| "MRS. FRISBY AND THE RATS OF NIMH"
Author: Robert C. O'Brien
Interest Level: Middle Grades (4-8)
ATOS Reading Level: 5.1
AR Points: 8.0
Publisher Recommended Age: 9-12
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Book Type: Trade Paperback
Pages: 233
Book Description:
Mrs. Frisby, a widowed mouse with four small children, must move her family to their summer quarters immediately, or face almost certain death. But her youngest son, Timothy, lies ill with pneumonia and must not be moved. Fortunately, she encounters the rats of NIMH, an extraordinary breed of highly intelligent creatures, who come up with a brilliant solution to her dilemma.
Book Reviews:
School Library Journal (Starred Review): "Loyal, resourceful Mrs. Frisby...is the engaging heroine of this thoroughly engrossing, thought-provoking fantasy."
BCCB: "Both the story and the tale within it are deftly told, fulfilling the first requisite of fantasy by making the impossible believable."
Book Awards:
- USA: Newbery 1972
- USA: ALA Notable Children's Books
- USA: Horn Book Fanfare
- USA: Lewis Carroll Shelf Award
- USA: Mark Twain Award (MO)
- USA: Massachusetts Children's Book Award
- USA: Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award
- USA: William Allen White Children's Book Award (KS)
About the Author:
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.
Other Interesting Information:
O'Brien's daughter, Jane Leslie Conly, wrote two other novels based on the rats of NIMH, "Racso and the Rats of NIMH" and "R-T, Margaret, and the Rats of NIMH".
In 1982, an animated film, "The Secret of NIMH" was released. The film was not entirely faithful to the book. |
