cette histoire de rats qui évoluent suite à d'ignobles traitements dans un laboratoire...
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