Arabel's Raven
By Joan Aiken and Quentin Blake
4/5
()
About this ebook
Young Arabel's life is changed forever when her father, a taxi driver, brings home an injured bird he finds in the street. This wacky raven eats everything in sight, answers the telephone by squawking "Nevermore!" and causes chaos wherever he goes--but Arabel loves her new feathered friend, whom she names Mortimer.
This is the first volume of Arabel and Mortimer's adventures, brightened with hilarious illustrations by Quentin Blake.
Joan Aiken
Joan Aiken, daughter of the American writer Conrad Aiken, was born in Rye, Sussex, England, and has written more than sixty books for children, including The Wolves of Willoughby Chase.
Read more from Joan Aiken
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Reviews for Arabel's Raven
66 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I decided to give this one a try because I had recently read [A necklace of Raindrops] and like Aiken's style of storytelling, and this one is illustrated by [[Quentin Blake]], who is amazing, of course. I wasn't a bit disappointed in it. This is a quirky little book about a sweet little girl and her quirky pet raven, Mortimer, and the quirky happenings that surround them. I loved it.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Originally published in Britain under the title Tales of Arabel's Raven, this book includes three humorous stories that introduce young Arabel Jones and her raven companion, Mortimer.In Arabel's Raven, a taxi-driver named Ebenezer Jones rescues a raven that he sees run down by two thieves on a motorcycle, and brings him home. His daughter, Arabel, who knows as soon as she sees him that his name is Mortimer, falls in love, and trouble is not long to follow. In The Breadbin, Mrs. Jones learns that it is best to let Mortimer have his own way, even if he does want to sleep in the breadbin. And in The Escaped Black Mamba and Other Things, Mortimer's talent for destruction and Mrs. Jones' propensity to worry combine to create a zany series of misunderstandings, that the local police decide must have been a "mass hallucination."This wonderful series seems aimed at a slightly younger audience than that of Aiken's novels, and is illustrated by Quentin Blake, famous for his illustrations of Roald Dahl. Aiken manages to convey a satisfying sense of emotion in Mortimer, despite his inability to say anything other than "Nevermore," and the deadpan humor of these comedies of error is quiet but persistent. As a side note, it is worth mentioning that although these stories are available in the US and Britain in four collections, they have all also been published individually in Britain.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cute, clever story that will make you chuckle. The characters are simple personalities that all add to the completeness of the story. Each is peculiar in his or her or raven's way that makes for a fun adventure with an unlikely and often misunderstood bird. Thank goodness for characters such as Arabel who remind us to accept that which annoys us in others and to learn to find scruffy characters as endearing friends. Enjoyable with a few endearing chuckles out loud.