Arabel's Raven
Written by Joan Aiken
Narrated by Sneha Mathan
4/5
()
About this audiobook
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 whenever he goes - but Arabel loves her feathered friend, whom she names Mortimer.
Children (and adults) will find great pleasure in these high-spirited engaging stories because the text is rich with wonderfully descriptive phrases as well as uniquely hilarious and witty situations. Fans of the classic story will picture a hairy-beaked raven sqawking 'nevermore" every time they hear a phone ring, and the thought of this crazy bird will be a delightful reminder of this fabulous story!
©2009 Joan Delano Aiken; (P)2009 Listen & Live Audio, Inc.
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.
Related to Arabel's Raven
Related audiobooks
Cold Cereal Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Audio Bundle: Arabel's Raven & Arabel and Mortimer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Arabel and Mortimer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kenny & the Dragon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Princess Cora and the Crocodile Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Father's Dragon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Monster and Boy: Book 1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Tindims and the Floating Moon Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Paintbrush Kid Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kenny & the Book of Beasts Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bink & Gollie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Abel's Island Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Marge in Charge Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Thalia Kids' Book Club: Grace Lin When the Sea Turned to Silver Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Witch Family Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Reluctant Dragon Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Charlie's Raven Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Oh, Sal Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Secret Garden Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Willa The Wisp Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Moni the Goat-Boy Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Talking Earth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Real Thief Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Castle Corona Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Too Small Tola Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Ragweed and Poppy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Violet and Jobie in the Wild Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Underneath Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Children's Animals For You
The Flames of Hope (Wings of Fire, Book 15) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Green Ember: The Green Ember Book I Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Darkness of Dragons (Wings of Fire #10) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Warriors #2: Fire and Ice Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lost Continent: Wings of Fire, Book 11 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Days With Frog and Toad Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wind in the Willows Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dangerous Gift (Wings of Fire #14) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Curious George Rides A Bike Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mossflower Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Socks Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dragonslayer (Wings of Fire: Legends): Wings of Fire, Legends Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Warriors #1: Into the Wild Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lost Library Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Frog and Toad Together Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mouse and the Motorcycle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Bear Called Paddington Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Invasion (Animorphs #1) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Horse and His Boy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Winnie-the-Pooh Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Wind in the Willows: Classic Tales Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The True Story Of the Three Little Pigs: By A.Wolf Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Coraline Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Once There Was Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wildborn: Spirit Animals, Book 1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Voyage of the Dawn Treader Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wish Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Arabel's Raven
67 ratings6 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This collection contains the first three stories: Arabel's Raven, The Bread Bin, and the Escaped Black Mamba. I have loved this series from childhood and the rereading did not disappoint.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I first discovered Joan Aiken's hilarious tales of the young girl Arabel and her pet raven, Mortimer, in the pages of Cricket Magazine. Thanks to the web I have been able to acquire hardcover copies of the books.Arabel's Raven is the first book, but you can easily read them in any order as they are really a bunch of short stories more than a cohesive narrative. This book includes the following three stories:Arabel's Raven;The Breadbin;The Escaped Black Mamba and Other Things
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5We love this book. Girl meets raven. Hilarity ensues. Narration is excellent!
- 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.