The Knights of the Kitchen Table #1 (Time Warp Trio) [Paperback]

Jon Scieszka (Author), Lane Smith (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 26, 2004 | Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 2 and up | Series: Time Warp Trio (Book 1)

Everyone’s favorite time-travelers are changing their styles!  The Time Warp Trio series now features a brand-new, eye-catching design, sure to appeal to longtime fans, and those new to Jon Scieszka’s wacky brand of humor.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-5-By Jon Scieszka. Can the Time Warp Trio escape death and destruction and still make it back to the 20th century for lunch?
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From Kirkus Reviews

The author of the hilarious The True Story of the Three Little Pigs (1989) comes up with an entertaining formula in this first ``Time Warp Trio'' story: Narrator Joe is given a magic book (''The Book'') that transports him and two friends to King Arthur's Britain, where they find themselves confronted by a fearsome Black Knight--who's easy to defeat with some quick dodging when he's in mid-charge. Then Lancelot, Gawain, et al. happen by and take the boys for heroes--a reputation they sustain by tricking the loathsome giant who's menacing the castle into fighting the terrible dragon (Smaug) that has also just turned up. Scieszka unobtrusively slips in several classic references and defines some chivalric jargon by having the boys comically paraphrase it; there is some daring juvenile humor on the subject of the giant's various atrocious smells, and the contrast between the boys' breezy manner and the knights' pseudo-formality is also good for several laughs. A little forced, but this should serve its purpose. Smith's drawings deftly reflect the blend of everyday kid with zany, mock-gruesome adventure. See also a simultaneously published sequel, The Not-So-Jolly Roger, reviewed below (in brief). (Fiction. 8-12) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (April 26, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142400432
• ISBN-13: 978-0142400432
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,072 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #4 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( S ) > Scieszka, Jon
  • #8 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > History & Historical Fiction > Fiction > Medieval
  • #15 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > Medieval

More About the Author

Jon Scieszka was born in Flint, Michigan on September 8th, 1954. He grew up with five brothers, has the same birthday as Peter Sellers and the Virgin Mary, and a sneaking suspicion that the characters in his Dick and Jane reader were not of this world. Those plain facts, plus his elementary school principal dad, Louis, his registered nurse mom, Shirley (who once took Jon's Cub Scout den on a field trip to the prenatal ward), Mad Magazine, four years of pre-med undergrad, "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show", an M.F.A. in Fiction from Columbia University, Robert Benchley, five years of painting apartments in New York City, his lovely wife Jeri Hansen who introduced him to Molly Leach and Lane Smith, Green Eggs and Ham, his teenage daughter Casey and almost teenage son Jake, ten years of teaching a little bit of everything from first grade to eighth grade, and the last twenty years of living in Brooklyn...are just some of Jon's answers to the questions, "Where do you get your ideas?" and/or "How did you become a writer?" I don't know, just because, none of your beeswax, and flapdoodle poppycock and balderdash are some more of Jon's answers to questions you can imagine on your own. Jon met up with Lane Smith around 1986 or so, and nothing has been the same since. Their first book, the wiseguy fairy tale retelling, The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! was initially rejected by most publishers as "too weird" and "too sophisticated". Published by Viking in 1989, The True Story has now sold over a million copies, been translated into ten languages, and been called a "classic picture book for all ages". Jon and Lane's The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales (1992) took the world of the picture book a few steps further. Goofing with the conventions of fairy tales and even being a book, The Stinky Cheese Man became a household word, sold another mess of copies in multiple languages, offended a few purists, and still managed to win a Caldecott Honor medal. Math Curse (1995) further stretched the notion of what subjects make good picture books, selling more books faster than either 3 Little Pigs or Stinky Cheese, and winning a whole slew of awards --all for a book full of mathematics.More recently, Jon and Lane have resurrected fables (in the smart, funny, and a little bit wicked way Aesop would have wanted them) in their latest collaboration, Squids Will Be Squids (1998). No telling where they might take the picture book next. Someone once wrote, "Jon Scieszka has forever changed the face of children's literature." And while there is still some confusion over exactly who that someone was, and whether children's literature does, in fact, have a face, most would agree-from The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! to Squids Will Be Squids, since Scieszka put pen to paper, children's literature sure has been...different.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Knights of the Reading Circle, November 27, 1999

By 

M. Hintz - See all my reviews

This review is from: Knights of the Kitchen Table (The Time Warp Trio) (Paperback)

I am a third grade teacher, and every September I start off the new school year with The Knights of the Kitchen Table. I use the Time Warp Trio to ease my students into sitting quietly, while listening to a story for pleasure. After each chapter the children beg me to read another! Regardless of the academic abilities of my students, every one of them seems to truly enjoy this series. Although it is certainly not worthy of a Newbery Medal, I feel it is a fantastic easier chapter book that serves as a springboard to reading. In fact, The Time Warp Trio books are rarely sitting on the shelves of our school library. They are always in a child's hands. To me that makes it worthy of 5 stars.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent series for kids and their parents., April 24, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Knights of the Kitchen Table (The Time Warp Trio) (Paperback)

My son...was given this book by his aunt who works in a library. I had never heard of the Time Warp Trio before that. This book is just right for him. It's not too long to be overwhelming but long enough to be challenging. The kids in the book act in a realistic manner and aren't overly heroic or too goody goody. The book was both interesting and funny and a real pleasure to read with my son. We also have a few others in the series now. This book is perfect for the kid who has outgrown Little Critter and Dr. Seuss but is not quite ready for Harry Potter.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Three youngs boys accidently travel through time., November 26, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Knights of the Kitchen Table (The Time Warp Trio) (Paperback)

I am a fifth grade teacher who read this book, one chapter at a time to my students. After each chapter, they had an activity to work on which related to what they had just read. The students had more fun listening to the story as well as doing the actitivies. Each time I reached the end of a chapter, the students would want me to "keep reading" because each chapter would simply leave you "hanging." It is a fast reading book that any young student would enjoy.