Arabel and her notorious raven Mortimer make a welcome return to Puffin Books! When Arabel's father, Ebenezer Jones, drives his taxi home late one night he comes across 'a large black bird, with a hairy fringe around its beak.' He takes it home and from that moment on, life is never the same again for the Jones family. Arabel's raven is called Mortimer - and he's one in amillion. 'Nevermore!' he cries when astonished or upset, 'Down the hatch' he thinks before gobbling bowler hats, stairs, telephones. He dislikes flying except in emergencies, and with disaster-prone Mortimer around there are plenty of those. There are six hilarious escapades in this collection, brought to life by Quentin Blake's wonderfully animated illustrations.

In this silly sequel to Arabel's Raven, Mortimer floats out to sea on a grand piano, tries to get even with three giraffes that have stolen his doughnuts at the zoo, and takes off with King Arthur's sword. Will Arabel ever be able to control her troublemaking pet raven?

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.

In this hilarious classic adventure, an innocent boy and his friends must stop a plot to topple the King of England. Simon, the foundling from The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, arrives in London to meet an old friend and pursue the study of painting. Instead he finds himself unwittingly in the middle of a wicked crew’s fiendish caper to overthrow the good King James and the Duke and Duchess of Battersea. With the help of his friend Sophie and the resourceful waif Dido, Simon narrowly escapes a series of madcap close calls and dangerous run-ins. In a time and place where villains do nothing halfway, Simon is faced with wild wolves, poisoned pies, kidnapping, and a wrecked ship. This is a cleverly contrived tale of intrigue and misadventure. Perfect for fans of Lemony Snicket and Roald Dahl “It’s a marvel!” —The New Yorker “A wild yarn, not to be put down once it is started.” —Washington Post “A riot of wildly improbable adventures happening to absurd and loveable characters with Dickensian names in a time that never was . . . Heartrending, hair-raising, rib-tickling, and delightful.” —New York Times

Wicked wolves and a grim governess threaten Bonnie and her cousin Sylvia when Bonnie's parents leave Willoughby Chase for a sea voyage. Left in the care of the cruel Miss Slighcarp, the girls can hardly believe what is happening to their once happy home. The servants are dismissed, the furniture is sold, and Bonnie and Sylvia are sent to a prison-like orphan school. It seems as if the endless hours of drudgery will never cease. With the help of Simon the gooseboy and his flock, they escape. But how will they ever get Willoughby Chase free from the clutches of the evil Miss Slighcarp?

This magical collection of eight gloriously imaginative stories is ideal for bedtime reading. These stories contain a wealth of wonderful characters and ideas, all with the colorful, dreamlike quality of the very best fairy tales. Illustrations.

In Aiken's sequel to Jane Austen's complex and fascinating novel, after heroine Fanny Price marries Edmund Bertram, they depart for the Caribbean, and Fanny's younger sister Susan moves to Mansfield Park as Lady Bertram's new companion. Surrounded by the familiar cast of characters from Jane Austen's original, and joined by a few charming new characters introduced by the author, Susan finds herself entangled in romance, surprise, scandal, and redemption. Aiken's diverting tale gives the reader interesting speculation on how the Crawfords, whose winning personalities were marred by an amoral upbringing, might have turned out, and Jane Austen's morality tale takes new directions with an unexpected and somewhat controversial ending. "A lovely read—and you don't have to have read Mansfield Park to enjoy it."—Woman's Own "Her sense of time and place is impeccable."—Publishers Weekly "An excellent sequel...remarkably effective and very funny." —Evening Standard

This is the fifth title to be published by Barn Owl about Arabel and her beloved but impossible raven, Mortimer. An enormous hole is being dug in the park and rumour has it that King Arthur's round table is buried there. None of this interests Mortimer however; his fancy has been taken by the giant grass-cutting machine, the LawnSabre. Mortimer finally gets to work the machine but with disastrous consequences for the round table and the sword Excalibur! Another funny and outrageous story about Arabel and Mortimer from Joan Aiken and Quentin Blake.