Oh, why didn't I know about this when I was a kid? I'd SO have wanted a raven all of my own...
Joan Aiken is a genius - this slight, light, hilarious story is a great read. I'm on volume 2 already (Mortimer's Bread Bin) and plotting the acquisition of the rest. Of course, Quentin Blake's illustrations add a certain something - he clearly liked Mortimer too!
Mortimer is a raven, Arabel is a little girl. Mortimer eats things. Arabel sorts things out. The two of them have adventures. There, told you it was simple! But... the language is fabulous (and any young child today would have trouble with a lot of the words, so would need a little help, I think) and the adults just hilarious - I'm particularly fond of the policemen.
A huge thank you to Barn Owl books for re-issuing these.
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11 years ago
2 comments:
Completely agree - they're lovely books, and like so many things that had drifted out of print have been rediscovered by Ann Jungman and her wonderful Barn Owl Books. That Arabel & Mortimer weren't in the original UBG was I think remiss of us, but we're rectifying that in the new edition we're working on at the moment, which goes to the publishers this week!
D.
Damn, that's a scary comment...
oh, and Mortimer's Bread Bin is just as funny - the scene where a nursing sister washes Mortimer down in the sluice room then blow dries him is so funny I nearly choked on my breakfast muffin!
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