Rach's Reading Club

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh follows the story of a lady field mouse and the extraordinary rats who come to her aid. A recently-widowed mother, Mrs. Frisby has worked hard to keep her four small children safe, happy, and well-fed during the winter months. Their home is a cinder block buried just beneath the soil of a farm field, and come spring, they will move to their summer home in the woods while the fields are being plowed, sown, and harvested.

Then two events coincide in the most dangerous way possible: her youngest and frailest son Timothy falls ill with pneumonia, while the earth begins to warm and thaw with signs of an early spring. Early spring means early plowing, and early plowing means Mrs. Frisby and her family must now move to their summer home in the woods. But moving now puts Timothy's life at risk, as breathing the cold outside air will make his condition worse. The summer house, also, will be cold until the spring season matures and the ground becomes truly warm. Mrs. Frisby faces an impossible choice: stay in the cinder-block house and be crushed with her family when the plowing starts, or move and risk losing Timothy by late spring.

Finally, right in Mrs. Frisby's hour of need, with the help of a young crow, a wise owl, an old family friend, and a clan of rats, a brilliant Plan comes together to save Timothy, as well as Mrs. Frisby's entire family, and also the rats themselves.

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh is a beautiful adventure story about family, motherhood, community, friendship, and civilization. It is also deftly narrated, with precise description and compelling characters, a story that is deeply personal, and themes that are rightly thought-provoking. With only 231 pages, this story touched my emotions in wonderfully nuanced ways and it continuously surprised me with moments and details I didn't expect that came together in ways I didn't anticipate.

This is now one of my most favorite books, and it will take its place of honor on my favorite bookshelf.