Knights of the Round Table (A Stepping Stone Book) [Large Print] [Paperback]

Gwen Gross (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 2 and up

imagine a mythic kingdom in England of wizards and witches, fire-breathing dragons, and dreadful giants. Who can rule this magical land? Who can overcome the powers of evil? It is the destiny of King Arthur and his noble knights, who protect and serve the people of Camelot. A perfect introduction to the Arthurian legends.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6 Short chapters relate Arthur's pulling the sword from the stone, Lancelot overcoming the fiery-mouthed dragon, Morgan Le Fay scheming to usurp the throne, Gawain marrying the monster Ragnall to save Arthur, the kitchen knight concealing his identity and Mordred's treachery leading to Arthur's "death." Omitted is Guinevere's adultery. Carelessly, Big Hands is described as hurrying off without sword or shield. However, on the next page, the Black Knight's spear "brushed Big Hands' shield" and Big Hands subdues the knight with his sword! Hurled spears instead of gripped lances in every episode are anachronisms. However, the grade three reading level and large print puts these time-honored adventures within reach of children wanting background related to the latest screen version long before they can manage Howard Pyle or Sir Thomas Malory's editions. The simple vocabulary retains the spirit of the courtly heroics and the colorful pomp of the medieval circumstances. Utilitarian gray pencil and charcoal drawings coordinate closely with the narrative. Both half- and full-page illustrations will lure browsers. Pat Harrington, Phoenix Public Library
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"The grade three reading level and large print puts these time-honored adventures within reach of children long before they can manage Malory's edition. The simple vocabulary retains the spirit of the courtly heroics and colorful pomp."--School Library Journal.  

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (October 12, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394875796
• ISBN-13: 978-0394875798
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.4 x 7.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #159,064 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #8 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Popular Characters > Book Characters > King Arthur
  • #17 in Books > Large Print > Children's Books
  • #19 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Literature > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths > Arthurian

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars There are many better renditions than this!, May 31, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Knights of the Round Table (A Stepping Stone Book) (Paperback)

This is an overly simplistic and poorly written introduction to the Arthur legend. If there weren't many better presentations of these tales for young readers, there might be an excuse for such a substandard rendering. Unless you want your kids to think that writing sentence fragments is preferable to constructing clear complex sentences, you might want to stay away from the entire "Bullseye Step Into Classic" series.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Awful writing, terrible grammar, bad for children, October 1, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Knights of the Round Table (A Stepping Stone Book) (Paperback)

In addition to the ham-handed telling of the story, the writing in these Bullseye books is just terrible. Half-sentences. Written like this. Or this. Part of the value of such books is that young readers will learn to read "chapter books." But the English and grammar in these books is so abysmal as to render them useless for this task. I was very disappointed.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Textbook example of how NOT to write sentences, August 19, 2002

By 

sbrenning (Granbury, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Knights of the Round Table (A Stepping Stone Book) (Paperback)

It is hard to believe a book this poorly written could make past the editors! There were so many run-on and incomplete sentences I had trouble reading it to my daughter. I can only imagine what my second grade daughter went through reading on her own. We will keep this book if only to serve as an example of how NOT to construct sentences. There is a year's worth of grammar exercises in this book.