The Rats of NIMH is a trilogy of children's books, the first one by Robert C. O'Brien, and the second and third by his daughter Jane Leslie Conly. [1] They tell the story of a society of rats rendered intelligent by scientific experimentation. A live-action/animated remake was reported to be in development; James Madigan was attached to direct. [2] See also [ edit ]

In a 2019 essay, American studies scholar Arahshiel Rose Silver wrote that Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH "reflect the many scientific and technological anxieties present in 1960s American culture". [8] During this period, scientific advancements–especially in the field of genetics–increased fears about the pervasiveness of technology in everyday life. [8] A culture of fear began to grow surrounding unethical medical and scientific practices, which are heavily reflected in the book. [8] Silver argued that Conly's book lays out an example of technological development ending poorly, giving both children reading the book and their parents a lot to think about. [8] Related works [ edit ] Nicodemus and his friend Jenner find a bag of food. They are about to eat, when a net swoops down and catches them. They are taken into a lab, with a total of 63 rats. The scientists inject something into their hips. The scientists are trying to study brains. One rat refuses to give up, and that is Justin. Fox Entertainment president Michael Thorn told Deadline that Fox would develop the project as an event series. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH won numerous awards including the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, Newbery Medal, and the runner-up National Book Award in 1972; the Mark Twain Award in 1973; the Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Readers' Choice Award and the William Allan White Children's Book Award in 1974. [3] Impact on American views of scientific technology [ edit ] Cawley, John (October 1991). "The Secret of N.I.M.H.". The Animated Films of Don Bluth. Image Pub of New York. ISBN 0-685-50334-8.Thorn revealed that Fox is about to see a handful of presentations representing its current crop of development in the next couple of weeks and expects to hand out at least one, if not two, greenlights. This is the Newberry Award winning book for 1973, and this was there main reason I wanted to read it. Normally it's a mixed bag with books that win this award for me, but this time I can say this book deserved the award. This is a really good book.

Townsend, John Rowe (1975). "A Decade of Newbery Books in Perspective". In Kingman, Lee (ed.). Newbery and Caldecott Medal Books: 1966-1975. Boston: The Horn Book, Incorporated. pp.148–149. ISBN 0-87675-003-X. . In fifth grade, this was available through RIF and I remember seeing the copy on the folding table among all the many other free books. I snatched it up so fast, grabbing up from under my taller classmates, swiping like Swiper has never swiped. It was the movie edition which means it was the same story but with pictures from the Don Bluth film adaptation in middle. I adored that movie ("A sparkly!"), my family and I had seen it at the Drive-In and have been quoting it ever since.

Since its release, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH has received widespread praise from scholars, critics of children's literature, and children themselves. [3] In 1985, Alethea K Helbig called Mrs. Frisby "a combination of science fiction and animal fantasy" that described "fantastic situations with scientific accuracy". [8] Scholar Paula T. Connolly noted the book for Conly's "gradations of moral understanding and culpability" while dealing with "such problematic issues as the roles of science and technology, identity, idealism, family life, forms of community and means of survival". [8] [ clarification needed] The project is based on the books, rather than The Secrets of NIMH animated movie directed by Don Bluth that came out in 1982. It is the latest attempt to reboot the story, with the likes of Neil Burger, Michael Berg and the Russo Brothers previously attached to turn it into a feature film. Find sources: "Rats of NIMH"– news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( August 2014) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Chapters 7 & 8: At first the owl is reluctant to help Mrs. Frisby until he finds out that she is the widow of Johnathan Frisby. The owl suggests she seek help from the rats that live under the rose bush. Chapters 9 - 13

Chapters18-20: Nicodemus continues telling his story to Mrs. Frisby and includes how the rats learned to read, how reading signs helped the rats escape from NIMH, and how they escaped with Johnathan and Mr. Ages. He explains how they found a place to live, the Boniface Estate. Frisby discovers that the rats have a literate and mechanized society. They have technology such as elevators, have tapped the electricity grid to provide lighting and heating, and have acquired other human skills, such as storing food for the winter. Their leader, Nicodemus, tells Frisby of the rats' capture by scientists working for a laboratory located at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the experiments that were performed on the rats, which increased the rats' intelligence to the point of being able to read, write and operate complicated machines, as well as enhancing their longevity and strength. Their increased intelligence and strength allowed them to escape from NIMH and migrate to their present location on the farm. Jonathan and Ages were the only two survivors of a group of eight mice who had been part of the experiments at NIMH and made the rats' escape possible. The scientists make them learn how to read. Justin learns how to open his cage by reading the instructions. he goes out to explore. They figure out how to escape through the air ducts. However, there is a fan that blows away several of the smaller mice. There is a screen that prevents the rats from getting outside, but they unscrew the bolts and get outside. They go outside and live in a mansion during the winter.This book was the winner of numerous awards including the 1972 Newbery Medal. [3] Ten years following its publication, the story was adapted for film as The Secret of NIMH (1982). [4] At fifty years old, the book shows traditional gender roles that some may find offensive. Yet Mrs. Frisby, a housewife mouse with no special enhancements from NIMH of her own, shows amazing courage, strength, and composure. She is a truly strong female and doesn’t have to act like a male to be so. The rats leave because they will be killed by the exterminators. Mrs. Frisby eventually tells her children the whole story. Update this section! I think it was my second-grade teacher who read this to us in class, like a chapter a day, or something. Mrs. Frisby is the head of a family of field mice. Her son Timothy is ill with pneumonia just as the farmer Mr. Fitzgibbon begins preparation for spring plowing in the garden where the Frisby family lives.