Friday, February 27, 2015

Friday Reads: Mrs Frisby and The Rats of NIMH!!

Hey there guys!

Happy Friday! This week's Friday Reads is once again this month's The Midnight Garden Classic MG & YA book! I'm so very happy to continue with this challenge and even more since this month for the first time, it was a re-read for me too!





Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (Puffin Modern Classics)Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I continue to take part of the Classic MG & YA challenge hosted by the ladies of The Midnight Garden and this month's book was for the first time since I joined, a re-read!

I read Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH when I was still in primary school and I think it was one of the first books I got from the public library as opposed to getting it from my school's library.

To be perfectly honest I didn't remember all that much about the book, to my shame, even if of course I knew I had read it and a very general idea. But once I started reading it I kept remembering the feelings that the book evoked in me, all those years ago!

Our main character is Mrs Frisby, a widowed mouse that is taken care of her four children on her own, and finds herself in a very tough position, where she needs to find a way to move to her summer house without it costing her the life of her younger & frail and sick child, Timothy. She finds herself getting help from unexpected allies, like a crow and an owl and finally the most unique and intelligent rats.

I remember being extremely fascinated by the rats and their past and I was equally fascinated this time around! It's fantastic how based on reality the whole labs of NIMH were, with the trials of different serums, the control group, the learning techniques with the mazes. How they were rather smart animals to begin with and how they began to improve and become more and more intelligent, plotting and planning and learning to read. I have a serious soft spot for characters in books that love reading!

I loved how strong a character our Mrs Frisby was! She was tough and kind and brave and knew how to get over her fear to do what she felt was right! The book was full of wonderful lessons like how kidness can be returned to you tenfold, how you need to make something of your own instead of simply taking the easiest way out, and it never felt preachy, which is quite an achievement!

This book really made me cheer for the rodents and hope for an alternative society of intelligent beings that were not humans. I must say that thinking about it now, this book is plenty dark and scary with the themes it deals with, but the main feelings I remember were of fascination and wonder!

A great book that was a lovely re-read for me! 4 well deserved stars!



View all my reviews

10 comments:

  1. I read this one years ago and LOVED it! This is required reading in the public school system here, and I'm glad it is. Definitely an awesome book! So glad you enjoyed the re-read, Pili!

    Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!

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    1. And it's a great book to have as required reading! Thank you Alyssa!

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  2. Aww this sounds like a really fun read! I love to get into an MG novel once in a while it's a great change of pace and most are just the feel-good kind of read we all need once in a while you know. And for an MG it sounds like a pretty well thought out story with the whole lab rats. Great review, muffin!

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    1. I love me some MG for that very reason! Thank you so much Giselle!

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  3. Yay :D Amazing review Pili. <3 I'm so glad you enjoyed this book while re-reading it :) I'm curious about it. I have watched this awesome animated movie of it, which I loved, so I might pick of the book too, one day ;p Have you seen the movie? :) So glad you liked this book sweetie. <3 Thank you for sharing :D

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    1. Thank you sweetie!
      No I didn't see the movie, but maybe I'll have to check it out if I can find it!

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  4. I had never heard of this book, but I definitely want to read it now. Is it the same NIHM as the Disney movie? I will have to Google it. :)

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    1. I'm not sure if it was a Disney movie, but yes it is the same NIHM!

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  5. Don't feel bad, I didn't remember much about it, either! It was fun to rediscover it and to find out that it was as good as/better than memory. I'm so happy you enjoyed the experience, and YES I had forgotten how quietly awesome Mrs. Frisby was! I remembered how much I liked Justin, and I remember being scared of the Owl, but that was it.

    Definitely see the film sometime. They make some changes, but I liked them for the medium. :)

    See you soon for THE SECRET GARDEN!

    Wendy @ The Midnight Garden

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    1. I'll try to find a copy of the movie somewhere here!
      And YES so ready to discover another beautiful classic with The Secret Garden!

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¡Muchas gracias por vuestros comentarios, leerlos me alegra el día!/ Thanks a lot for all your comments, reading them brightens my day!!