Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Abrams Books for Young Readers (2011), Edition: Reprint, Hardcover, 40 pages
Description
A rattlesnake eats every one of Mrs. Crow's eggs until Old Man Owl hatches an idea to solve the problem.
User reviews
LibraryThing member jrbeach
Each day Mrs. Crow's egg disappears. When she realizes it is a snake that is stealing them, she askes Mr. Crow to take action. He goes to the Owl for advice, and the Owl provides the solution for dealing with the thieving snake.
LibraryThing member Smiler69
Mr. and Mrs. Crow, who have a nest in a cotton-wood tree in Pearblossom, haven't had much luck so far when it comes to growing their family. Every time Mrs. Crow has laid an egg, it has disappeared before hatching. When, coming home early from her errands, Mrs. Crow catches the rattlesnake eating
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her latest egg, she tells her husband he must go and kill the snake. Mr. Crow isn't sure this is a good idea, so he consults his friend Mr. Owl, who comes up with a brilliant plan to teach the snake a lesson he is likely never to forget. A fun and slightly wicked story by the author best known for [Brave New World], this was Huxley's only children's story, which he wrote as a gift for his niece Olivia, who had moved to Pearblossom, California with her parents. Bright and cheerful illustrations by Sophie Blackall. Show Less
LibraryThing member abruser
"The Crows of Pearblossom" is about a snake that eats Mrs. Crows eggs every day. Mrs. Crow eventually becomes so upset that she asks Mr. Crow to go kill the snake. Instead of killing the snake Mr. Crow devises a plan with Mr. Owl to solve the problem. The snake ends up eating fake eggs that give
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him a stomach ache. The book is a good lesson in solving problems creatively. Show Less
LibraryThing member alyson
Story really did not work for me but the illustrations are great.
LibraryThing member kimpiddington
Mr. Crow asks Mrs. Crow if she's been overeating. He tells her that her ideas are seldom good, that she talks too much, and to keep her beak shut. This is not an attitude I'd care to share with a young reader.
LibraryThing member MCHBurke
The illustrations are wonderful, but I hate how the female bird is treated, both by the characters within the story and by the author. For no apparent reason, she is made out to be stupid and shrill.
LibraryThing member AbigailAdams26
The Crows of Pearblossom, illustrated by Sophie Blackall
Mrs. Crow's eggs always seem to disappear from her nest when she is out doing the afternoon shopping, and neither she nor Mr. Crow know why. The mystery is solved when she unexpectedly gets home early one day and discovers that the rattlesnake
Originally written in 1944 as a Christmas gift for his niece Olivia - it was first published in 1967, with artwork by Barbara Cooney, and then reprinted in this new 2011 edition with illustrations by Sophie Blackall - The Crows of Pearblossom is the only children's story that British novelist Aldous Huxley ever wrote. All in all, I think that's probably for the best. The story is a fairly standard exploration of the theme of cleverness triumphing over brute strength - the birds manage to outwit and kill the snake, instead of becoming his prey - but the interactions between Mr. and Mrs. Crow make it feel unpleasantly out-of-step with current values. Gender roles have moved on a bit from the 1940s, of course, but it isn't so much that - I read plenty of vintage books for both girls and boys that I find charming, despite the more traditional views on the differences between the sexes that they often contain - but the outright nastiness displayed by Mr. Crow toward his wife, that would make me hesitate to recommend it to today's young children. Asking a woman if she's upset because she's over-eaten seems cruel - the implication, I suppose, is that women are prone to hysteria, and are more governed by their bodies than men - while telling her multiple times to shut up is both disrespectful and rude. In short: whatever charm this story has - and its charm is greatly enhanced by Caldecott Medalist Sophier Blackall's gorgeous watercolor artwork - is more than balanced by its unpleasantness. I'm honestly not sure why it was reprinted...
Mrs. Crow's eggs always seem to disappear from her nest when she is out doing the afternoon shopping, and neither she nor Mr. Crow know why. The mystery is solved when she unexpectedly gets home early one day and discovers that the rattlesnake
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living at the base of the Crows' tree has been swallowing her potential offspring. Mrs. Crow informs Mr. Crow as soon as he gets home from work (at a drugstore), and he sets off (after a few snide remarks to his wife) to consult his friend Old Man Owl on how to proceed. The two avian friends hatch a plot involving some fake clay eggs, and one dead snake.Originally written in 1944 as a Christmas gift for his niece Olivia - it was first published in 1967, with artwork by Barbara Cooney, and then reprinted in this new 2011 edition with illustrations by Sophie Blackall - The Crows of Pearblossom is the only children's story that British novelist Aldous Huxley ever wrote. All in all, I think that's probably for the best. The story is a fairly standard exploration of the theme of cleverness triumphing over brute strength - the birds manage to outwit and kill the snake, instead of becoming his prey - but the interactions between Mr. and Mrs. Crow make it feel unpleasantly out-of-step with current values. Gender roles have moved on a bit from the 1940s, of course, but it isn't so much that - I read plenty of vintage books for both girls and boys that I find charming, despite the more traditional views on the differences between the sexes that they often contain - but the outright nastiness displayed by Mr. Crow toward his wife, that would make me hesitate to recommend it to today's young children. Asking a woman if she's upset because she's over-eaten seems cruel - the implication, I suppose, is that women are prone to hysteria, and are more governed by their bodies than men - while telling her multiple times to shut up is both disrespectful and rude. In short: whatever charm this story has - and its charm is greatly enhanced by Caldecott Medalist Sophier Blackall's gorgeous watercolor artwork - is more than balanced by its unpleasantness. I'm honestly not sure why it was reprinted...
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LibraryThing member BenKline
Mara read this to me this morning. Fun little quirky book. Never knew Aldous Huxley had written a children's book until one of the girls had found it at 2nd and Charles in their free bin and brought it home. Was a nice surprise and a fun read with my youngest (6).
LibraryThing member BenKline
Mara read this to me this morning. Fun little quirky book. Never knew Aldous Huxley had written a children's book until one of the girls had found it at 2nd and Charles in their free bin and brought it home. Was a nice surprise and a fun read with my youngest (6).
Awards
Language
Original publication date
1967
Physical description
40 p.; 10.4 inches
ISBN
0810997304 / 9780810997301
Local notes
Every day Mrs. Crow lays an egg, and every afternoon when she returns from the store, she finds it gone. So she lays another. One afternoon, Mrs. Crow comes home early and catches Mr. Snake swallowing her precious egg. So that's where her eggs keep disappearing -- into Mr. Snake's nasty stomach.
Signed by Blackall with a drawing of a crow.
Signed by Blackall with a drawing of a crow.