At the time of writing, about a month after finishing this children's novel, I suddenly realised I have forgotten to record it on Goodreads so my memories of it are already somewhat faded.

My recollections are that there are some interesting characters, especially the owl and a few of the rats, and that the story was quite entertaining. It begins when Mrs Frisby, a widowed mouse, has to find help because her young son Timothy is ill and she is warned by another mouse, who dispenses medicine, that if he moves too soon to their summer residence by the river bank, he is likely to catch a severe chest infection which could be fatal. But Mrs Frisby has overheard the farmer and his sons talking, and realises he is planning to plough the area where the mouse home resides. She has to overcome her natural reticence and, with the help of a crow she has rescued from the cat, visit the fearsome owl for advice. When he learns her name, he tells her to go to the rats who have a mysterious entrance under a rose bush and ask them for help. These rats are different from the normal type, but it is only when she goes to their burrow that she discovers how different. For they have adopted a lot of human ways, including lighting their burrow with electricity. The rats decide to help move the mouse home so that it will escape the ploughing, and the story mostly deals with this and the rats own plight.

Part of the book deals with the narration to Mrs Frisby of the rats origin - which is where NIMH comes into it. I do recall that I found that part of the story - where they are subjected to experiments which both enhance their intelligence and extend their lives - to be far more interesting than the rest of the story about Mrs Frisby and her family. I liked the book but don't think I found it merited more than a 3 star rating.

Pure delight . Surprisingly well crafted.

I read this as a kid a long time ago. I was probably 10 or 11, but I don’t remember really. I also had only very vague memories of the book and 2 odd specific ones: that the mice had to move their house to the lee of the stone, and of the hysterical shrew. I also knew I had really loved it.

I’m really glad I decided to read this to my son and that they had it at the library.

It’s quite exciting as stories go and the rats’ story within a story was wonderful. It is so well written that it was a pleasure to read aloud.

I would almost give it a 5, so 4.5* My son is now asleep, so I’ll add what his favorite bits were tomorrow.

‘When you’ve lived in a cage, you can’t bear not to run, even if what you’re running to is an illusion.’

Not sure how I managed to get to almost 50 without reading this classic children's book. In a way, though, I'm glad I did; I was able to appreciate its marvelousness on all levels as a result!

We live just three houses down from a farm, so we frequently have the pleasure of hearing a goat bleat or having a curious horse reach their head over the fence for a quick nuzzle. We also have the occasional misfortune of horse-flies in the summertime and the rare autumn visit of a mouse who makes it past the notice of our savage (and somehow still fabulous) cat.

When this happens, when a mouse runs past my foot while out in the yard, or, Heaven forbid, comes anywhere near the structure of our house, my screams often sound like the sound effects from the famous shower scene from Psycho.

I understand that it is illogical and irrational that a creature so small should provoke such terror in me, but it's true.

(Don't even get me started on the topic of rats. I'd rather face a Tyrannosaurus rex than a rat, and I'm not kidding).

And now. . . here I am. . . because of another exceptional narrative and fabulous three-dimensional characters. . . loving a devoted mouse mother, Mrs. Frisby, and her pack of clever, genetically modified rat friends.

What's wrong with me? Am I misanthropic?

Why do I always prefer small colonies of animals in fiction and wish for them to take over the world?

Genetically altered super-rats are taking over the countryside, and government agents in biohazard suits are after them. While it certainly sounds like James Herbert’s classic horror novel “The Rats”, it’s actually the plot of a beloved children’s classic.

Robert C. O’Brien’s “Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH”, published in 1971, introduced the world to super-intelligent lab rats and mice that escaped the lab and found shelter on the Fitzgibbon farm, building an underground city beneath a rosebush, with rat-size chairs and tables and refrigerators and lamps and books.

It’s almost planting season, and Mrs. Frisby—-an industrious single mother mouse—-is in a pickle: her youngest son, Timothy, is sick and can’t be moved, but their cinderblock house is sure to be found by Mr. Fitzgibbon, so they must find alternative housing. An elderly mouse, Mr. Ages, tells her to recruit the help of the rats in the rosebush.

So, she goes off on an adventure to ask for help from the strange, reclusive rats, not realizing that she will be a part of a much bigger adventure.

I had never read this as a child, but I vaguely recall the ‘80s animated film “The Secret of NIMH” that was based on it. I may have to revisit that sometime. The book was wonderful, and I loved it.

This was a nightly bedtime book that I read with my daughter. While it didn’t have the excitement of the Harry Potter books (which she recently discovered; her favorite so far being the third book, “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”), she enjoyed it. It’s got talking mice and rats: what’s not to love?

One of my favorite books as a kid; it was a nice feeling to have it stay golden when reading it as a adult. It goes to show you that a well written book with strong characters and an intriguing plot is good no matter who the "intended audience" is. The story is still as exciting and intriguing as it was back then; between this and Watership Down (and others, so many others), an imaginative child could see secret societies of animals everywhere. I had two disappointments as an adult. One is small: the illustrations, which I vividly remembered, lack some connection to the world of the story that I didn't really notice as a kid (and I feel guilty about even bringing up as an adult, it makes me feel like a troll). Also, I think (I hope) that if this were written today, that one of the rats would be a smart, kick ass girl engineer rat; in 1971, however, women's lib was just making waves, and the book is a product of its time (yes, I realize that Mrs. Frisby, the main character, is a brave, strong and true female character, but this book could definitely not pass the Bechdel test). A quibble and a critique aside, it's still an amazing book, well worth the read, and justifiably still in print after all these years; I kept wondering to myself at O'Brien's genius at coming up with this crazy smart (and believable!) plot.

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O'Brien

I picked this book up at a yard sale a while back, and it was promptly shelved. Hesitant to read it to my kids, there it sat. The hesitance stemmed from my memories of the rather creepy movie version I used to watch as a kid.

I was wrong to wait. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH is a delightful story, full of mystery, adventure, science, and compassion. In short, we loved this Newbery Award winning classic.

Mrs. Frisby may be just a little mouse, but she is full of heart and courage. Her family needs to move before the farm plow comes through, but her son, Timothy, is too ill. She gathers her courage and goes to seek the counsel of a wise owl. While there, the owl advises her to ask for help from the rats, but everyone knows the rats keep to themselves.

Will they help her in time to save her little family?

Such a sweet, fun story, it almost made me like mice. Almost. But no.

Highly recommended for any young readers or listeners.

3.5 stars

This was one of my all-time favorite books when I was a kid; I must've read it eight times. So I was pleased to find that it holds up well, and I still found it very entertaining (although it seemed a shorter). I did notice some things that I don't think really registered when I was younger. For one, I was thinking as I read that Mrs. Frisby is a pretty unusual character for a children's book. She's an adult, which is not common to children's novels; usually the protagonist is the same age or a couple years older than the intended audience. And she definitely thinks like an adult; she notices things like how young Justin seems, worries about taking care of her family, misses her husband. It's kind of cool.

The other thing I noticed was just how few female characters there are in the book. There's Mrs. Frisby and her daughters, Auntie Shrew, Isabella (a young rat Mrs. Frisby meets in the library), and that's really about it. Justin and Nicodemus make reference to "the wives," who are certainly shown as capable and industrious, but don't really have a part to play in the book. This lack is somewhat counterbalanced by what a brave and strong character Mrs. Frisby is -- but it DID annoy me that she didn't even get a first name. "Mrs. Jonathan Frisby," indeed. It's not enough to make me give the book a lower score, but I found it a little irksome. I don't think it really mattered to me too much as a kid, though; mostly I think I had a huge crush on Justin. :)

I saw “The Secret Of Nimh” at a birthday sleepover party. If it was in grade 6, I was 11 years-old; sensitive enough to have compassion for sad elements and still a baby to be spooked by dark moments. It is this August that I finally read Robert C. O’Brien’s original book 38 years later. I afterwards watched my videotape with my spouse. We were touched but not blown away. It changed in fundamental ways from the storybook, which is unforgettable. We happen to be in the birthday party week-end of my 49th year, this November 2021!

Oh my, you cannot know how profound, enlightening, and intellectual the discourse is, until you read it for yourself! Do not dismiss this formidable 1971 treatise about misunderstood animals by imagining a cute “Disney” tale. If I ignore my knowledge of “animal communication”, that all species, minds, and languages are equal via telepathy; the concept of chemically enhancing brains was interesting. These artificially augmented rats and mice had clothing and books but burrowed into nature’s houses. A farmer was going to level the field where Mrs. Brisby lived, during an illness when her toddler could not go out in cool weather. She was urged to consult an owl, who.... (you see what I did there) directed her to rosebush rats.

I have always revered mysteries and poignant emotions. Meeting the owl riveted me in the book and 1982 film but nothing awed me more than a widow making discoveries about her husband, Jonathan. The message is staggering! Rats do not gather food and are sustained by stealing. Their new intellect affords the occasion to change that. Domestic felines in reality love the wilderness but these educated fictional rats can no longer abide sewers. Robert’s philosophical depth in a so-called children’s story amazed me!