Robert C. O'Brien

Believing herself to be the only survivor of a nuclear war, Ann Burden greets a wandering stranger with excitement and suspicion. An ALA Notable Book & ALA Best Book for Young Adults. Reprint.

Z for Zachariah

Sarah Sammis

I am making more of an effort to read books that have been on my wishlist instead of just reading willy-nilly. Z for Zachariah the posthumous post-apocalyptic tale of survival has been on my wishlist longer than anything else.

Robert C. O'Brien is best remembered for Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH but I think Z for Zachariah is the stronger book. The book relates in a series of diary entries a teenage girl's life after a nuclear war has poisoned the land and the surviving citizens have been killed by nerve gas. For unknown reasons, her town has been spared but she is late survivor.

Z for Zachariah is how Ann sees herself as the last person alive. Zachariah is the last man in an A to Z of Bible names, one of the few books she has in her house.

Enter another survivor, scientist John Loomis. Before Loomis the focus was on Ann's ingenuity and on her memories of the war. Loomis an outsider shows first hand the brutality of war both in his recovery from radiation poisoning and in his treatment of Ann.

The book holds up well and is as chilling and depressing as any similar book written for an adult audience. It was one of those rare books that left me wanting more when I had finished reading it.

Some extraordinary rats come to the aid of a mouse family in this Newbery Medal Award–winning classic by notable children’s author Robert C. O’Brien. Mrs. Frisby, a widowed mouse with four small children, is faced with a terrible problem. She must move her family to their summer quarters immediately, or face almost certain death. But her youngest son, Timothy, lies ill with pneumonia and must not be moved. Fortunately, she encounters the rats of NIMH, an extraordinary breed of highly intelligent creatures, who come up with a brilliant solution to her dilemma. And Mrs. Frisby in turn renders them a great service.

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh

Emma Lechner

Jeanie Cha

They are not like other rats. They work at night, in secret . . . Time is running out for Mrs Frisby. She must move her family of mice before the farmer destroys their home. But her youngest son, Timothy, is too ill to survive the move. Help comes in the unexpected form of a group of mysterious, super-intelligent rats. But the rats are in danger too, and little by little Mrs Frisby discovers their extraordinary past . . .

Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

lily k

Dennis Jacob Rosenfeld

Alex Roland

alina s

Lola Money

Ramona Crumlish

Willow

Alison McAfee

As to the end of the story: Mrs. Frisby had her problem solved. But the rats, well that's something else again.

Z for Zachariah

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