Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH/Trivia


 * Author Existence Failure: Robert C. O'Brien died only two years after this book was published. The sequels to the first book are all written by his daughter.
 * Running the Asylum: After the death of her father, Jane Leslie Conlie wrote two sequels for the original book. She was clearly a fan of the Don Bluth film because she incorporated movie elements that didn't exist in the original novel into the sequels, such as the cape Mrs. Frisby wears and Jeremy's somewhat more comedic personality. Other than that, though, the only real change was a POV-shift from the adult characters to the younger characters.
 * Science Marches On: Nowadays, anyone who's kept pet rats and knows their typical personality-types is likely to be disappointed by the scarcity of female rat characters, as actual female rats are much more active and quick to learn than adult males: they have to be, to find food for and tend their many, many offspring.