The Adventures of Sir Lancelot the Great (Knights' Tales) [Hardcover]

Gerald Morris (Author), Aaron Renier (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: Knights' Tales

Many years ago, the storytellers say, the great King Arthur brought justice to England with the help of his gallant Knights of the Round Table. Of these worthy knights, there was never one so fearless, so chivalrous, so honorable, so…shiny as the dashing Sir Lancelot, who was quite good at defending the helpless and protecting the weak, just as long as he’d had his afternoon nap. Behold the very exciting and very funny adventures of Lancelot the Great, as only acclaimed Arthurian author Gerald Morris can tell them.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3–6—Sir Lancelot as a lighthearted, comic figure? Mais oui! Although he is the envy of every man and the object of desire for every woman, he's more concerned about keeping his armor shiny and taking naps than anything else. He's witty and clever and deftly defeats all challengers. With aplomb, Sir Lancelot even handles being shot in the bum with an arrow. Ultimately, he gets so weary from being confronted and chased that he decides to become a hermit. Guinevere's honor needs saving, however, and Lancelot returns. Illustrations, many full page, are scattered throughout. Not for the Arthurian purist, this easy-to-read tale will delight nonetheless. The book's brevity and humor make it accessible to reluctant readers, and it is a fantastic read-aloud.—Cheri Dobbs, Detroit Country Day Middle School, Beverly Hills, MI
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From Booklist

Written for a younger audience than that of Morris’ Squire’s Tales series, this book kicks off The Knights’ Tales series with an episodic story about Sir Lancelot. In the long tradition of writers choosing elements from Arthurian lore, embellishing them, and creating their own versions of the stories, Morris fashions a tale in nine chapters that will appeal to readers with a greater appetite for adventure and comedy than for romance and tragedy. The book opens with Lancelot joining King Arthur’s court after defeating a string of knights at a tournament, and continues with a series of journeys and heroic combats. These are followed by Lancelot’s year as a hermit and with the knight’s returning to court to save Queen Guinevere from an evil plot and rejoin the Round Table. The art catches the tone of the writing in the often-amusing ink drawings. A promising series debut for young readers intrigued by chivalrous deeds of daring. Grades 3-5. --Carolyn Phelan

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (May 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618777148
• ISBN-13: 978-0618777143
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #754,133 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars But where in the world is there in the world a man so extraordinaire? C'est lui., June 12, 2008

By 

E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird" (Manhattan, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Adventures of Sir Lancelot the Great (Knights' Tales) (Hardcover)

I wonder just how long Gerald Morris can continue to fly under the radar? By all rights the man should be as well-known and rich as Brian Jacques and the like. His "Squire's Tales" set in the world of King Arthur are funny, smart, and harbor just the right mix of authenticity and plumb good writing. They are, however, generally written for older kids. The tween to teen market, if you will. As a children's librarian, however, I notice that it's often younger kids that are asking for King Arthur stories. Kids that are reading on their own but still need books that are around 92 rather than 350 pages to sustain their interest. Kids, basically, who just want some early chapter books about Camelot and the Round Table. Up until now I was up a tree when this sort of request wafted my way. My children's room has picture books and long chapter books and not much in between for this particular brand of reader. Now that problem has been solved and it is entirely due to an author who could not have been a better choice for this subject matter. As the first in his "Knights' Tales" series, "The Adventures of Sir Lancelot the Great" takes its cues from classic legends and then renders them not only readable but hilarious.

Considered the greatest of King Arthur's knights, not many kids know that Lancelot was a prince in France before he was a legend. Having heard tales of King Arthur and his knights of Camelot, Lancelot wanted nothing more than to go and be accepted as a knight. After accidentally defeating all of Arthur's knights in a tournament, Lancelot is hailed as a great warrior... which of course gives every young upstart in the territory just the excuse they need to go and attack him. Morris examines some Lancelot stories where he must defend himself in odd situations alongside tales where is tricked, does the tricking, and always continues to hold onto his ideals. By the end of these stories (there are roughly five different ones of varying length) there is little doubt left in the reader's mind as to who was the greatest knight of all.

What I like about this book is that the author has been careful to insert fun and quirky ideas that rarely interfere with the book's overall story. For example, when Lancelot accidentally wins a tournament, it's paired with the fact that he's a bit vain and likes his armor to be extra shiny. So, as he shines his armor with one hand, he defeats a series of knights that keep attacking him with the other. A goofy twist, but one that is consistent with the Lancelot personality we've encountered in other formats and texts. In an odd twist of fate my husband ended up reading Le Morte D'Arthur at the same time that I was reading Morris' book. As a result, we started to compare notes. I'd say to him,

"There's a story in here of a lady who tricks Lancelot into taking up his armor and climbing a tree!"

He would answer, "It's in this book too!"
Then, "My book has a story where Lancelot stops a guy from killing his wife. Then the guy saying, `Hey, Lancelot, look over there!' And when he does then the guy chops off his wife's head. Is that in yours?"

I consulted my own book. "Nope."

Paired with Morris is a Mr. Aaron Renier, who has drawn accompanying pen-and-ink illustrations to go with this book. Some of you may recognize his style from his Top Shelf graphic novel Spiral-Bound. Like Morris, Renier is also from Wisconsin and this Arthurian series complements his particular style perfectly. For the goofiness of some of these tales you need an illustrator with comic book sensibilities. Renier has that in spades, but he never goes too goofy. Even on a picture where Lancelot has an arrow sticking out of his tuchis, the remainder of the scene is beautifully rendered. All tall grasses and bare trees. You get the distinct sense that Renier cares about his subject matter. All the kids will care about, though, is that he makes the book more fun to read.

And it really is fun. Clearly Morris had to do a little editing before he could make this book child-friendly. Some nips and tucks, if you will. Consider, for example, the ending. It contains the sentence, "...and that was how Sir Lancelot returned to Camelot, where he remained the rest of his life, faithfully defending the defenseless, even when it interfered with his afternoon naps." Ah. Well, I can't claim to know my Arthurian lore well enough to say that there isn't a version of Lancelot's story out there somewhere where he did stay on at Camelot "the rest of his life." I do know, though, that there are bound to be several kids out there who already know the whole Lancelot/Guinevere angle, get to the end of this book, and then complain vociferously when they find it completely and utterly missing.

Gaps exist in every library collection there is, often because publishers never got around to putting out titles to fill them. Now one such a gap can be corrected, and hopefully everyone who has ever had an eight-year-old Arthur fan on their hands will note and stock Morris' latest while it remains in print. I'll certainly be looking forward to other books in this series as they come out. Exciting high-adventure for the Captain Underpants set.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Kids @ Teens Read Too, August 13, 2008

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Adventures of Sir Lancelot the Great (Knights' Tales) (Hardcover)

Everyone knows the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. And everyone knows that Sir Lancelot was the most famous and bravest night of the group. Mr. Morris has taken the story of Lancelot and made it entertaining and fun for readers of all ages.

THE ADVENTURES OF SIR LANCELOT THE GREAT is the first book in the new THE KNIGHTS' TALES series. In this retelling of Sir Lancelot, Mr. Morris makes Lancelot humorous and quite the whimsical knight.

Lancelot hears that the knights of King Arthur are the best and shiniest in the lands. So he leaves his father and his home country, France, on a quest for the world-famous knights. On his journey, he winds up in a rain storm, making his armor quite muddy. In his attempts to clean his armor to present himself to the Court of King Arthur, he is attacked by sixteen different knights. As his right hand was busy cleaning his armor, he managed to defeat all sixteen by using his left hand. Little did he know, he had stumbled into the midst of a tournament and unknowingly wins.

As with all the adventures in this quick read, Mr. Morris makes the story humorous when it is revealed that this very tournament was for King Arthur himself.

Readers of all ages will delight in the amusing adventures that Lancelot finds himself faced with. He gets caught in a tree, tied up by four queens, and becomes a reclusive forest man. Aiding the storytelling are the equally entertaining illustrations done by Aaron Renier.

I found myself laughing while reading this story and look forward to the next book in the series, THE ADVENTURES OF SIR GIVRET THE SHORT, due out in October 2008.

Reviewed by: Jaglvr

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a great read for a 6 year old, June 8, 2008

By 

L.Emerson "lisanz444" (Palmerston North, New Zealand) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Adventures of Sir Lancelot the Great (Knights' Tales) (Hardcover)

I love all of Gerald Morris's books, but they are all a little advanced for one of my daughters aged 6. So, I was delighted to find this new title written for that age group. I was initially concerned that the language might be a little complex, but I read this aloud to my six year old and she just couldn't stop laughing. She loved the long words and enjoyed saying them after me ("What does recreant mean again, Mamma???"). Highly recommended for girls and boys alike - and parents will enjoy reading it too.