going medieval, newbery-style

I told myself I couldn't check out anymore Newberies until I was all caught up on my reviews. And then I checked out three more today! So much for my resolve. I thought I'd throw a few more reviews on here while I had a minute.



Maybe the Middle Ages are a hot setting for Newberries or maybe it was just the luck of the draw in the last batch I read. Whatever it was, things were very medieval around here. I learned a lot about"flagons" and "mead."

Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray (1943)

A mild, non-threatening story about 11-year old Adam traveling with his minstrel father and loyal dog in 13th century England. When the beloved spaniel is stolen, Adam ventures off on his own to find him, meeting many adventures along the way. I have read several of the older Newberies lately and have a huge list of complaints about many of them (blech, Roller Skates!) but this one isn't one of them. True, it wouldn't challenge today's young readers to look at anything in a new way and it doesn't pack any emotional punch, but it is vaguely educational and tells a sweet story. And maybe that's just fine! The book entertained me and put a smile on my face - that's a perfectly acceptable way of standing the tests of time. I also loved the illustrations by Robert Lawson (Newbery winning author of Rabbit Hill.)

Crispin, the Cross of Lead by Avi (2003)

Young boy, alone on the road, in the company of a minstrel....what, is this sounding familiar? This is the Adam of the Road reboot! More grit and more edge for today's kids! Accused of a crime he didn't commit and desperate to learn more about his mysterious heritage, Crispin flees his village and meets up with a minstrel who opens his eyes about the injustic of the feudal system and gives Crispin the courage to fight it. Really well-written (this is Avi's 50th book, after all) and packed full of suspense, this is a fast-paced read that would definitely speak to male readers. Two sequels follow.

The Trumpter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly (1929)

Hey, how many Poles does it take to read this book? Two - one to read the book, the other to prop his eyelids open while he reads! Ha, ha! Get it? Get my subtle reference to how boring the book was? Okay, so really it was kind of boring. The story of a family fleeing their home with a secret they can only reveal to the King of Poland, there is some element of drama and a fair amount of history in this lengthy read. Based loosely on an old Polish legend about a brave young trumpeter during a Tarter seige of the city in the 13th century. The author was a professor of medieval Polish history so, between interesting plot-driven segments, a lot of the book reads like a text book. The most interesting and poignant part of the book was the author's forward which references Poland's war-torn history and prays that it will now find peace in a new century. The foreward was written in 1926. *sigh*

The Whipping Boy by Sid Flesichman (1987)

Short, playful story of a bratty prince who runs away with his whipping boy, gets into a series of adventures, and returns home humbled, generous, and kind. Run-ins with hilarious characters such as Hold-Your-Nose Billy and Besty and her dancing bear, Petunia. The book took me only 30 minutes to read and is one of the few Newberies I've read that will work for a really young audience. Interestingly, Sid Fleischman is the father of Paul Fleishchman who won the Newbery two years later. Like father, like son!

I know I still have a few medieval Newberies still left on my list - The High King and The Door in the Wall, just to name a few off the top of my head - but I hope my random number generator spares me for a while. Please, no more "flagons"! At least, not for a while.