The Ballad of Sir Dinadan (The Squire's Tales) [Hardcover]

Gerald Morris (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up | Series: The Squire's Tales

Young Dinadan has no wish to joust or quest or save damsels in distress or do any of the knightly things expected of him. He’d rather be a minstrel, playing his rebec and writing ballads. But he was born to be a knight, and knights, of course, have adventures.
So after his father forces his knighthood upon him, he wanders toward King Arthur’s court, in the company of a misguided young Welsh lad named Culloch. There Dinadan meets Sir Kai and Sir Bedivere, and the three find themselves accompanying Culloch on the worst sort of quest. Along the way, Dinadan writes his own ballads, singing of honor, bravery, loyalty, and courtly love—and becomes a player in the pathetic love story of Tristram and Iseult. He meets the Moorish knight Palomides, the clever but often exasperating Lady Brangienne, and an elvin musician named Sylvanus, along with an unusual collection of recreant knights and dimwitted defenders of chivalry. He learns that while minstrels sing of spectacular heroic deeds, honor is often found in simpler, quieter ways.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-9-Morris's latest retelling of Arthurian legends introduces a reluctant knight who upholds the noble standards of Camelot in his own way. The likable and unassuming Dinadan, younger brother of the famous Sir Tristram, travels the land, encountering deceptive damsels and foolish knights. His compassion and common sense earn him the respect of many, and his keen wit satirizes the excesses of Arthurian heroism that he observes along the way. The tragic tale of Tristram and Iseult becomes a funny story "about two fools drinking from the wrong flask." Dinadan befriends a would-be knight named Culloch, but can't endure the useless parade of tasks his friend eagerly attempts to win a bride. The humor is accessible; readers don't need to know The Faery Queene to appreciate Dinadan's playful mockery of allegory (or, as he calls it, "saying things by pretending to say something else"). Along with the satire, though, Dinadan succeeds in righting some true wrongs, protecting a young woman he admires, and restoring a deposed king to his throne. Morris's skilled storytelling keeps the tale moving smoothly through various plot strands featuring many characters. The humor ranges from subtle irony to scenes of pure comedy, but never distracts from the engaging plot. Fans of the previous titles or Arthurian legend in general will thoroughly enjoy Sir Dinadan, but it stands on its own as a lighthearted introduction to the period.
Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library, OR
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-9. As he explains in an appended note, Morris takes characters, plot elements, and magical devices from the legends of England and Wales and reweaves them into a new story about Sir Dinadan, who appeared as a minor character in Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur. After his unlikely knighting by his drunken father, Dinadan travels through Britain and learns that while many knights are noble, some are clearly unworthy of the minstrels' praise. Traditionalists may not care for the reinterpretations of well-known characters: Tristram is foolish and babbling, despite his vow of silence, while his beloved Iseult is simpering and malicious. But readers who enjoy reinterpretations and the many who haven't read the old stories will find Dinadan an appealing protagonist. The Moorish knight Palimides, who befriends Dinadan and accompanies him on his travels, is a brand new addition to the novel. A witty tale of adventure and reflection, this is another rewarding entry in the series that began with The Squire's Tale (1998). Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children; Ex-Library edition (March 24, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618190996
• ISBN-13: 978-0618190997
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,910,171 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gerald Morris grew up in Singapore, where his parents were Baptist missionaries. Singapore was a great, safe place to grow up, and he remembers that time with fond nostalgia. (Ditto for being Baptist, actually.) Since reaching adulthood, he has worked as a minister, a religion professor, a landscaper, and a teacher, all to support his predilection for writing children's novels. Or maybe the writing income supports his ministry habit.

He now lives in Wausau, Wisconsin with his wife and three kids. (Okay, one's at college and another's about to go.) There he serves as associate pastor at the First United Methodist Church, writes children's and YA novels (mostly about King Arthur), and still occasionally scapes land.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Ballad of Sir "Dumbledin", March 29, 2003

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Ballad of Sir Dinadan (The Squire's Tales) (Hardcover)

A heroic knight falls in love with the married queen, incurring the wrath of the king. Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot? No, it's a slightly different Arthurian tale, and one that mainly focuses on the musically-inclined Sir Dinadin, who never wanted to be a knight anyway.

Dinadin has always wanted to be a minstrel (especially since his older brother Tristam is a valiant knight), but his father knights him in a drunken stupor and sends him off. After dispatching the knight of a treacherous damsel, Dinadin joins up with a rather dim Welsh knight, Culloch, and ends up at Arthur's court of Camelot. Then he goes off with Culloch, Kai and Bedivere to do knightly things -- including freeing a sharp-tongued lady-in-waiting called Brangienne and Culloch's attempts to win a rather unattractive princess.

Along the way, Dinadin learns that Brangienne is fleeing Queen Iseult, because she knows that Iseult is in love with Tristam, who is wandering around, having taken a vow of silence and unwilling to shut up about it. He also won't shut up about Iseult, with the result that everybody except her husband knows about them. Dinadin teams up with the noble Moor Palomides (who wants to learn what knights are), as Brangienne's safety is jeopardized, and the not-so-secret affair between Tristam and Iseult comes to a dramatic peak.

Morris takes a skip back in time for this book -- it takes place parallel to "The Squire, His Knight And His Lady" and "The Savage Damsel And the Dwarf," though the overlap is only about two paragraphs long. And he handles this story very well and very deftly -- Dinadin doesn't want to become a knight, and he doesn't really have conventional aptitude for it. He'd rather stay home and play his rebec. But his cleverness and ingenuity are what make him a good knight, above and beyond being able to whack things with a sword.

Dinadin is as likable a hero as Morris has penned before, not your typical knight but a solid and admirable one instead. Palomides serves as a good foil, searching for the English ideal knight and finding it where he doesn't expect to; Brangienne is very like Eileen, very witty and smart. Iseult and Tristam are pretty pitiful, and I'm not just talking about the nauseatingly-named "Love Grotto." Tristam thinks he's nothing without a lady to serve, and Iseult is just... well, she's just a lisping ditz with a crazy husband.

As with all his books, there is plenty of humor in this story, ranging from horribly-written ballads to a magical drinking horn to the worst wedding ceremony in history. (Not to mention Kai repeating the ballad line: "Jug jug witta poo poo") It gets a bit more serious near the end, but overall it's much more lighthearted than Morris's fourth Arthurian tale, "Parsifal's Page."

Fans of Morris will definitely like "The Ballad of Sir Dinadin." (Or Sir Dumbledin... Dimbledum... Dinderlin... oh bugger it...) Giving a new twist on the tale of Iseult and Tristam, Morris lets the spotlight shine on the unlikely and capable Dinadin.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Ballad of Gerald Morris, April 1, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ballad of Sir Dinadan (The Squire's Tales) (Hardcover)

Although I didn't find this one as amusing as The Savage Damsel and the Dwarf (my personal favorite)The Ballad of Sir Dinaden is more comic fun from Gerald Morris. While some might find it too predictable, this book is charming in that while it might not be the most mysterious of books, it's certainly one of the more goof humored. Arthurian buffs will be especially excited to note Sir Lamorak's lady love. Yes, that is exactly who you think it is, at least, I hope so.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars We laughed, we cried, we fought over who got to read it first!, April 2, 2007

By 

P. Wilson - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Ballad of Sir Dinadan (The Squire's Tales) (Paperback)

After reading one book by author Gerald Morris, we were addicted! Now my husband (43), my son (12), and myself (37) are fighting over every book in the Squire's Tales series that we can get our hands on! We bought this book because we heard it was "good literature." We had no idea HOW good until we read it. It is clever, witty, sarcastic, adventurous, and inspirational! My husband laughed so hard he cried! It is a very entertaining retelling of the King Arthur stories and Canterbury Tales, complete with knights, castles, princesses, magic, fairies, herbs with healing powers, and quests! The characters as sassy and full of spunk, and there is a new adventure around every corner. We recommended these books to our local library, some of the librarians read one of the books, and they ended up ordering a bunch of the books from The Squire's Tales series for the library. (This book is fifth in the in the series.) It is easy to recommend such a charming and entertaining book!