''R-T, Margaret, and the Rats of NIMH'' is a 1990 children's book by
Jane Leslie Conly
Jane Leslie Conly (born 1948) is an American author, the daughter of author Robert C. O'Brien (author), Robert C. O'Brien. She started her literary work by finishing the manuscript for her father's ''Z for Zachariah'' in 1974 after his death.
He ...
with illustrations by Leonard Lubin. It is a sequel to the 1971 book ''
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH'', continuing the story from the 1986 book ''
Racso and the Rats of NIMH
''Racso and the Rats of NIMH'' is the 1986 sequel to the popular book, '' Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH'', written by Jane Leslie Conly. It continues where the previous book left off. The book would be followed by a sequel published in 1990, ...
''.
Publication history
''R-T, Margaret, and the Rats of NIMH'', like the preceding volume, ''Racso and the Rats of NIMH'', was written by the daughter of
Robert Leslie Carroll Conly (pen name
Robert C. O'Brien), the author of the original ''Rats of NIMH'' book.
Plot summary
When two children, Margaret and her younger,
autistic
The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
"Rt, Margaret, and the Rats of NIMH,"
''Publishers Weekly''. Accessed Dec. 7, 2019. brother Artie ("R-T"), are lost during a camping trip, they are found by the colony of rats, specifically one named Christopher. The children help the rat community with various tasks, and Artie and Christopher become very close friends. However, when winter comes, the rats cannot shelter the children and must send them back. The children try to keep the secret of Thorn Valley, but after pressure, Margaret ends up revealing it. The story ends with a party of adults traveling to Thorn Valley to discover the rats' colony only to find an empty, apparently uninhabited plot of land with all traces of the colony removed.
The whereabouts and fate of the rats of NIMH are left unstated, though Artie does find a gift from Christopher, a picture of an arrow, presumably pointing to the new location of the colony.
References
External links
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1990 American novels
1990 children's books
American children's novels
Autism in the arts
Books about autism
Children's novels about animals
Fictional mice and rats
Harper & Row books
Rats of NIMH
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