The Kitchen Knight: A Tale of King Arthur [Paperback]

Margaret Hodges (Author), Schart Hyman (Illustrator), Trina Schart Hyman (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1993 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Retells the first part of "The Tale of Sir Gareth of Orkney"--one of the most exciting and entertaining of the stories about King Arthur and his knights--which first appeared in Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur. The noble Gareth vanquishes the dreaded Knight of the Red Plain and wins the hand of a fair maiden in this classic for children.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3 Up-- While this tale is retold in most adaptations of Arthurian legend, it is not readily available in a single, lavishly illustrated version such as this one. The story is of Gareth of Orkney, Gawaine's brother, who hides his identity to serve a year as a kitchen boy in King Arthur's court, and his quest to the Perilous Gard in the company of Linette, who also hides her identity and reviles him throughout their journey to rescue her sister, Linesse. He falls in love at first distant sight of Linesse, who checks him out by kidnapping his dwarf, but decides he's worthy and agrees to marry him. There is a lot more to the story, of course, and Hodges gets in all the essentials that Malory included, leaving out some unexplained characters and repetitive battles. She also leaves out Gareth's comment that he doesn't listen to women, anyway. Just as well, even though it's a comment appropriate to its time, and quite telling about chivalry. Linesse's testing of a man who saved her life may be understood to be wise in a time when women were kidnapped and treated as property. The loose ends tend to be Malory's own. This does not tell in quite the straight line of Gawaine's adventure with the loathly damsel, told also by Chaucer's Wife of Bath. Hyman's richly romantic illustrations are lush watercolors, framed and broken with framed insets for closeups and framed text inside the panoramic picture. The format is horizontal, capturing the sweep of the story. While not a tale of King Arthur, it's a wonderful taste of Arthurian legend, hopefully whetting young appetites for more. --Helen Gregory, Grosse Pointe Public Library, MI
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the School & Library Binding edition.

Review

"Dramatic...A beautifully illustrated medieval story." (Booklist )

"A grand tale in a handsome edition." (Kirkus Reviews ) --Booklist

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Holiday House (December 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823410633
• ISBN-13: 978-0823410637
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 9.5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #313,736 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #15 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Popular Characters > Book Characters > King Arthur
  • #36 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Literature > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths > Arthurian
  • #57 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Ages 4-8 > Picture Books

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You have to be a fan to love it, July 12, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Kitchen Knight: A Tale of King Arthur (School & Library Binding)

I am a hardcore Trina Schart Hyman fan, so this book is just another in my collection of her art work. The pictures are stunning. My kids spend hours looking at the pictures. The Red night, blue night, black night theme does get a little old though. The story is about a strange man who comes to King Arthur to ask three favors. After a year, the stranger sets off to free a princess trapped in a tower. He has to face many knights along the way and proves his worthyness in doing so.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book. Well written and great illustrations., October 18, 1999

By 

[e-mail] ([e-mail]) (Texas, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Kitchen Knight: A Tale of King Arthur (School & Library Binding)

I bought this book for a report in my British Literature class. The assignment was to find a children's book related to the medieval period. I read it and enjoyed it thoroughly. The text is easy to follow and the pictures are great. Great book for any child, boy or girl.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best Arthurian Tales, February 23, 2009

By 

Marco Antonio Abarca (Colorado) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Kitchen Knight: A Tale of King Arthur (Paperback)

The King Arthur stories are foundational stories to which all young children should be exposed. Unfortunately, some authors take the approach of compressing the many stories into one volume. This approach has the value of consistency but unfortunately strips out a lot of the meaning of the stories. A better approach is to take the individual stories and re-work them so that young children can understand them.

The story of the "Kitchen Knight" is one of the best stories in the Arthurian cycle. Unforutnatley, it is also one of the stories with so much odd detail. Margeret Hodges does a beautiful job of boiling down the story to its essential parts. In addition, Trina Schart Hyman's wonderful illustrations add yet another level of pleasure to the story. Highly recommended.