Customer Reviews

Crusade in Jeans

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was given this book when I was about 10 Years old (in the original dutch) and I loved it. I still read it, 20-25 years later, at least once a year.
I have read most books witten by Thea Beckman, she is a writer that brings history to life. Her books instilled a love in me for medieval history, to the extend that I am thinking of taking it up again for a degree.
This book is not just a story, the book is full of emotion.
The panic when Rudolf realises that he can't go back home is tangible.
His courage and despairation to make the best of the medieval life as lies before him drips off the pages.
The trust people give him, the friendship from children are so well written. Everybody could do with friends like the one he finds.
It is very funny as well. Dolf has to come to terms with many different issues, one of them being religion and the unshakable faith that the crusade children display.
I read that they are going to make a movie from this book. I can't wait!
In short if you want to read a great memorable book that is more than just a childrens story. This is the one

I loved this book. I still do. I own it in two languages and that is my problem. I love, adore and admire the Dutch version. It is one of the best books ever and not just in the childres's literature section.
I wanted my BF to read it, but as he does not speak, nor read Dutch I bought him the translation. The book is still good but looses that edge that makes Thea Beckman one of the best childrens writers ever.
The scene where Dolf (Rudolf in translation) is accused of heresy just isn't exciting. The waves that do not open it does not give you that urge to read on what is next as the Dutch version does.

Still I give it 5 stars. I cannot do otherwise. It is the book that gave me my love for Medieval History and that is worth 5 stars in itself

As most people that wrote a review about this book, I read it (many times) in Dutch a long time ago.
The book itself is absolutely brilliant, but I was quite shocked by the useless translation.
It must be very hard to read for people that don't speak Dutch, because of a lot of direct translations.

I am aware that this translation is out of print and hopefully, with the (English spoken) film coming up end of this year, it will be followed up with a proper English translation.
Then the whole world should read it - and all the rest of Thea Beckman's books!

I was assigned this book to read in a Dutch class and absolutely fell in love with it. When I borrowed and English version from the library, I found that a lot of the humor and warmth was lost in translation. I wish that the translator had used more colloquial English and relied less on word-for-word. Still, as really very few people speak Dutch, I have to reccomend the English version as it is still a fantastic time travel adventure.

This work by Thea Beckman - inspired by actual historical events - is considered "classic" in the Dutch children's literature (i.e. age 10 and up). True, Thea Beckman's gift to capture the reader from cover to cover, is particularly evident here. In preparation for writing this book, the author spent nearly two years of conducting historical research, including numerous field trips to the respective locations across Europe. In 1974 "Crusade in Jeans" received the European award for the best historical children's novel.

The challenges that the 8.000+ stray children face during their journey through medieval Europe, seem to be as numerous as they are various: no food, no medicine and under threat of constant attack. Equipped with nothing more than his no-nonsense wits and a 20th century kitchen knife, Dolf tries to organize the children's army as effectively as possible and to prepare them for the journey through the mountains and the battles ahead. Yet in the course of the story, Dolf comes to realize that in the end it is true friendship, hope and shared dreams that give people the strength to succeed and to overcome life greatest challenges.

In support of the criticism given by previous reviewers: I would have given it six stars were it not for the bad translation. Too many sentences seem to have been translated too literally - or even completely left out - causing that much of the original intended meaning/feeling is somewhat lost. Hence the four stars.


On a side note: i anticipate the soon-to-be-released movie based on this book; indeed, with such a basis (for the script) the director would have to be extremely clumsy to mess up this one! ;)

I recently read the book again, and enjoyed it at least as much as I did when I first read it, some 20 years ago. The concept of transporting a 15 y/o boy back in time gives a great opportunity to compare the modern, 20th century, science-oriented society with the religion and supersition dominated 13th century. A concept that was very well worked out by Ms Thea Beckman.

This book is about a 15 year old young man named Rudolf who travels into the middle ages on a time machine a scientist of the name Dr Simiak was working on. Rudolf typically known as Dolf, gets sent back into the middle Ages thinking he is going there to watch an event then after a few hours stand on a certain stone and be transmitted back. However when things go wrong Dolf doesnt reach the stone in time and watches as a fellow young boy stood on the stone and dissappeared, being sent to the 20th century while Dolf is stuck in the Middle Ages. The Childrens Crusade was passing through the town at the time Dolf was there. Dolf joing the crusade and becomes a leader. With his 20th century knowledge and leadership qualities he becomes well loved. Read to happen what happens as Dolf takes the Children's Crusade into the mountains and attempt to go to Jerusalem.
This book is a great book. I think people will either LOVE this book or think it is so-so. I read this book as an assignment in school and the fellow stundents all loved it, including me. I love to read and to get 3 stars is typically a great review. This book has high points and then boring points. It starts out really interesting, gets boring, gets a little interesting, gets SUPER boring, gets SUPER SUPER SUPER exciting, to sort of good to interesting. However If i knew that the end of the book would end so interesting i would have been motivated to keep reading. So I hope im the motivation the people need to complete the book which is a fabulous book. This is a fictional book but at the same time teaches you lots about the middle ages, surviving and most of all, the Crusades, specifically the. Childrens Crusade. This Book does seem to have a choppy ending, it seems as if parts of the book could be taken out and nobody would notice nor care. Cannot wait for the movie to come out, it will indeed be a great movie, read the book BEFORE the movie.
This book is really worth your time, dont get frusterated with some of the complex word choices but focus on the unbelievable story behind it all.

I had heard great things about this book, but was really disappointed reading it. There are a lot of historical inaccuracies and anacronisms, and all the action happens "off-stage" so to speak. Hardly anything is actually dramatized, so it all feels very distant. I am very interested in the Children's Crusade, but felt this doesn't capture the medieval mindset at all and does not do a good job of capturing the fervor of the time. Perhaps the original Dutch version is better, but I'm afraid that the English one is to be missed.

This book is a classic in Europe and worth reading for kids age 12 and up, and also adults.

The title of this review, was the original title of the Dutch version. I read most of Thea Beckman's books as a child, and grew immersed into the worlds she managed to recreate by words only, and a child's fantasy.

This book does the same to the reader who is willing to discard all logic ; the concept of a army consisting out of 8000 children leaving Germany for a "holy crusade", and a 20th century child who ends up in the medieval times by a transporter (material transmitter).

The image of 8000 children travelling to Jeruzalem by foot, is a hard one to conjure up, but she makes it work. There is a certain flow in the book, logic in the way things are shown to you, the reader, that makes it work. You see it, in the end.

Sadly enough, I do not believe this to be imagination - Beckman investigated historical events, visited each and every place that she described in her books; the preparation for a book easily could take over a year and a half.

This is a classic bit of Dutch literature - many a generation of children (my sister is 35, 12 years older than I, and she has read it as a child, herself) have read it, albeit for school, or private leisure. I was one of them. And when I saw an English copy - I snatched it up. And found that part of the magic had dissapeared tdue to too strict translation work.

I wouldn't have minded the words not to have corresponded with the orginal text - as long as the general feeling was kept. What there is left is a rather cold, but still entrancing, translation of the original book.

But for those who are not familiar with the Dutch language, this will have to do. And please people, read the book first, then see the movie.