Mrs. Frisby And The Rats Of NIMH (2003) - Plot & Excerpts
This YA story of sentient animals is a gem! Mrs. Frisby, a field mouse, lives with her four children on the prosperous farm of Mr. Fitzgibbon. During the winter, the family lives in a cinderblock in a field. Just before the Fitzgibbons plow the field in preparation for spring planting, the mouse family moves to their summer home on a stream bank. A crisis arises the Frisbys’ cozy, predictable lives when Timothy, the youngest son, contracts pneumonia. Even though Mr. Ages, a white mouse doctor, provides medicine that cures Timothy, he is too weak to survive a move to the drafty stream. As Mr. Fitzgibbon prepares for the plowing that will destroy the Frisby home, Mrs. Frizby meets two birds. The first is Jeremy, a crow. Mrs. F saves him from the Fitzgibbon’s cat, Dragon, by chewing through a string that ties Jeremy to a fence. Jeremy takes Mrs. F to consult a wise owl, who recommends that Mrs. F seek help from the rats who live under a rosebush on Mr. F’s farm.Mrs. F discovers that “The Rats of NIMH” (National Institute of Mental Health?) have constructed an elaborate underground civilization. The rats have electricity (tapped from the farm), a library (they can read), storerooms for pilfered produce, and a meeting hall with auditorium. When they learn that Mrs. F is the widow of the mouse Jonathan, they agree to move the cinderblock home to a safe location. The rat leader, Nicodemus, tells Mrs. F about their capture, sojourn in the NIMH labs during which they are injected with substances that extend their lifespans and raise their IQ. Mrs. F learns that her late husband underwent the same experiments and escaped from the same lab. Nicodemus is the architect of “The Plan” for a life independent of humans: as long as rats steal human food and electricity, they are vulnerable. After the rats (most of them) and Mrs. F survive a series of threats, the book ends happily. THE RATS is a joyous book, celebrating the virtues of cooperation, self-reliance, and altruism. There are no villains. Though the Fitzgibbons underestimate the animal worlds above (birds) and below (rodents), they are kind, industrious people. When the son Billy briefly captures Mrs. F, the family agrees to keep her as a pampered pet. I would like to read O’Brien’s earlier children’s book, THE SILVER CROWN. I shall also look out for books that Zena Bernstein has illustrated. MRS. FRISBY AND THE RATS OF NIMH brings together as an artistic whole O’Brien’s elegant, graceful writing and Zena Bernstein’s magical black and white illustrations. I wish that 21st century adult fictions were, similarly, brought to life by illustrations, as they were during the Victorian period. Part of my reason for seeking out children’s and YA books is that adult 21st century fiction is almost completely lacking the enchanting wedding of text and image found in O/Brien’s and Bernstein’s book.
Just read this book with my four-year-old son. It's hard to know what percentage he understood, but as long as he is still interested and asks me to read another chapter then I keep going and don't worry too much about comprehension since I figure it develops by reading and discussing. He was even more motivated to read it when we picked up the movie (The Secret of NIMH) from the library and I told him we could watch it after we finished reading the book.I know I've read the book before, but I didn't remember it very well. I also know I loved the movie as a kid (and I think I was exposed to the movie first), but as an adult I much preferred the book to the movie, especially watching it with my four-year-old.Comparisons:1. The book was really all about science and the movie had magical elements that seemed totally unnecessary to the story. -- The glowing eyes on Nicodemus and the owl: SO CREEPY! (My son asked me at the beginning if Nicodemus was a bad guy.) The swirly ink at the beginning: cool but pointless.2. The movie was a lot scarier in places where I didn't feel the need for extra drama: it was okay with me that Jenner never actually makes an appearance in the book, and it was okay with me that the scientists and NIMH weren't made out to be cruel. Even Mr. Ages was so much more pleasant in the book; I don't know why they made him such a grouch in the movie. I think in general the pace of the book is sort of slow, so I suppose that's why they threw in the extra conflicts, but I think they could have been truer to the book and still made a good (better even) movie.3. In the book, I liked that while the rats were being injected with drugs, they were also being taught while in the laboratory and it wasn't just a spontaneous thing that they could read. And then I liked that they had a season of library study to help give them the knowledge that they had.4. One bonus for the movie was that I love that Mrs. Frisby gets herself out of the bird cage in the movie. I mean, I love Justin and it's lovely that he comes to rescue her in the book since there isn't a way for her to escape, but I remembered that scene before watching it this time and I remember how clever and brave I thought she was when she got out.
What do You think about Mrs. Frisby And The Rats Of NIMH (2003)?
Towards the end of the school year, my fourth grade teacher started reading this book to the class after afternoon recess — one chapter each day. Then, just as the plot started to ramp up and get really interesting....the school year ended. We didn't finish the book. And, of course, by the time I got to the public library to check it out, one of my classmates must have beaten me to it. And then 20 YEARS went by. That is a really long time to not know how a book ends. Perhaps it was my teacher's ploy to trick us into some summer reading? Devious. But effective. Granted, with a bit of a delay. The second half of the book was even better than the first.
—Becky
For some reason I'm just seeing your comments here, Jennifer. Bummer re WIT. How about Egypt Game and or Mixed-Up Files? Narnia didn't do it for me as an adult, either, other than to make me want to try Turkish Delight. :-)
—Kristi Lamont
My 3rd graders simply adored this story, as did I. The characters are so interesting and relatable, and even though on its surface it's a children's book about rats, it deals with all sorts of significant and real themes - illness and death, prejudice, animal experimentation, the ethics of stealing to survive, and whether choosing a life of independence is worth the hardship, to name a few. I like that the author doesn't come right out and answer the tough questions or even imply that there is just one right answer. From a teacher's perspective, it's a great opportunity to practice skills like making predictions, inferencing, and drawing conclusions.I use Class Dojo for behavior management, and if my class stays at or above 80% positive behaviors over a 2-week period, they earn a class reward. They voted for watching the movie version, The Secrets of Nimh, as their reward when we finished the book. A few months ago, they also earned a popcorn party from the PTA for 100% participation in collecting spell-a-thon pledges, and they decided to hold off on their popcorn party until we finished the book so we could have the popcorn and movie together.All that to say, they've been waiting patiently and looking forward to this for a very long time, and I'm looking forward to sneaking in some book/movie compare and contrast activities.
—Britt☮
