Rate this book

Raven Mysteries: Flut Und Fangzähne (2011)

by Marcus Sedgwick(Favorite Author)

3.79 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

3760781489 (ISBN13: 9783760781488)

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

arsEdition

series

The Raven Mysteries

review 1: Flood and Fang was one of the first books on my kindle to-read list. In a nutshell, Raven (the castle’s resident raven) spots a number of potentially nasty things going on in Otherhand Castle, and tries to draw them to the attention of the weird and wonderful characters who inhabit it.The ink-washed design of the cover is reflected in the illustrations and motifs by Pete Williamson that punctuate the text. It is visually appealing – a chapter book broken up into small chunks, encouraging readers to go on, as if the narrative wasn’t encouraging enough! I started reading the raven’s story and thought there was a lot of complicated information about the castle and its inhabitants. I wondered at the vocabulary in use (extensive) but realised the pace and the deliv... moreery would encourage readers to learn new words and not lose the story. I very soon lost my author-head, and continued in reader-mode, rollicking through a delightful story of gothic daftness, mystery and adventure. The little boxed paragraphs at the start of each chapter seemed to be a quirky extract from a history of the castle, but by halfway I’d realised these were useful clues for the reader, if not an integral part of the plot.Sedgwick reminds me to use the sort of names that kids love. I wondered how many might look up Spatchcock to find out that it isn’t just a made-up funny word, but an old-fashioned way of cooking game birds – but then I looked it up myself and found it was also “to insert (a phrase, sentence, story, etc) esp. incongruously” both of which suit the owner of the name admirably! I love Valevine’s fear of the use of the Glottal Stop, which, being a mystery to the raven, becomes his catch-all phrase for anything scary!It’s a story that would be suitable to read aloud to eight years and up, but would engage older children reading to themselves, and probably become one of those well-thumbed books, even on an eReader. In fact, I expect I’ll read it again, it’s such fun. This is the second Marcus Sedgwick book I’ve read, this time for a younger audience, and I loved it just as much. I’m now a confirmed fan.
review 2: Hilarious with gentle gothic elements for children. A good choice for sharing/reading aloud or for more confident readers.There is much to praise in this book, but I think I've finally settled on its key strength being the narration. Having the family raven (called Edgar, of course) tell the story is a fabulous feature of this very entertaining book. There are aspects which I think the younger end of its target audience (8-9 year olds) might miss, but at the same time, I think there's plenty here to keep them reading while also being sharp enough for 12 year olds to enjoy. Despite the many gothic elements, the book is not scary for younger readers: this is zany-gothic rather than creepy-gothic.The pace is lively, with short chapters and quirky illustrations, making it suitable for newly-independent readers, while the content (particularly the unreliable narrator, in that Edgar doesn't always understand everything immediately) offers enough to engage older and more experienced readers (myself included!).The characters are wonderful. Edgar, of course, is closest to us and we learn a little of his history and that of the house. His absolute belief in his superiority is endearing (and befitting a raven), as is his loyalty. The family are, of course, hilariously crazy, and the castle itself (in fine Gothic tradition) is effectively a character too. Using an animal to narrate, and spreading the focus around the whole family means that this is easily a gender-neutral choice and will appeal to both boys and girls.I would absolutely recommend this for anyone of 7 or over, and will be reading further instalments in the series. less

Download links for: Raven Mysteries: Flut und Fangzähne

Advertising