What If You Met A Knight?

What If You Met a Knight?

From School Library JournalGrade 4-8-Adkins debunks the romantic ideas about knights and chooses to show the real deal, instead. He starts with Arthur and the Round Table, explaining how troubadours and storytellers spread pretty tales that had little basis in reality. He explains the feudal system and describes the life of Sir Guy of Wareham, who spent his days running his large farm. He served as a merchant, a banker, and even as the local judge, and was responsible for the health and safety of not only his wife and children, but also all of the peasants who lived on his land and worked for him. Using a question-and-answer format, Adkins holds readers interest by including details that humanize the information. While the approach is inviting and the narrative is lively and full of facts, the format may be a bit off-putting. The main text is in a standard-size font, but a great deal of additional material is in much smaller, captionlike paragraphs. The illustrations are numerous, intricate, and beautifully rendered, but smallish. Although most of the depictions are innocuous, one shows a beheading by sword. An excellent extended-reading resource and a good choice for children interested in the period.-Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christophers School, Richmond, VACopyright ? Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Forget jousts and quests and dragons--a real knight had real work to do, lots of mouths to feed, and trouble could ride over the hill at any moment. Castles were dark, armor was uncomfortable, and jousts and tournaments (not to mention real battles) were dangerous--and expensive. As in the popular and successful What If You Met a Pirate? an informative, entertaining text and energetic illustrations, diagrams, and cross sections combine to explore a subject with loads of kid appeal.From BooklistGr. 3-5. Calling himself scribe and illuminator rather than writer and illustrator, Adkins sets out to debunk some common misconceptions about knights, and he does so with style and wit. Against the popular view of knighthood as "a good life of outdoor fun and high deeds for dedicated heroes," he places a realistic portrayal of an actual knight, Sir Guy of Wareham, an irritable fellow who must supervise and protect his peasants, satisfy his warlord's demands, pay his tithe to the Church, settle disputes, administer justice, and decide what to plant, when to harvest, and how to provide enough food and fuel for the winter. Light in approach but quite informative, the text ably explains the feudal system, the business of knighthood, and the origins of legends such as King Arthur and dragons, and also discusses castles, arms, and the Crusades. Throughout the book, colorful, detailed illustrations and captions provide information even as they open windows on the medieval world. Particularly good for visual learners, this slender book offers a fine introduction to knighthood. Carolyn PhelanCopyright ? American Library Association. All rights reservedAbout the AuthorJan Adkins, called "the consummate teacher" by David Macaulay, is the author and illustrator of more than three dozen books covering history, technology, and many other topics. They include Bridges: From My Side to Yours ("An outstanding book for reference and enjoyment"--The Horn Book) and What If You Met a Pirate? (see page 30). Jan Adkins lives in Novato, California.