Mrs. Armitage, Queen of the Road

Mrs. Armitage

by Quentin Blake

"Dear Anastasia, Because I am buying a new motorcycle, I won't need my old car anymore. I would like you to have it as a present. It's parked outside. Here are the keys. With love, Your Uncle Cosmo."

Thus begins Mrs. Armitage's exciting road adventure. There are many surprises along the way until all that is left is Mrs. Armitage, her faithful dog Breakspear, and the bare frame of the car.

But the ever-resourceful Mrs. Armitage remains undaunted. And when she finally meets up with her uncle and his motorcycle cronies, Mrs. Armitage is rightfully honored as the Queen of the Road.

From best-selling author-illustrator Quentin Blake—Children's Laureate of the United Kingdom and winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal—comes this charming story of an indomitable and charmingly off-beat woman who finds liberation and new friends out on the open road.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Adventure, Humor, Cars, Juvenile

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 30, 2003

About the author

Sir Quentin Saxby Blake is an English cartoonist, caricaturist, illustrator and children's writer. He has illustrated over 300 books, including 18 written by Roald Dahl, which are among his most popular works. For his lasting contribution as a children's illustrator he won the biennial international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2002, the highest recognition available to creators of children's books. From 1999 to 2001, he was the inaugural British Children's Laureate. He is a patron of the Association of Illustrators.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read! I loved the carefree devil-may-care attitude of Mrs Armitage. She was determined to have an adventure and improvised in the face of adversity. In fact, her sense of adventure is so infectious that she ends up being initiated into a biker gang!

[Melki · Rating 3 out of 5]

A woman who probably shouldn't be driving a motorized vehicle finds herself in possession of a dandy automobile. While I appreciated Blake's fine artwork, this dame's cavalier attitude behind the wheel drove me bonkers. Suspend her license immediately!

[Книжни Криле · Rating 5 out of 5]

Сър Куентин Блейк! Не просто художник, а жива легенда на детската илюстрация. Стил, който не може да бъде сбъркан. Палави, свободни щрихи. Изразителни мастилени петна. Отказващи, да останат в очертанията акварелни цветове. Не просто характерна визия, а запазена марка. И след като е невъзможно да мислим за Роалд Дал, без да се сетим и за Куентин Блейк, дали можем да мислим за Куентин Блейк, без да се сетим за Роалд Дал? Защото освен като художник, Куентин Блейк най-накрая ще се изяви пред българските читатели и като автор! Ако ви се намира каска под ръка, сложете си я. И задължително затегнете коланите. Защото с гръм и трясък се задава „Госпожа Армитидж. Кралицата на пътя“. Смеете ли да се повозите заедно с тази щура дама? Това хумористично, високооктаново приключение пристига при нас благодарение на изд. „Enthusiast”. Прочетете ревюто на „Книжни Криле“: https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/202...

[Jack Kirby and the X-man · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm very familiar with Quentin Blake's illustrations of Roald Dahl, but I'm embarrased to say I wasn't aware of his other works.

A quick check of his website reveals that he has been involved in more than 300 books - only 27 of which were written by Roald Dahl and a full 35 which were written and illustrated by Quentin.

My most endearing memory of Quentin's illustrations were his illustrations in The Witches. Quentin's signature style of illustrations in this book made me expect Mrs Armitage to at some point remove her wig and (non-existant) gloves.

Getting over this I found that Mrs Armitage: Queen of the Road to be a great story with fantastic illustrations. I've added Mrs Armitage on Wheels and Mrs Armitage and the Big Wave to my to-read shelf.

[Erin]

Mrs. Armitage meets life with a carefree attitude, and in this particular story, her car takes the brunt of the consequences. Blake’s illustrations match the story’s freewheeling heroine, and work well with the crash, bang, boom noises that accompany each accident. Every time the car gets a little worse for the wear, Mrs. Armitage shrugs it off, casually dismisses the incident, and (with her faithful hound) continues on her road trip adventure.

Quentin Blake’s lines are what used to give me hope of drawing myself. But somehow he manages the squiggles, wiggles and flourishes with surprising finesse. There are no straight lines in this story and the shapes are ragged, so they represent that carefree attitude of Mrs. Armitage quite well. The shapes are filled with watercolors that create a relaxed, urban palette. Within the drawings there is not a lot of use of value, but each scene is set against a white background, which makes each page pop. The interplay of illustration with text keeps the eye moving across all the pages and most of the action is set at an eye-level perspective, but every so often we get to zoom in on Mrs. Armitage and her faithful dog. Overall this is a very fun story.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A let-down, unfortunately. Love the illustrations; Quentin Blake’s style is immediately recognizable ans totally enchanting. My children were drawn in right away by the cover and it brought back fond memories for me of loving his illustrations in “Matilda” as a child. We kept bouncing along with Mrs. Armitage, thinking the story was leading to something great.... But, uh... sorry, I don’t think there are many little kids out there who would think much of a mousey woman turning into a biker chick. This doesn’t matter to them! Oh well. A sad disappointment.

[Jc · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not really sure what the point of the story is here.

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dear Anastasia,
Because I am buying a new motorcycle, I shall not need my old car any more. I would like you to have it as a present. It is in the street outside. Here are the keys. With love from,
Your Uncle Cosmo

We have finally completed our 'Mrs Armitage' set, having found the missing one in a local charity shop.

These books are a lot of fun and packed full of silliness that is certain to raise a smile. When Mrs Armitage is given a new car, she takes to the road with the ever faithful Breakspear and, as always, calamity ensues.

Quentin Blake's unique illustrations bring the story to life and really draw you in. 4 stars.

[Iqra Fiaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like that Quentin Blake has given his character - Mrs Armitage - a series of books because it means children have the chance to experience what it is like to get stuck into a set of books and get 'hooked' into a character.

It being a picturebook is great because it means it is accessible for children of all reading abilities. Children who have limited reading abilities are still able to get more involved in the characters through the rich illustrations Quentin Blake offers.

Overall, a great book.

[Terri Zumbahlen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another adventure about Mrs. Armitage and her dog Breakspear. This time she is given a car. She keeps breaking the car and with every break takes a piece to the junkyard until she is left with just the frame. However, a biker gang think it's the coolest bike they've seen. Cute story with fabulous illustrations.

[Eric · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was okay but I hated reading the names of the characters and felt they detracted from the story. Breakspear and Armitage - just felt like such a mouthful, that I didn't even want to read the story.
-Mom

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The pictures are great. The style is wonderful. The story line made me chuckle page after page. Mrs. Armitage's continual line, "Who needs it", was just the right, repeatable phrase for this book.
What a car! What a queen of the road!! Absolutely loved it.

[Cheryl]

So different... creative, odd... I just don't know if I like it or not, or whether to recommend it to any of you. If you think the name Breakspear is terrific for a little white dog, you might want to check this out.

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a funny book. Mrs Armitage get given a car and as she is driving down the road, various bits of it fall off. At the end the car is almost unrecognisable and she amends it with the help of some friends. We love the illustrations and my little ones laughed, especially at the end.

[Tamara Zann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyably moraless.

[Jenna Mills · Rating 2 out of 5]

Funny

[MaryJo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I so enjoyed the other Mrs. Armitage stories but this one left me flat. Oddly I was disturbed by the amount of car parts that ended “in the trash” and the cliche motorcyclists she encountered.

[C (one.chapteratatime) · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not because it's named after me that I love this book. But I like the title too. *wink

[Asya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Be like Mrs. Armitage: take everything life gives you, transform it in a way you like (never mind what others say) and find the people who accept you as you are. Great story.

[Melanie Gaum · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not as good as the other two

[Rachel Cross · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my boys’ favourite books (aged 3 & 2), they laugh constantly and make reference to her antics weeks later without prompting.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the illustrations. It made me think of my old Roald Dahl books.

[Elena Haas · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 4yo laughed out loud at this book. The comedic timing was perfect, the whole family loved it. Not to mention high quality artwork. This would be a great gift to other children.

[Susie Buetow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can be an Interactive book. Kids like saying, “who needs that” - cute for a group!

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quentin Blake’s short story Mrs Armitage Queen of the Road is full of fun and adventure. It depicts the tale of Mrs Armitage and her dog Breakspear. Mrs Armitage is given a car by her Uncle Cosmo. Mrs Armitage is a rather clumsy driver and keeps bashing and banging her car, as a result components of the car keep falling off, leaving her with a modified car that resembles something between a go-cart and motorbike. Whilst out driving Mrs Armitage comes across Uncle Cosmo and his motorbike friends, they gasp and swoon over the new vehicle and invite Mrs Armitage to join them at The Crazy Duck Café.

The language used by Blake is effective. Plosive alliteration helps the reader to understand and hear the noises for themselves, “bing bong boing” jump out from the page and bring the narrative to life.

Onomatopoeia is another clever technique employed by Blake. I do have an issue however with the fact that the verbs “scrrunch” and kerrunch” are spelt incorrectly, extra consonants have been added to lengthen the word and to elongate the sounds to the reader. In addition to this Blake includes nonsensical words such as “dang” and “skrrangg”, although they are effective in creating an atmosphere I think this is ultimately confusing for a young reader.

The books illustrations are undoubtedly fantastic, Blake’s instantly recognisable graphics have been loved for generations, however, I do believe that it is this that initially attracts the reader to the book rather than his reputation as an author. Blake’s graphics have been coupled with the work of Roald Dahl for many years, Blake is not as talented as Dahl and I think that he is using Dahls success for his own literary career. I finished the book feeling disappointed; I did not think that the story was as entertaining or as imaginative as Dahls work and because of the association with Dahl I had initial expectations.

The book offers an educational element, with an exploration of the mechanics of a car, a subject that is potentially more appealing to a boy. I think that the book would be suitable for a young reader from age five onwards.

[Vera Godley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quirky! Absolutely bizarre and quirky. Quentin Blake has taken his ink pen and water colors and given us in image and text a cute, quirky little lady who is gifted a car. Well, more a rattletrap vehicle of the 4-wheel version. Once given to her, Mrs. Armitage and devoted dog, Breakspear, hop on board and roll down the road.

Each "bump in the road" shakes off a piece of the car as she rolls along. What does she do? Despair? No. She simply throws the troublesome piece away and keeps rolling along. (What can we learn from life with this tidbit?) In one scene (two-page spread of delightful imagery), she is rolling along and still has the sides of the car intact. Here is the story line on that page....

"Breakspear," said Mrs. Armitage, "I think it is time for us to get out of this town." They went down a side road into the country. All around then were trees, and the birds were singing."

"Breakspear," said Mrs. Armitage, "this is blissful."

This is a fun book and will be an opportunity for teaching "making do" with what you're given and also acceptance of the "bumps in the road of life." The book is, I am sure, fully intended to be an entertainment and light-hearted little read for the young and young-in-heart, yet sometimes it is good to also read between the lines, so to speak.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mrs Armitage Queen of the road
By Quentin Blake


An amusing book, with as one would expect from Quentin Blake, quirky drawings. Mrs Armatage wakes up one morning to find a letter from her uncle Cosmo. She reads the letter to her faithful dog Breakspear over breakfast.

The letter reveals that Uncle Cosmo has given her a car as a present and it is parked outside her house in the street. The pair go to investigate, but Mrs Armitage is not impressed by the old car, but they decide to take it for a drive anyway.

The old car slowly begins to fall apart, piece by piece as she bumps down holes and bangs into bollards and a lorry. First, the hubcaps fall off, followed by the mudguards, until finally only the shell of the car is left. Suddenly, Mr Armitage meets uncle Cosmo and his biker friends Grizzy, Lulu, Ferdinando and Smudge. They are all amazed at Mrs Armitage.s lean, mean, motor machine. They invite her to join them and kit her out with some biker’s clothing and a motor horn. Mrs Armitage is crowned Queen of the Road.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book we've read recently that features Mrs. Armitage and her little dog, Breakspear. These tales are fun, adventurous, a bit odd and quite silly.

I love that it depicts an older woman as vital, active and free-spirited. And I love the quirky nature of the tale, ending with Mrs. Armitage hanging out with a biker gang. It's certainly no less than I would expect from Quentin Blake, whose unique illustrations are well known from his collaborations with Roald Dahl.

This book was selected as one of the books for the November 2013 - Cars and Trucks discussion at the Picture-Book Club in the Children's Books Group here at Goodreads.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a funny children’s story about Mrs Armitage and her strange car. Uncle Cosmo has left her his old car as a present; she doesn’t really like the look at first but decides to take it for a spin. Surprisingly, as Mrs Armitage makes her journey, the car falls apart piece by piece, until the only thing left is the frame with the seats and the pedals. She bumps into her uncle and his motorbike crew, who fall in love with her new ride and make her feel as though she is queen of the road.
I would read this story to a class during reading time, as it is a well written story that enables young children to picture an old lady driving a car falling apart. It allows children to use their imagination which is essential during reading. The age range I would recommend for this book would be for children ages 4 to 6 years old.

[Lis K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mrs. Armitage is one no-nonsense lady. She's up for trying new things. When her Uncle Cosmo gives her his car, she and her dog, Breakspear, take it for a spin. Things start falling off the car while they're driving---sometimes due to accidents, sometimes due to her driving---until the car is just a shell of a machine. Then Mrs. Armitage runs into Uncle Cosmo and his motorcycle club and they think her "lean machine" is the best ever. As an adult, I thought the storyline was fine until the motorcycle club shows up. I thought that was a little strange, especially the one biker woman with a cleavage-baring top and skin-tight clothing. However, my kids thought the book was hilarious and really liked how the car parts kept falling off and the way the car looked at the end. I did like how Mrs. Armitage is resourceful, goes with the flow, and is rewarded with becoming "Queen of the Road."