Trinkets of Terror: A Tale of the Raven and Its Collection of Tarnished Treasures
Raven Tomes
Virefire Publishing (May 5, 2026)
Reviewed by Nora B. Peevy
In Celtic and Native American lore, ravens have the reputation of being smart, beguiling, and oftentimes tricksters, but in Trinkets of Terror: A Tale of the Raven and Its Collection of Tarnished Treasures, Raven takes on another roll-protection of her people. In this collection of thirteen tales, Raven watches human folly again and again. She doesn’t understand why humans have to get their hands on anything the shiny or mysterious and because of her frustration with their behavior, she finds herself getting into some wild capers, which nearly take her life a time or two. But then again… she’s Raven, the magical bird, so would she really die? She tries incessantly to help the humans in the book, but her warnings fall on death ears, so after the dust has settled, she carries trinkets to her nest, reminders of what has befallen certain people to keep others from falling into a similar fate.
What I adored about this book was it was a light horror book like a set of camping tales. It was just enough terror to keep you interested, but not so much that you felt weighed down by the storytelling. The creative imagery at each of the chapters, done in monochromatic tones of blue were stunning and only leant to the book’s appeal. And then there was the twisting, fallen feather at the end of each page, which tied the entire book together for me. The feather was so graceful and calming to look at. It was your protector throughout the book. You knew you were safe and nothing bad would happen as long as those feathers were around. I think my favorite story was the one where Raven bought a timepiece at a secondhand store and her reflection started acting oddly without her. That was creepy.
These stories would be wonderful to share with your children at a campsite or after dinner curled up on the couch or before bed. If you are looking for more Raven stories, I suggest looking up some of the Native American trickster stories for children to get better acquainted with like How Raven Stole the Sun by Maria Williams, Raven: A Trickster Tale from the Pacific Northwest: A Caldecott Honor Award Winner by Gerald McDermott, or A Raven and Clever Elephant: Bedtime stories for kids by Okongor Ndifon. Raven Tomes’s book fits well within this circle of mythology. Her use of whimsy and wit served her well in this book and I would love to see this turned into an entire series of a menagerie of animals.
