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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
3.5 stars. I loved this book as a kid! It held up pretty well, although the fact that we're currently dealing with a rodent problem made it a little unsettling to read about really smart rats. 🤣
Very cute book, and I'll admit that part of the reason I finally got around to reading it is because it is SHORT and I'm trying to make my reading goal for the year. This was made back in the days where you could just have 1/3 of your book be a guy telling you a story in past tense. If this book were written today, Mrs. Frisby would be an uncertain teen leading a rebellion to get out of the National Institute of Mental Health. Instead, this book kinda yada-yada-yada's all of those specifics and drama. My creative fiction professor always said if you're not writing about the most important, most interesting moment of your character's life, then why aren't you doing that instead? And here, O'Brien gets by through some simple prose, vivid ideas, and darn cute animals.
In terms of visiting a book-for-kids that I missed out on when I was little one, I didn't MRS. FRISBY AND THE RATS OF NIMH nearly as much as A WRINKLE IN TIME or PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH. Too many weird questions kept occurring to me as I spent time in this world. Possible spoilers here, but isn't it weird that Mr. Frisby married a totally normal mouse when he was like as smart as a human? Imagine if I was like "mom and dad, meet Delilah, she's as smart as a field mouse." And beyond that, I have questions about how these rats communicate. Even the "normal" critters speak competently, but only those from NIMH can read... but... it kinda feels like the normal critters are plenty smart and capable of learning new things? I know these aren't the kinds of things kids would be asking, and I love that these rats' super power is essentially just Reading. That's a great message: yes kids, reading is like a super power! And if you get really good at it, you can break free from this stupid school and live under a rose bush in the middle of some farm in upstate New York. Go Mets.
But also at the end of all this, I realized that I still needed one more book AFTER this one to reach my 2023 reading goal. Oh well!
In terms of visiting a book-for-kids that I missed out on when I was little one, I didn't MRS. FRISBY AND THE RATS OF NIMH nearly as much as A WRINKLE IN TIME or PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH. Too many weird questions kept occurring to me as I spent time in this world. Possible spoilers here, but isn't it weird that Mr. Frisby married a totally normal mouse when he was like as smart as a human? Imagine if I was like "mom and dad, meet Delilah, she's as smart as a field mouse." And beyond that, I have questions about how these rats communicate. Even the "normal" critters speak competently, but only those from NIMH can read... but... it kinda feels like the normal critters are plenty smart and capable of learning new things? I know these aren't the kinds of things kids would be asking, and I love that these rats' super power is essentially just Reading. That's a great message: yes kids, reading is like a super power! And if you get really good at it, you can break free from this stupid school and live under a rose bush in the middle of some farm in upstate New York. Go Mets.
But also at the end of all this, I realized that I still needed one more book AFTER this one to reach my 2023 reading goal. Oh well!
I always love going back to books I read and loved as a child. This one is a classic of my childhood and I enjoyed it just as much as an adult.
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was a fantastic story. There is a reason it won a Newbury Award. The plot was crisply and expertly woven, the prose was detailed, and the ending was left with enough mystery for an individual to guess what they thought happened.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Medical content, Murder
I picked this book up for a Middle Grade March book that has been made into a movie. I wasn't sure whether or not a middle grade book written in 1971 would hold up so I didn't go into this book with a lot of enthusiasm but in the end I was pleasantly surprised.
A story in which all of the main characters are animals did something to pull on my heartstrings in a way that human characters wouldn't. I loved how all of the characters in this book worked together to help each other without expecting anything in return. This book has a positive message about humanity that transcends the passage of the time in which it was written. This book has HEART, something I look for in all middle grade books but don't always find.
This story has themes of friendship, courage, selflessness, fidelity, loss, and love. I will recommend this to anyone.
A story in which all of the main characters are animals did something to pull on my heartstrings in a way that human characters wouldn't. I loved how all of the characters in this book worked together to help each other without expecting anything in return. This book has a positive message about humanity that transcends the passage of the time in which it was written. This book has HEART, something I look for in all middle grade books but don't always find.
This story has themes of friendship, courage, selflessness, fidelity, loss, and love. I will recommend this to anyone.
One of my all time favorite kids books!! It inspired years of pretend play for my 4th grade and above classmates.
Wow! I wish I'd known about this book when I was a kid!
