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). ( )

> Babelio : https://www.babelio.com/livres/Huxley-Les-corbeaux-de-Pearblossom/182824

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). ( )

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 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... ( )

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. ( )