Mrs Frisby & the Rats of Nimh (New Windmill) [Hardcover]

Robert C O'Brien (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 17, 1975 | Series: New Windmill

Newberry Award Winner.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

There's something very strange about the rats living under the rosebush at the Fitzgibbon farm. But Mrs. Frisby, a widowed mouse with a sick child, is in dire straits and must turn to these exceptional creatures for assistance. Soon she finds herself flying on the back of a crow, slipping sleeping powder into a ferocious cat's dinner dish, and helping 108 brilliant, laboratory-enhanced rats escape to a utopian civilization of their own design, no longer to live "on the edge of somebody else's, like fleas on a dog's back."

This unusual novel, winner of the Newbery Medal (among a host of other accolades) snags the reader on page one and reels in steadily all the way through to the exhilarating conclusion. Robert O'Brien has created a small but complete world in which a mother's concern for her son overpowers her fear of all her natural enemies and allows her to make some extraordinary discoveries along the way. O'Brien's incredible tale, along with Zena Bernstein's appealing ink drawings, ensures that readers will never again look at alley rats and field mice in the same way. (Ages 9 to 12) --Emilie Coulter --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Review

The rats of NIMH learn more than the scientists bargain for. They escape and embark on an adventurous mission of mercy to save the orphaned family of a brave fieldmouse colleague. A story that is as engrossing as it is unusual. (9-11 yrs) (Kirkus UK) --Kirkus Review --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Heinemann ed (March 17, 1975)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0435121979
• ISBN-13: 978-0435121976
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (365 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,872,159 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Children's Lit., April 6, 2001

By 

John (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh (Aladdin Fantasy) (Paperback)

This is one of my favorites (if not my favorite). Stories just don't come better than this one, and Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH will be around for a long time.

The story is about Mrs. Frisby who is a mouse with four small children. One them gets sick and is unable to move even though their home is about to be plowed. Mrs. Frisby is a typical mother; she will do anything to protect her children. In this case, she appeals to the mysterious rats that live under the rose bush. There, she learns all about these mysterious rats in the most interesting and entertaining flashback in children's literature.

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH is one of the best books that I have ever read. I read it in a day (when I was eleven) the first time, and I have read it three times since. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH will always have a special place on my extensive bookshelf, and it should definately be read by people for years to come.

60 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars their struggle is our struggle : who knew?, October 14, 2001

By 

Orrin C. Judd "brothersjudddotcom" (Hanover, NH USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (Hardcover)

One of the great delights of returning, in adulthood, to the literature that enchanted us in childhood is
the discovery of the great themes and subtexts to which we were oblivious then but which are so
obvious now. Mrs. Frisby is a perfect illustration of this phenomenon. When you are young you are
captivated by the animal adventure tale and your easy identification with the lowly mice.
But read it now and you realize the Biblical antecedents of the story, how the rats of NIMH, like Man,
are given the gift of knowledge by their creators and how this awakens in them a sense of morality.
We recall that the rats have determined to go off and live on their own, but it's all too easy to forget,
or never to notice, that the reason for their decision is that they are determined not to live by stealing.
Seeing clearly this additional component, that the rats have become moral creatures, makes their
struggle even more heroic and adds a depth to the story that makes it easy to see why this novel has
endured and struck a chord with readers, young and old, for some thirty years now. It is an altogether
deserving classic.

GRADE : A+

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars book for you, December 15, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh (Aladdin Fantasy) (Paperback)

I read this book with my classroom and it was a very awesome book that I loved to read. We weren't aloud to read ahead and it was really hard not to. If you are reading this review you really could read this. This is a book for people who like adventure and suspense. This book deserves 5 stars because it is very interesting and you can't put it down! It has a lot suspense, adventure and is very interesting at all times! I never got bored or tiered of reading this book. If you are a teacher I recommend you read this with your class, I'm positive they will love the book like I do!!! I watched the movie "Secrets Of NIMH" when I was younger, it was a good movie but I don't remember all of it was quite a long time ago. I really enjoyed this book and I recommend this to everyone who is looking for a really good book! This book has got everything to intelligent rats to evil farm boys to toy tinkers! I can't wait to read the second and the third book! If you read this book I hope you will really enjoy it!