Reviews - Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

1.13k reviews for:

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

Robert C. O'Brien

4.09 AVERAGE

haydene14's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

lcgerstmann's review against another edition

4.0

Spoilers!

I have fond memories of reading this book as a child and was excited to share it with my children. I remember loving Jeremy, the crow and sweet Mrs. Frisby and her children. I remember worrying about sick little Timothy and whether or not the mouse house would be saved from the plow. I remember being excited by the scary visit to the owl and nervous when Mrs. Frisby went to drug Dragon, the farm cat. I worried that my children might be bored by a book older than their mom but was happy to find not only did they love all the things I loved as a child, they understood it on a deeper level than I ever did at their age. The rats that escaped from NIMH now have human intelligence (or higher ;) ) and maybe consequently, human conscience. They (most of them) have come to feel it is not right for them to steal food and electricity from the farmer and want to move to the forest where they can sustain themselves. My children found this part quite thought provoking and it opened the door for many questions. Do I think it's ok for a rat to steal food from the trash if it's their nature to survive this way? What about when the rat realizes that it is wrong to steal, is it still ok because he is still a rat? Hhmm? I certainly didn't think about that as a child. Geez, kids these days...they just might turn out all right! Anyway, it was wonderful to read this story again and enjoy it through the eyes of socially and morally conscience modern children.

jewellspring's review against another edition

4.0

Probably our favorite read-aloud so far this year. B rated it 4 stars and N 4.5. And there's no sequel, even though it's set up for one. 12yo went straight online to find out. Who knew the Rats of NIMH inspired fan fiction and societies like "Thorn Valley"? Fascinated myself with other worlds that could be real as a child like The Littles, it seems utterly believable that laboratory rats are smart enough to build their own self-sustaining community. Mrs. Frisby, her children, the cat Dragon, Mr. Ages, Nicodemus and all felt real and my children wanted more each day. Highly recommended!

jsant's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I watched the cartoon version as a kid, but never read the book. I adored it. I'm very curious to watch the movie again to see how true it was to the book.

mirror's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

brooklvk's review against another edition

5.0

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I love this book! I read it as a kid and just reread it. So good.
I also just watched the Secret of NIMH and it was 100% garbage. Completely unrecognizable. Read the book.

gasoline_allie's review against another edition

4.0

The movie terrified me when I was little, and nothing on earth could have made me read the book back then. I wish I had because this is sooo much better. I missed out on a great children's classic.