Arabel's Raven

Arabel and Mortimer #1-3

by Joan Aiken

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. 

Genres: Fiction, Childrens, Middle Grade, Humor, Audiobook, Animals, Young Adult

160 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 1, 2007

About the author

Joan Aiken was a much loved English writer who received the MBE for services to Children's Literature. She was known as a writer of wild fantasy, Gothic novels and short stories.

She was born in Rye, East Sussex, into a family of writers, including her father, Conrad Aiken (who won a Pulitzer Prize for his poetry), and her sister, Jane Aiken Hodge. She worked for the United Nations Information Office during the second world war, and then as an editor and freelance on Argosy magazine before she started writing full time, mainly children's books and thrillers. For her books she received the Guardian Award (1969) and the Edgar Allan Poe Award (1972).

Her most popular series, the "Wolves Chronicles" which began with The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, was set in an elaborate alternate period of history in a Britain in which James II was never deposed in the Glorious Revolution,and so supporters of the House of Hanover continually plot to overthrow the Stuart Kings. These books also feature cockney urchin heroine Dido Twite and her adventures and travels all over the world.

Another series of children's books about Arabel and her raven Mortimer are illustrated by Quentin Blake, and have been shown on the BBC as Jackanory and drama series. Others including the much loved Necklace of Raindrops and award winning Kingdom Under the Sea are illustrated by Jan Pieńkowski.

Her many novels for adults include several that continue or complement novels by Jane Austen. These include Mansfield Revisited and Jane Fairfax.

Aiken was a lifelong fan of ghost stories. She set her adult supernatural novel The Haunting of Lamb House at Lamb House in Rye (now a National Trust property). This ghost story recounts in fictional form an alleged haunting experienced by two former residents of the house, Henry James and E. F. Benson, both of whom also wrote ghost stories. Aiken's father, Conrad Aiken, also authored a small number of notable ghost stories.

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charming, funny, EXTREMELY British! I loved this book as a child, and it was just as fun to read it aloud to my children!

[Lata · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute set of stories about a young girl, Arabel, and her family, and the raven that crashes into their lives.
Arabel names the raven Mortimer, and he’s an amusing and quite disruptive, and sometimes destructive, influence on their home and surroundings. This collection of short stories of Arabel's and Mortimer's adventures is gently amusing. I particularly liked Mortimer's preferences for sleeping in a breadbox, and using coin-operated machines, and his penchant for squawking “Nevermore!"

[Manuel Alfonseca · Rating 3 out of 5]

ENGLISH: The first three stories about Arabel Jones and her tame raven, who always says "Nevermore!" I liked most "The Bread Bin," which is hilarious, with the three horrible cousins (Cindy, Lindy and Mindy), aunt Brenda, the doctor who gets a rash when he saw a large bird, after having been "frightened by a tame cockatoo at the age of three, in his pram," and above all, Mortimer himself, who wreaks havoc wherever he goes.

ESPAÑOL: Los tres primeros cuentos sobre Arabel Jones y su cuervo domesticado, que siempre dice "¡Nunca más!" Lo que más me gustó fue "El cestillo del pan", que es desternillante: las tres primas horribles (Cindy, Lindy y Mindy), la tía Brenda, el doctor al que le sale un sarpullido al ver un pájaro grande, porque " a los tres años, en su cochecito, le asustó una cacatúa domesticada", y, sobre todo, Mortimer, que causa estragos dondequiera que va.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally 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.

[Care · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Cute, absurd, unpredictable, quirky. But the actual plot of these three stories didn't match up to the writing and characters, they were a bit boring and common.

[Melki]

I nabbed this one from the library donation pile because of the Quentin Blake illustration on the cover, but even his wonderful cartoons can't make this mess a readable story. I'm throwing in the towel at only page 26, though it feels like I've been reading it FOREVER.

[Matias P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tres cuentos muy al estilo de Roald Dahl, ilustrados además por Quentin Blake.

El cuervo Mortimer, con sus atípicas manías, su actitud calma y su propensión a crear caos, resulta bastante divertido. Arabel es un personaje infantil que conecta con ese desparpajo caótico sin apenas percibirlo y lo admite como normal. Los adultos, mientras tanto, se desquician o muestran estar desquiciados.

Gamberro a la vez que tierno.

7/10

[iLa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The girls and I listened to this one together. Shared a few good laughs and all enjoyed meeting Arabel and Mortimer.

[Derrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

[Erin Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book as a kid, decided to pick it up again for fun. Still love it. My only disappointment is that the Kindle edition I picked up had replaced all the British with American. For example, I remember that what Arabel and Chris were looking for in the last story was paraffin, not kerosene. Little details like that were disappointing, but all in all it was the same collection of stories I loved as a child.

[meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

a delight, a remant. 'To think I'll never see him digging for diamonds in the coal-scuttle any more!'

[elissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Aiken book that I loved when I was 8 or 9. I remember this as being very funny.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. More mediocre children's lit.

[Lois · Rating 3 out of 5]

Children's -
Too young for HS

[Lorna · Rating 3 out of 5]

We enjoyed listening to this as an audiobook, which was lovely with the British accent. Looking forward to getting the next Raven book to read--quite funny.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful read-aloud and the illustrations will bring out the laughs.

[Evie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a cute collection about Mortimer the raven and Arabel, all their mishaps and heartwarming nonsense.

[Josie B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this as a kid; i think i enjoyed listening to it more as an adult. Sneha Mathan does an incredible job with the voices.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the stories contains ableist language that my child found hurtful. Other than that, it was very good.

[Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Made my kids laugh and laugh.

[Priscilla King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious. Before reading it to children, read it (and, if necessary, reread it) to yourself in order to be able to read it aloud without laughing. A clever but somewhat neglected little girl bonds with a tame raven. They trace stolen diamonds, bond with pop stars, and have other ridiculous adventures, with the background of worried Mr. Jones always out driving his taxicab and Mrs. Jones always mixing everyone up with her hopelessly dyslexic skid-talk.

There are fourteen silly stories about their adventures, each long enough to have been printed as a picture book, short enough to have been printed in a four-volume set with three or four stories per full-length book. (I have vivid memories of checking all four volumes out of the library and typing samizdat copies of all fourteen stories for baby-sitting use, as a teenager; I still have the samizdat copies but, for that reason, I bought only one of the books.) Checking the page for this series at Goodreads, I hoped at first that there were more stories that hadn't been printed in the US yet. No such luck.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grabbed this 3-in-1 audiobook on a whim because my mom loves ravens and Quentin Blake illustrations and why not? Naughty Mortimer the Raven has apparently been taking lessons from Solomon and Mortimer (a crocodilian favourite).

It's sweet and silly and nostalgic and I can imagine my mom reading this to the kids at the cabin when we can visit again, but the series is definitely showing its age in some ways and has an alarmingly frequent and casual approach to guns - especially for 1970s London.

[Michelle M · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a fan of Joan Aiken and as a parent, I enjoyed Arabel's Raven. My nearly 8-year-old daughter was a little lost for parts of it. The British accent of the narrator and the British words were a bit tough. She mostly enjoyed it. Very imaginative and creative, it had me rolling in the aisles at times. Definitely not perfect, but it's a lighthearted charmer that shows what a book can be for those who are young at heart.

[Patrice Doten · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute, funny, and very inventive collections of stories. The first is my favorite. The third got a bit too ridiculous (intentionally) for me, but I’m sure primary/grade school kids will find it hilarious.

[Lizzytish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three cute stories about Arabella and her adopted Raven. The last story was over the top hysterical. Mortimer is not your typical Raven. He only can say nevermore and likes to eat staircases among other items. Fun and crazy adventures ensue.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

For fans of Paddington.

[BOOK BOOKS]

MEME, DO YOU KNOW WHAT BOOK SERIES MIGHT BE A NICE GIFT FOR A SEVEN YEAR OLD MEMER NIECE WHO IS AN AVERAGE FOR HER AGE READER?

[bert-bobbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every so often it's good to read a kids' book, for the imaginative stories. The narration in this one is very good.

[Emry Erickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

These were my childhood books and made me laugh out loud!! Genuinely will be passing them down to my children

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This childhood favorite was every bit as hilarious and quirky as I remember. This book collects three stories featuring sweet Arabel and her terror of a raven, who goes around croaking “Nevermore” and eating everything in sight, who sleeps in the coal scuttle (or the bread bin when he wants a change), and slides down the stairs on a tea tray (when he hasn’t eaten the stairs, that is). Favorite scene in this one is with babysitter Chris Cross (😂), when they go out to buy milk (because in their raucous games, Mortimer broke the milk bottle), have to go to the vending machine because everything’s closed, and end up trying out all the automatic machines in the train station (including one that blows your nose for you). Quentin Blake’s illustrations are perfection.