Kids Book Review: King Arthur & the Knights of the Round Table
Kids Book Review: King Arthur & the Knights of the Round Table
And other wholesome books by Sasha Morton & Alfredo Belli
As the father of two young kids, it’s a struggle to find good books for my children to read. The kids book industry is a tough business, illustration costs money that contributes to the cost of production at the expense of less overall text and a much shorter book. Kids books also don’t tend to stay in circulation on the shelves for very long unless they are a pretty immediate success or pick up lots of PR and buzz that makes them “hot” enough to be considered exceptional.
So most of the books my kids read come from Goodwill, kids aren’t very gentle with books and while a new childrens book they may only read a few times costs 8-10 dollars, your local Goodwill will sell them to you for a dollar or less. They are also generally in really good condition because they are given away when the kids reading them “age out” of them to make room for more age appropriate books. With this in mind, the books you will find there are also generally going to be at least a few years old, which staves off some of the more politically subversive books you see flooding the kids section of a Barnes & Noble these days. There is also the problem of too many books, and most of them aren’t really worth buying or reading to your kids more than once, the best indication of “quality” in a kids book for ages 8 and below is one they like reading more than once and actually request. So without further ado:
Beautiful Illustration Helps Simplify a Complex Story:
The first page of the book shows the names and pictures of all the characters in this simplified example of the Arthurian Mythos, as well as their relation to one another. This is useful in demonstrating familial relations that are a little more complex to your child, as well as helping them get used to stories that include more than one or two characters. With my son, we go over each character every time before we read the story which prevents a “WHO’S THAT?” question on every other page.
While the story is not a 1:1 telling of the story of King Arthur, it does try to be pretty comprehensive at the high level. It talks about the white stag, about dragons, about the quest for the holy grail, and the betrayal of Mordred. It tackles lots of very high level issues for a kids book with grace. Marriage, betrayal, death, and fighting, they are all handled in a way to where as a parent you can either gloss over them for now, or explain them more deeply.
The book does a great job of thoroughly demonstrating the values that make Arthur such an iconic role model for young men for centuries, tackling humility, nobility, diligence, valor of arms, and strength of wit and character. It manages to cut out the fluff, use clever illustration to say with pictures what would take many words, while not losing the overall message or compromise the original source material. As a dad I have a million books and other things that I want to share with my kids someday that they are still too young for, and I’m glad that while my son isn’t ready for Gawain and the Green Knight, he can certainly handle this book.
Final Thoughts
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is a surprisingly skillful childrens rendition of the penultimate knightly journey that manages to compact a long and complex saga with a large variety of characters and themes into something a 5 year old can enjoy and understand, without compromising on the integrity of the original story. I highly recommend it to anyone with a young son that they want to get on an early start to learning positive masculine values.
The physical book itself is very robust and resistant to tearing. It is a thin hardcover with thick pages that are going to be difficult for your kids to beat up compared to other cheaper books bound with staples and letter paper.
Where Should You Read This Book?
Before bedtime, while tucking in your child, or on the couch on a lazy rainy weekend.
Where Should You Buy This Book?
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is available on Amazon, a quality hardcover for 6 dollars, this is an outstanding deal. And as long as you’re paying shipping, you may also want to consider the various bible stories with the same author, Sasha Morton, and the same Illustrator, Alfredo Belli.
Buy King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table at this link
When your kids are a little older, I highly recommend The Great Brain series by John D Fitzgerald. Really great lessons about outsmarting everyone, and loyalty and respect to family.
If you're reading to your son, try Howard Pyle's Story of King Arthur and his Knights.
Haven't read it but Pyle's Merry Adventures of Robin Hood are superb, so stands to reason his King Arthur stories would be decent. Robin Hood includes a number of illustrations and annotations which help the reader immerse himself in the details of Merry Old England. For example, you'll learn what makes a clothyard shaft (type of arrow). This (and the fake old English idiom) can seem daunting for a small child but children are naturally gifted at tuning in to new language patterns. Not a problem.
"Now will I make my vow," quoth Little John, "thou art the very best swordsman that ever mine eyes beheld."
...
"Now," quoth Little John, "it doth seem to me that instead of striving to cut one another's throats, it were better for us to be boon companions. What sayst thou, jolly Cook, wilt thou go with me to Sherwood Forest and join with Robin Hood's band? Thou shalt live a merry life within the woodlands, and sevenscore good companions shalt thou have, one of whom is mine own self. Thou shalt have two suits of Lincoln green each year, and forty marks in pay."