書本介紹 – Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

聽到這樣的書名，大家當下的反應可能會是＂NIMH？什麼是NIMH？＂單是書名就已經讓人很好奇呢！不過也別擔心，迷團自然會在書中解開的啦～

那麼故事是怎樣的呢？我們的主角Mrs. Frisby其實是一隻田鼠，在丈夫過生之後獨自照顧４個孩子，一家人便住在農民Mr. Fitzgibbon的花園中。有一天，最小的孩子Timothy不小心得了肺炎，雖然Mrs. Frisby從醫生Mr. Ages那裡找來了藥，但是Mr. Ages跟她說Timothy這幾天都要好好休養不能外出。問題來了，原來Mr. Fitzgibbon很快就要把花園的泥土翻鬆預備播種，不快點搬到別的地方的話Frisby一家人都會遭殃。可是Timothy還在休養所以不能搬家耶，該怎麼辦？

結果一位智者貓頭鷹叫她去找從NIMH的老鼠來幫忙搬家。但是這些老鼠有什麼特別之處？神秘的NIMH又是什麼地方？

這本書能夠獲得紐伯瑞獎絕對是實至名歸，不論是Mrs. Frisby還是NIMH的老鼠們的歷險都十分引人入勝，而且老鼠們的技術力跟背景對我來說也挺意想不到的（其實有猜中啦只是沒想到真的是這樣寫，畢竟我也想不到童書也會有這種題材）
不同的大小人物都有自己的特別跟可愛之處，Mrs. Frisby更能表現出母愛的偉大，小小的田鼠也會為了孩子而變得很有勇氣呢！不過作者也能透過小小的互動把配角描寫得活靈活現，我個人其實挺喜歡有點傻氣但重情義的烏鴉Jeremy呢～

After one look at the book title, your first reaction would probably be “NIMH? What’s NIMH?" Seems like the book title alone is enough to pique your interest, eh? But don’t worry, we’ll soon find out as the story unfolds!

Our protagonist, Mrs. Frisby, was a field mouse who had to take care of her 4 children by herself after the death of her husband. The Frisbys lived in a garden owned by Mr. Fitzgibbon, a farmer. One day, the youngest son, Timothy, was sick due to pneumonia. Although Mrs. Frisby was able to get some medicine from Mr. Ages the doctor, she was also told to keep Timothy from going out while he’s still weak.
There’s one problem though. Mr. Fitzgibbon was about to plow the garden so he could start planting seeds, and the Frisbys had to move out or else they won’t survive. However, Timothy was simply too weak to leave the house. What should they do?

Asking a wise owl for pointers, Mrs. Frisby was told to find help from the rats of NIMH. But what’s so special about these rats? What is this place called NIMH?

This book was one of the winners of the Newbery Awards, and with good reason. The adventures of both Mrs. Frisby and the rats are intriguing, and it was surprising to see how much those rats could accomplish. As for the background story of the rats, I have to admit that I’ve guessed it beforehand, but it was pretty surprising to see this kind of subject brought up in a children’s book.

The characters, big and small, are all interesting and endearing in their own ways. Mrs. Frisby is a very good example of how powerful a mother’s love is, being able to make even a tiny field mouse become much braver than it looks! Some small interactions also introduced us to a cast of lively side-characters, in particular I’m pretty fond of Jeremy the crow, although he’s quite childish at the same time he’s one dependable friend!