''Dinner at Alberta's'' is a children's book written by Anglo American author

Russell Hoban Russell Conwell Hoban (February 4, 1925 – December 13, 2011) was an American writer. His works span many genres, including fantasy, science fiction, mainstream fiction, magical realism, poetry, and children's books. He lived in London fro ...

. Aimed at the pre-middle grade reader, it was originally published in 1972 but has had various editions by

Red Fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus ...

and

Penguin Books Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...

in 1992. It was illustrated by James Marshall.

Plot

Arthur Crocodile has very dubious table manners, playing with the

cruet A cruet (), also called a caster, is a small flat-bottomed vessel with a narrow neck. Cruets often have a lip or spout and may also have a handle. Unlike a small carafe, a cruet has a stopper or lid. Cruets are normally made of glass, ceramic, ...

set while waiting for his food and splashing

ravioli Ravioli (; : ''raviolo'', ) are a type of stuffed pasta comprising a filling enveloped in thin pasta dough. Usually served in broth or with a sauce, they originated as a traditional food in Italian cuisine. Ravioli are commonly square, though ...

sauce on his sister. He refuses to do anything about it until his sister invites her new best friend, Alberta, for dinner and Arthur sets out to impress her.

Critical reception

''Dinner at Alberta's'' garnered mostly favourable reviews on publication. ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' called it "Sly and scampish". It describes the pairing of Hoban and Marshall as a match made in heaven.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dinner At Alberta's British children's books 1975 children's books Books by Russell Hoban