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Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

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Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

By: Robert O’Brien
Narrated by: Barbara Caruso
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—A Newbery Medal Winner

Mrs. Frisby, a widowed mouse with four small children, is faced with a terrible problem. She 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. And Mrs. Frisby in turn renders them a great service.

©1971 Robert C. O’Brien (P)1993 Recorded Books Animals Animals & Nature Classics Fiction Literature & Fiction Young Adult Classics
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A stunning story. I am grateful to have uncovered it through browsing the audible plus catalogue and will be looking out some more Robert C O'BRIEN books to listen to, and getting a paper copy of this one to read to my junior school aged son.

Stunning story, beautifully narrated.

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I remember reading this book as a child and it's been lovely to relive it.
well read by the narrator, a joy to listen to

Great story well told

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gorgeous story. I remember reading this book at school some 30 years ago, and it's still just as lovely a story now. Great for any age.. really enjoyed it.. listened all day finished in one go.

Read this at school, just as good as I remember

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Genius writing. A touch slow to start, but soon ticks along at a lick, with tales of morality so beautifully weaved between the strands of narrative that the kids don’t notice.

Classic Morality Tale

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Unusual topic for a children's story, had us all hooked though.

For car journeys with a 14 and 8 year old, this did us proud. I remember reading this 20 years ago, so I'd forgotten a lot. But I was impressed how mature the author expects their readers to be. It's not a straightforward narrative, with stories being told about the past, the perspective of rats and mice front-and-centre, and topics of animal experimentation at the core of it all.

It's a modern classic though, and with good reason. I love the storytelling, with Mrs Frisby desperate to save her son Timothy from the forthcoming ploughing of their field and home there, he's too sick to move to their summer quarters, so the widowed mouse seeks help from other animals and eventually us pointed towards the Rats.

Finding they have a connection with her recently dead husband, Jonathan, the mother has to pluck up her courage to speak to this secretive and busy colony, realising they are very unusual, and eventually finding out why.

So little actually happens in the story, it's not about action, fights, silly wordplay. It's an old-fashioned actual story about circumstances that have led to where the characters find themselves now. Of course things DO happen, Mrs Frisby must get involved with the Rats in order to help them fix her housing problem before the farmer ploughs her home into pieces with her sick son inside.

But this a story planned to immerse children in a history, from the viewpoint of a small animal who has had no control over their situation. It's wonderful. Serious, intelligent and not one you forget.

My 8-year-old listened very quietly, but he was taking it all in. It was easy to follow as an audiobook, the voice separated the characters well and made you sympathetic to the protagonists.

It certainly brought up topics you wouldn't normally talk about after reading a children's novel (and for us, makes a change from Rowling and Cressida Cowell's styles of fantasy story.

For ages 8 and above.

Had us hooked.

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