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.  "No one but the author of The Wolves of Willoughby Chase could create such a melange of inventions, sustain such a pace, and give such vigor to the telling."--The Horn Book