Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

• Genre: Fiction; middle grade science fiction/fantasy and adventure
• Originally Published: 1971
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 790L; grades 4-8
• Structure/Length: 28 chapters; approx. 240 pages; approx. 6 hours and 13 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: Mrs. Frisby is a widowed field mouse who must move her family to their summer home. Since her son is sick with pneumonia and can’t leave his bed, she enlists the help of the intelligent rats of NIMH.

Robert C. O’Brien, Author

• Bio: Born in Brooklyn, NY; graduated from the University of Rochester; worked as a writer and editor for Newsweek and National Geographic; died in 1973
• Other Works: The Silver Crown (1968)
• Awards: Newbery Medal (1972); ALA Notable Children’s Books; Pacific Northwest Young Reader’s Choice Award

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• The Double-Edged Sword of Knowledge and Technology
• Literacy as Power
• The Meaning of Home
• Adapting in the Face of Forces More Powerful Than Oneself

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Discuss the concept of animal intelligence and reflect on ethical considerations regarding animal experimentation; connect reflections and discussion to the animal characters’ situations in the novel.
• Study short paired texts and other resources to make connections via the text’s themes of Adaptation, Literacy, Knowledge, and Home.