Amazon.com: The King's Fifth: Scott O'Dell: Books

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Scott O'Dell (1898-1989), one of the most respected authors of historical fiction, received the Newbery Medal, three Newbery Honor Medals, and the Hans Christian Andersen Author Medal, the highest international recognition for a body of work by an author of books for young readers. Some of his many books include The Island of the Blue Dolphins, The Road to Damietta, Sing Down the Moon, and The Black Pearl.

Customer Reviews

17 Reviews

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.2 out of 5 stars (17 customer reviews)

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23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Boy Hoodwinks King, February 15, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The King's Fifth (Hardcover)

Esteban de Sandoval, a map maker, is to stand before the royal audiencia. The royal audiencia is to decide if Esteban is guilty or innocent of withholding the king's fifth he has supposedly hidden. The year is 1541 and the place is the Fortress of Juan de Ulua, near Vera Cruz, New Spain (Mexico). Esteban records his adventures in the Land of Cibola on paper his jailer hs supplied. The jailer has talked Esteban into making a map of where he has hidden the treasure.

The King's Fifth is exciting and very enveloping book. I like how the book is very descriptive. What I don't like is when they use Spanish words and they don't tell you what the words mean. Over all on a scale of one-five, five being the best, I would give the book a five. The plot is great. The story line makes you want to keep on reading at the end of a chapter.The scenery is well described and you feel as if you were there.

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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Among the Best, September 26, 2002

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"bscoles" (Saint Paul, MN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The King's Fifth (Hardcover)

For the last six months or so I have been reading through the Newbery Medal and Award books. The King's Fifth is one of my favorites. This book is filled with unforgettable characters, action, romance, and danger. I especially like the ending, which I won't give away! If you like historical fiction, adventure stories, or just great books, don't miss out. Read this book. May I also suggest my other all-time favorite Newbery winner: AMOS FORTUNE, FREEMAN.

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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Join an exciting search for gold with Spanish explorers., April 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The King's Fifth (Hardcover)

A group of Spanish explorers, led by Captain Mendoza and his guide Zia, set out on an expedition searching for gold. His fellow explorers were: Torres, who took care of the horses, Father Francisco, who came to spread faith to the Indians, Este'ban de Sandoval, who wanted to be the first person to make maps of the uncharted land, and Roa, the drummer. As the group travels on they have many adventures with the Indians. After awhile the group joins several other Spaniards. As they travel on they get into a war and Mendoza's group leaves to find gold in the mountains. Through their adventure up in the mountains they are hit by a storm and are forced to live in a cave for a few days. At the end of the story they steal gold from the Indians which leads to some tragic consequences. You'll need to read the book to find out what happens to the explorers. I would definitely recommend this book because it was very exciting and had lots of action from start to finish.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Spanish Explorer Story
Esteban, a young cartographer, is in prison for refusing to give the king a fifth of the gold discovered on an expedition. Read more

Published 8 months ago by THe Neuro

5.0 out of 5 stars the King"s Fifth
I really enjoyed the book. It was well written. I felt it also showed the mentality of many of the Spanish explorers and missionaries when they were colonizing America.

Published 9 months ago by Freyja Thompson

3.0 out of 5 stars Good But Not Great YA Spanish Conquest Historical Fiction
In my continuing quest to read all that is historical fiction based during the Spanish conquest of the Americas, I finally jumped into Scott O'Dell's "The King's Fifth. Read more

Published 16 months ago by Jason Golomb

4.0 out of 5 stars Of conquistadors, gold, greed, and happiness
Esteban was a cartographer, or map maker, on a ship on the coast of South America. Their ship was to rendezvous with another to make a search for the Cities of Gold. Read more

Published on January 30, 2007 by Chatelaine

3.0 out of 5 stars maybe
the british are coming the british are coming! not really. i did not like this book because it jumped between two different places every chapter which made it confusing. Read more

Published on January 19, 2007

4.0 out of 5 stars A very good tale of what gold thirst can make of a person!
I first heard of the book seeing that it was the original for the Japanese animation series "The Mysterous Cities of Gold" and so, of course, I always wished to read it. Read more

Published on July 30, 2006 by Miriam

4.0 out of 5 stars Blood, Sweat, & Tears
For Grade 8 Language Arts class we are reading this book. It is set in the year 1541, the golden age of Spanish conquest in the Americas, or the "New Spain. Read more

Published on November 23, 2005 by Zhen-An

3.0 out of 5 stars The King's Fifth
This critique is for my seventh grade language arts class. The King's Fifth is a unique book. However, on a scale from 1 to 5 I would only give 3 stars, because there's no realy... Read more

Published on January 22, 2004

3.0 out of 5 stars The Allure of Gold
The King's Fifth is a cultural book dating back to 1541, the Golden Age in Spain. It tells the story of Esteban de Sandoval, a Spanish cartographer who made maps for the... Read more

Published on November 30, 2003 by Kimmy Bettinger

5.0 out of 5 stars Good adventure
i read this book last summer and decided to re-read and i just have to say that it is still a page-turn the second time. Read more

Published on January 5, 2003 by phatmanskater

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Inside This Book (learn more)
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First Sentence:
IT IS DARK NIGHT on the sea but dusk within my cell. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Father Francisco, Captain Mendoza, Don Felipe, Royal Audiencia, Chief Quantah, Vera Cruz, Blue Star, Counsel Gamboa, Red House, Guillermo Torres, Cloud City, Father Marcos, Valley of Hearts, San Pedro, Captain Martin, Captain Coronado, Blas de Mendoza, City of Mexico, Indians of Tawhi, River of Good Guidance, Seven Golden Cities, Admiral Ulloa, Mexico City

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