Crispin - The Cross Of Lead [Hardcover]

Avi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2003

It was published by permission from Hyperion Books.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press; 2nd Thus. edition (2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439577756
• ISBN-13: 978-0439577755
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #266,261 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #3 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Individual Sports > Juggling

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Let Me Have a Soul, That I Too May Sing and Dance., August 22, 2006

By 

Jonathan Stephens "Jonathan Stephens" (Huntington Beach, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crispin - The Cross Of Lead (Hardcover)

"I keep asking myself if I felt different, if I was different. The answer was always yes. I was no longer nothing."

What's so important about a name? Does it give you something? Does it lay out a path for you to follow? Does it tell you who you are?

Crispin doesn't know his name because his father died years ago in the plague. "Asta's Son" is all anyone has ever called him. Doing their best to survive in meager conditions, he and his mother live among the poorest of the poor in fourteenth-century medieval England. Until his mother dies. Then, on a midnight trip to Father Quinel's quarters to learn the truth about his father, Crispin interrupts John Aycliffe, the steward in those parts, meeting secretly with a strange man in the forest.

Next thing Crispin knows, Father Quinel has been murdered and people are trying to kill him. He is labeled a Wolf's Head, which means anyone who finds him can kill him without impunity. On the run from everything relating to his prior life, without a name or a plan, he is stopped by an enormous man who calls himself Bear. In exchange for letting him live, Crispin if forced to vow service to Bear as his Master now. Where this will take Crispin, he doesn't know, but he isn't sure he wants to find out. People are still hunting for him, but why? And how will he ever find a new life under these conditions?

Avi's CRISPIN: THE CROSS OF LEAD tells the heartmoving story of a young boy in search for his name, and not just any name, a name he can live by. Set against the backdrop of medieval Christianity, Crispin's prayer is this: "Let me play the music well. Let me be a credit to my master. And I beg Thee, let me have a soul, that I too may sing and dance."

Reviewed by Jonathan Stephens

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read-Aloud Book, September 8, 2008

By 

T. Leach "Jr." (Mid-West) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crispin - The Cross Of Lead (Hardcover)

Let's see, what else can be said here that isn't already said? Crispin is easily (and consistently) summarized as it is a simple story, clearly told, that hangs an intriguing and imaginative tale on a skeleton of a few basic facts. The scene and scenary are actually quite foreign to the modern child, but Avi's delivery renders 14th century England in the times of Edward (sounds knowledgeable, doesn't it?), feudal rule, and the Black Death accessible. Those days sucked. Against this backdrop we are introduced to a sad and seemingly helpless orphan who meets his circumstances with a mix of terror, courage, cunning, and happenstance. Crispin fights to stay alive and escape from those who would unjustly kill him, and he meets a friend and protector in the process. The two journey to the city of Great Wexley for what turn out to be a showdown. As can be expected, the plot builds to an exciting and "unbelieveable" climax, and keeps the reader entertained and engaged along the way.
I read this one aloud to my pre-teen kids and they loved it. I don't know if they captured the sense of how miserable life at that time was, because the book sugar coats things a bit (although the observant reader's skin will crawl with the sensation of fleas and filth).
This is my first Avi book and I loved it. Highly recommended.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Crispin, April 2, 2008

By 

R 180 "Read 180 class" (Salem,OR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crispin - The Cross Of Lead (Hardcover)

Crispin is a book by Avi. This book is about a boy named Crispin but everyone calls him Asta's son. Asta dies and from there Crispin's world gets out of hand. Out of nowhere Crispin gets accused of stealing and is now known as the "wolf's head", which means anyone can kill him on sight. So he runs away from his village with some guy names bear. From there they begin there adventure. This book is pretty good. I recommend this book to anyone .It's a book that once you start reading it you wont want to put it down. It's full of adventure and mystery.