Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

As a child, this was one of my favorite books, so I decided to introduce it to my students. As a last minute decision Amazon did not let me down and delivered this book before I returned to work. My 4th graders loved this book! They remained very engaged during the entire book study.

I'll try to keep the synopsis short since you've probably already read a few at this point. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH is the story of a widowed field mouse named Mrs. Frisby, whose youngest son, Timothy, has fallen ill. In her quest to save her son she encounters a vast array of friends and enemies; a crow, an owl, a cat, and even the mysterious Rats of NIMH!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.

got this book off of a reading list for my 11yo book report. She is saying the book isnt very engaging.

I remember when I was a child, I watched a sci-fi, heart warming family movie about mice. The problem is I could not find which of mice movie is this, aside from Mickey Mouse from Disney. Once I found out, I couldn't watch it because it was not on subscription that I use. Finally, I found the original work which was the book.Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH describes about the love of family, search for freedom, and discovery of secret of NIMH. And I enjoyed reading!I did not think what would happen to rats or mice that were used for experiment, and I think author had great point of view of it, which is described in this book.I would recommend this book to my friends.

The importance of having a plan to survive was seen through the disciplined life of the rats. The role of the family must be one of love, patience and respect as seen in the home of Mrs Frisby.

I had heard of Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, but somehow got through my childhood without ever having read it. My 11 –year and 9-year old sons were reading it for their youth book club this last month. I read it with 9-year old Daniel in the evenings using the flip-flop technique. I would read a page and then he would read one.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

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH è una favola per grandi e piccini. Vista dagli occhi di una madre vedova che fa di tutto per provvedere ai suoi figli, questa storia vi si legherà al cuore con la sua semplicità e la ricchezza dei particolari di un mondo piccolissimo. Il mondo degli abitanti dei campi di una fattoria.Topolini, ratti, corvi, gufi e un gatto famelico sono i veri protagonisti di una storia ricca di mistero, ma che ha come scopo l'insegnamento del rispetto verso gli altri.È scritto con un inglese molto semplice sintatticamente, anche se alcuni termini possono risultare leggermente fuori dal comune per chi non conosce fauna e flora dell'aperta campagna.Consigliato a tutti, specialmente a chi ha visto l'omonimo film d'animazione "Brisby e il segreto di NIMH".Un plauso per la consegna di Amazon: rapidissima! La copertina, inoltre, anche se non è quella che si vede in questa immagine, è decisamente molto più bella e di qualità. Una gradevolissima sopresa!

Great story, my kids love it. Boy 5 and girl 7.

Ho dovuto attendere un po' per ricevere il prodotto ma credo sia dato a questo punto dalla distanza e dall'importazione; ottimo per chi vuole cominciare a leggere i libri in lingua; preso in quanto la versione italiana non esiste ma in questo periodo avevo cominciato a leggere libri in lingua perciò sono stato doppiamente soddisfatto. Quanti ricordi dal cartone che vidi da bambino... una gran riscoperta

libro usato con un piccolo strappo sulla copertina. per il costo che ha va benissimo. le pagine ci sono tutte. se mi ricapita comprerò di nuovo da questo venditore

Óttimo tutto ho comprato vari libri, sono arrivati tutti giusti e nel tempo previsto.