Forgive my sentimental attachment to this book, for it has been the prized keepsake of my childhood. In fact, my book is one from the batch of first editions...coincidentally, it has my sister's name in it because my mother thought it appropriate to designate its owner (though not really) when my sister took it to show and tell as a child. In any case, it is a wise, old, Asian tale about a boy named Pee-chee, "who was only eight years old...or so we're told". He was the emporer's only son and therefore, "didn't have much fun", so he set out on a journey, "on his trusty tortoise, Ho". Thus began a boy's voyage of exploration where he beat the drums that made the ancient thunder and provoked the gods to chase him. He tripped the Master of the Rain causing all of his rain to fall on one small town, he dried up rivers, dropped seeds the size of melons down and amazingly, gigantic vegetables grew, slit the bag of wind possessed by Old Madame Feng-p'o-p'o and generally caused much ruckus down below. I'll give away the climax and denoument...Pee-chee, feeling quite hungry and eager to escape from the angry gods, hides inside of a giant, perfect peach. In a desperate moment, "Tortoise Ho came by and took off across the sky with the peach upon his back, for when the stakes are really high, a tortoise can fly". Of course, Pee-chee, snuggled in his peach, lands in front of the emporer's palace. Marvelled by the striking resemblance of this giant peach to his long, lost son, the emporer has a column resurrected in which the peach sits...until the tortoise fans the peach too closely and knocks off the stem...out pops little Pee-chee and "so the story ends"... The meter, rhyme and illustrations all work together fluidly to make this book...a keepsake. As books go, that is the best reward of all...it now sits not in a cabinet, but on my six month old daughter's shelf waiting to be read again and again...

I read this book as a child and loved it. I have searched, since having my own children, for it. I found it to have good story line and an unexpected ending. I also felt that it was a story to keep dreams alive. The story is about an old king with three sons and he not knowing who to give the kingdom to, sends his sons on quests. The youngest son, who has the best attitude and honor code, is helped by a misterious "white cat". The ending of the book is a real test for the prince, he has to prove his loyalty and love. It is a great ending, and of course, everyone lives happily ever after. I want to read this story to my children and I think it would be great if it was made into an animated movie.

Anyone who loves Jane Coly's work or the famous Rats of NIMH *or both!* will want to read this book. I read it as a child and still find it a great diversion as an adult. The story is of an adolescent rat named Racso who meets Timmothy on his way to school with the rats of Thorn Valley. The plot thickens as Racso meets the rats of NIMH and finds that thier standards of country life and living are quite different than his old city life. Intent on finding a way to impress them and convince them to let him stay, Racso tries to hatch a plan to help the rats, and perhaps the whole Thorn Valley! This book is a bit more youth-oriented than Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, but it does contain an element of adventure and ethics that made the first book so popular. If you love anthropomorphic animals *particularly rodents*, this book will be well worth looking in to. There is another book in the series, FYI : R-T, Margaret, and the Rats of NIMH. I hope you enjoy this book, I sure did!

"Racso and the Rats of NIMH" is one of the best books I have ever read. It's about a rat named Racso who has always wanted to be a scientist. So Racso ran away from home in the city to try to learn to read and write. During this time a young mouse by the name of Timothy was going to school in Thorn Valley where the rats of NIMH lived. On his way to school he met Racso. Timothy invited Racso to come to school with him. When they got to Thorn Valley they were four days late because Timothy was usually flown by a crow named Jeremy. The rest is for you to read, and I definitely recommend you do. I really liked the way Jane Leslie Conly put the story together to get the book, and how Racso told tall tales, like his family was very rich and lived in the bottom of a mansion. I thought that was funny. What I didn't like was that the book was too long, way too long to read in two weeks. I read over 200 pages in about a week and on Tuesday I read over 100 pages. I recommend this book to people who like funny adventure stories like the first one, "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH". Review by Jacob Gilden, Duniway School, 4th grade.

This would be one of the best books I have read in a long time, and I am pretty picky about what I read. After reading Robert C'obrians "Mrs.Frisby and the rats of nimh" I was very inspiered and felt I wanted to read the next book. I like the charecter, Racso so much I bought a black birre (hat)to look like him. Jane Leslie Conly did such a good job on continuing the story, that I thought it was the same author. I started out thinking that Mrs.Frisby and the rats of nimh would be boring, and I ended up loving the book. I have started to read RT, Margaret and the rats of nimh and think I will enjoy it very much.