Mrs
Frisby and the Rats of Nimh, Robert C. O'Brien
I read this book myself as a child, and so
was excited to find it still available for my kids. Mr 12 enjoyed it on his own a few years ago
(and still enjoys it), and I have just read it to Miss 8 & 10, who also
swiftly became fans.
Mr Frisby, a widowed field mouse, lives on
a farm with her 4 children. Her son,
Jonathon, falls ill and she seeks help for his safe recovery from another
mouse, a crow and finally an owl, who suggests she see the rats and ask for
their help. All the animals on the farm
know of the rats, but tend to avoid them.
Bravely facing her fears, she does as instructed and in time comes to
hear the story of the rats themselves and how her own husband used to be one of
their friends.
It is at a simple level a lovely story of
intelligent animals working together and helping one another. At a deeper level there are comments on
laboratory testing and whether animals can be civilised. Reading it again as an adult, I reflected how
it truly represents a humanistic world view – that is that people (or in this case,
rats), when given the chance can develop into something better and become more
civilised, more human, as it were. Of
course, this is completely at odds with the Christian view of the depravity of
man, and our need for a saviour, rather than having the ability to save
ourselves. Mr 12 and I had a brief conversation to that end.
In the end though, it’s also just a lovely
story.