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Summary
Summary
When Margaret and her shy, mute brother, Artie (R-T), become hopelessly lost in the North Woods, all that saves them is her ingenuity and a little help from the rats of NIMH, but when the siblings return to the world of people, can they protect the rats they have come to love by keeping their wonderful experience a secret? Illustrated.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-8-- Overweight and sullen, Margaret resents the way her family's life has to revolve around younger brother, Artie, who was left with the inability to speak following an illness in infancy. While on a camping trip, the two children become hopelessly lost, and are discovered by Christopher, one of the younger generation rats from Rasco and the Rats of NIMH (Harper, 1986) . The children are accepted into the Thorn Valley community, and Margaret slowly discovers her own worth as she helps the rats accomplish major tasks that her size makes easy. Artie is treated with kindness and compassion, even though his clumsiness causes several disasters. With the approach of winter, the rats realize that they cannot provide the children with shelter against the cold, and the painful decision is made to return the children to their home and trust that they will be able to keep quiet about the rats' existence. This new adventure about the rats of NIMH does not disappoint. The characters are full and rich, and Margaret's change from an unhappy, unpleasant girl to one with strong self-esteem is gradual and believable. The plot is strong, and while the climax is quieter than in the previous books, it is heart-wrenching. The ending begs for a sequel, and so will readers. --Susan M. Harding, Mesquite Public Library, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Margaret feels responsible when she and her autistic brother Artie (R-T) get lost in the woods. But when she discovers that Artie has kept secret from her the mysterious visits to their newly-discovered cave by a talking rat named Christopher, she is furious. Her plan to hold Christopher hostage in exchange for a rat escort home backfires; and the youngsters find themselves spending a glorious summer with the super-intelligent rats from NIMH, while learning about living off the land through their own resourcefulness. This fast-paced adventure fantasy revolves around the metamorphosis of overweight, unhappy Margaret. Though too many of the relationships among Conly's minor characters spark briefly only to fizzle out--demanding less emotional commitment than earlier installments in the Rats of NIMH saga--the novel proves enjoyable for its excitement and believably drawn characterizations of the children and their amazing rodent friends. Ages 9-12. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
The appearance of two children in Thorn Valley provides some interesting problems and advantages for the intelligent and literate rats. While the author handles the Lilliputian situation with considerable skill, later chapters, involving the revelation of the rats' secret and a gratuitous sequence in an amusement park, are less than convincing. The book, alas, does not live up to the author's earlier sequel to Robert O'Brien's 'Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH' (Harper). From HORN BOOK 1990, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Although good old-fashioned storytelling makes this book a success on its own merits, it is also a fine melding of the events of its predecessors, Racso and the Rats of NIMH (1986) and O'Brien's Newbery-winning Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (1971). Sullen junk. food- and TV-addict Margaret is forced to go on a family camping trip, during which she becomes lost in the wilderness with her silent little brother Arthur (R-T). They encounter Christopher, one of the rats from the NIMH colony (superintelligent laboratory rats who escaped to paradisical Thorn Valley). Their involvement with the rats alters Margaret's and Arthur's lives while setting into motion the end of the NIMH colony as most readers know it. Witty characters, both rat and human, fill out an adventure-packed plot of both minute and grand proportions. Margaret's transformation is sweetly complicated; her growing tolerance for her brother's ""strangeness"" is an excursion in maturity. It's possible to enjoy this without the context or continuity provided by the other two books; but the uninitiated will surely waist to seek them out. Lubin's delicately detailed b&w art makes the format as attractive as the text. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Gr. 4-6. Conly, daughter of Robert C. O'Brien (author of Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH), offers a third installment about the brilliant rodents. Many of the well-loved characters from the previous books make an appearance: wise Nicodemus, head of the Thorn Valley community, streetwise Racso, and volatile Isabella. But the real stars here are two human children, Artie (or R-T, as the rats first think he's named) and his older sister Margaret, who get lost in the North Woods. Artie, who doesn't speak, and Margaret, who usually just sneers, are saved by a young rat, Christopher, the first creature who is able to reach the withdrawn Artie. Conly ably handles her characters, rat and otherwise, allowing readers to develop a real affection for them. She deals with events less successfully: too much action moves back and forth between the valley and the city, and, at times, important scenes take place offstage. While not quite as successful as her previous Racso and Rats of NIMH [BKL Je 1 86], this story is still a worthy successor to the NIMH tradition. Readers will be happy that the action in the last few pages definitely points to another story. --Ilene Cooper
