Other editions of book The Crows of Pearblossom by Aldous Huxley

Sophie Blackall, illustrator of the Caldecott-Medal-winning book Finding Winnie, created standout illustrations for this timeless picture book. Written in 1944 by Aldous Huxley as a Christmas gift for his niece, The Crows of Pearblossom tells the story of Mr. and Mrs. Crow, who live in a cottonwood tree. The hungry Rattlesnake that lives at the bottom of the tree has a nasty habit of stealing Mrs. Crow's eggs before they can hatch, so Mr. Crow and his wise friend, Old Man Owl, devise a sneaky plan to trick him. This funny story of cleverness triumphing over greed, similar in tone and wit to the work of A. A. Milne, shows a new side of a great writer. Paired with stunning illustrations by Caldecott-winner Sophie Blackall, this timeless tale is sure to grab the attention of many readers—adults and children alike.Praise for The Crows of Pearblossom “With Huxley’s mordant wit in ample supply, this tale will entertain literary novelty seekers.” –Publishers Weekly “Huxley’s story starts good and grim—just the thing to hold a young audience.” –Kirkus Reviews“A rather charming children’s book. The story is clever, wittily told and bristles with spiky humor — and it could quite possibly become a new favorite among schoolchildren. In the reissued edition, Brooklyn-based illustrator Sophie Blackwell transforms the chapter book into a picture book. Huxley’s standing as one of the grandfathers of dystopian Y.A. is already established. Perhaps the next generation will think of him as that guy who wrote about crows’ eggs.” –New York Times ARTSBEAT blog “A vivid picture-book edition with robust and suitably disquieting illustrations by Sophie Blackall.” –Wall Street Journal

Since my earliest memories (app. ages 3 and 4) I have loved and treasured this book. Even before I could read, the animal characters within were well-beloved friends of mine, simply through the pictures. I was thrilled when my parents would read it to me, and when I learned to read myself I was proud to be able to get through it on my own. It was only much later, when I actually knew who Huxley was and realized he was the author of one of my favorite early childhood books, that I learned to love it for its historic context as well. This book comes from an interesting background. Others have already commented on the time period Huxley wrote it in--during the second World War. It is his only children's book and he wrote it not for publication but for Olivia, the young daughter of his nextdoor neighbors (human characters who are actually referred to by name in the course of the book, further personalizing this effort of Huxley's.) There were only two copies, Huxley's and the one belonging to these neighbors. The first was destroyed in a fire that broke out in the Huxley home. The second was published following his death. (amazon customer)

Written in 1944 by Aldous Huxley as a Christmas gift for his niece, The Crows of Pearblossom tells the story of Mr. and Mrs. Crow, who live in a cottonwood tree. The hungry Rattlesnake that lives at the bottom of the tree has a nasty habit of stealing Mrs. Crow's eggs before they can hatch, so Mr. Crow and his wise friend, Old Man Owl, devise a sneaky plan to trick him. This funny story of cleverness triumphing over greed, similar in tone and wit to the work of A. A. Milne, shows a new side of a great writer. Paired with stunning illustrations by Sophie Blackall, this timeless tale is sure to grab the attention of many readers--adults and children alike.

Written in 1944 by Aldous Huxley as a Christmas gift for his niece, The Crows of Pearblossom tells the story of Mr. and Mrs. Crow, who live in a cottonwood tree. The hungry Rattlesnake that lives at the bottom of the tree has a nasty habit of stealing Mrs. Crow's eggs before they can hatch, so Mr. Crow and his wise friend, Old Man Owl, devise a sneaky plan to trick him. This funny story of cleverness triumphing over greed, similar in tone and wit to the work of A. A. Milne, shows a new side of a great writer. Praise for The Crows of Pearblossom With Huxley s mordant wit in ample supply, this tale will entertain literary novelty seekers. .

Written in 1944 by Aldous Huxley as a Christmas gift for his niece, The Crows of Pearblossom tells the story of Mr. and Mrs. Crow, who live in a cottonwood tree. The hungry Rattlesnake that lives at the bottom of the tree has a nasty habit of stealing Mrs. Crow's eggs before they can hatch, so Mr. Crow and his wise friend, Old Man Owl, devise a sneaky plan to trick him. This funny story of cleverness triumphing over greed, similar in tone and wit to the work of A. A. Milne, shows a new side of a great writer. Paired with stunning illustrations by Sophie Blackall, this timeless tale is sure to grab the attention of many readers—adults and children alike.Praise for The Crows of Pearblossom“With Huxley’s mordant wit in ample supply, this tale will entertain literary novelty seekers.” –Publishers Weekly “Huxley’s story starts good and grim—just the thing to hold a young audience.” –Kirkus Reviews “A rather charming children’s book. The story is clever, wittily told and bristles with spiky humor — and it could quite possibly become a new favorite among schoolchildren. In the reissued edition, Brooklyn-based illustrator Sophie Blackwell transforms the chapter book into a picture book. Huxley’s standing as one of the grandfathers of dystopian Y.A. is already established. Perhaps the next generation will think of him as that guy who wrote about crows’ eggs.” –New York Times ARTSBEAT blog“A vivid picture-book edition with robust and suitably disquieting illustrations by Sophie Blackall.” –Wall Street Journal

This story, written Christmas of 1944 my Aldous Huxley for his niece, tells the story of Mr. and Mrs. Crow, who live in a cotton-wood tree at Pearblossom. Due to the Rattlesnake living at the bottom of the tree, Mrs. Crow's eggs are never able to hatch. After catching the snake eating her 297th egg that year (she does not work on Sundays), Mrs. Crow requests that Mr. Crow go into the hole and kill the snake. Thinking better of it, Mr. Crow confers with his wise friend, Mr. Owl. Mr. Owl bakes mud into two stone eggs and paints them to resemble Mrs. Crows eggs. These dummy eggs are left in the nest to trick the Rattlesnake, who unknowingly eats them the next day. When the eggs get to his stomach, they cause the Rattlesnake such pain, that he thrashes about, tying himself in knots around the branches. Mrs. Crow goes on to hatch "four families of seventeen children each" and "uses the snake as a clothesline on which to hang the little crows' diapers."

Written in 1944 by Aldous Huxley as a Christmas gift for his niece, The Crows of Pearblossom tells the story of Mr. and Mrs. Crow, who live in a cottonwood tree. The hungry Rattlesnake that lives at the bottom of the tree has a nasty habit of stealing Mrs. Crow's eggs before they can hatch, so Mr. Crow and his wise friend, Old Man Owl, devise a sneaky plan to trick him. This funny story of cleverness triumphing over greed, similar in tone and wit to the work of A. A. Milne, shows a new side of a great writer. Paired with stunning illustrations by Sophie Blackall, this timeless tale is sure to grab the attention of many readers—adults and children alike.Praise for The Crows of Pearblossom“With Huxley’s mordant wit in ample supply, this tale will entertain literary novelty seekers.” –Publishers Weekly “Huxley’s story starts good and grim—just the thing to hold a young audience.” –Kirkus Reviews “A rather charming children’s book. The story is clever, wittily told and bristles with spiky humor — and it could quite possibly become a new favorite among schoolchildren. In the reissued edition, Brooklyn-based illustrator Sophie Blackwell transforms the chapter book into a picture book. Huxley’s standing as one of the grandfathers of dystopian Y.A. is already established. Perhaps the next generation will think of him as that guy who wrote about crows’ eggs.” –New York Times ARTSBEAT blog“A vivid picture-book edition with robust and suitably disquieting illustrations by Sophie Blackall.” –Wall Street Journal