Customer Reviews

The Magna Charta

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My 13 year old and I have read "The Magna Charta" together and both learned an enormous amount of information concerning not only the Magna Charta but the history surrounding this document and the rulers who opposed or were forced into the signing of this Charta.

This book is written for the Middle School level and my son needed some help with pronunciation, definitions and discussion as we read. Many new concepts were introduced including how Kings ruled their lands during the Medieval time period, relationships between the Pope and King, the transfer of lands and dictatorship, relationships and fighting between rulers of different lands, the development of laws to protect the Kings people, and the progression and refinement of Charters which lead to the Magna Charta.

Although the focus of this book is primarily on King John's life and his influence on the Magna Charta, this book is highly recommended for middle schoolers who would also like to learn about past rulers including King Henry, King Richard, King John, Stephen Langton, and other interesting subjects such as the Crusades, The Sheriff of Nottingham, Castles, Runnymede, the Siege of Rochester, the Pope, Hubert de Burgh, the Treaty of Lambeth, and very early American History related to the Magna Charta.

My daughter, husband and I all three found this to be a wonderful book. The story was told in a fashion that held the interest of all of us! Learned much from reading this and my 11 year old said she very much liked reading this book.
Essential and interesting way to tie together the Magna Charta to U.S. history.

This is such a great way to learn about The Magna Carta and the very interesting character of King John, as well as the other prominent people involved in this landmark historic event. Daugherty's writing style is very entertaining with its large dose of humor & light sarcasm. I am looking forward to reading more of his books with great expectations. The best way to learn history is through wonderful storytelling just like this. Both I and my 12 year old son loved it. Recommended highly!!

Its quite good if you want to know the sequence of events which lead the signing, and a quick insight into life of the period in general. But the final chapter is the author's own personal opinion, and he undercuts this otherwise wonderful work by supporting things which are total opposite of what this document symbolizes. He seems to be an FDR new dealer, and he tries to draw a straight line - formt he Magna Charta to the English Bill of Rights to the American Constitution and STRAIGHT INTO the creation of the UN and FDR's promise of 'freedom from want, freedom from fear' (i.e, socialism. who else can provide you 'freedom from want', whatever that means?) - the exact opposite of the political freedom and check on arbitrary power that this document came to represent.

in short - good reading, skip the political preaching at the end

The Magna Charta is an excellent resource for middle school students or anyone interested in a very readable historical narrative of The Great Charter. The first 130 pages cover events leading up to the signing of the charter while the remainder of the book decribe more recent charters of freedom that can trace their roots back to the Magna Charta.

Don't be put off by the negative review of the author's positive analysis of the U.N. Charter. This is in reference to the very last page of the book and in no way tarnishes the other 168 pages of great reading.

My eleven year old son loves the middle ages and wanted something to read that was not historical fiction. I had a hard time finding age appropriate material. I bought this not sure if it would be interesting enough, or too old-fashioned, but he loves it. He thanked me for buying it for him. Highly recommended.

I use this book in my middle school Civics classes to teach the history of the Magna Carta (Charta) and how it influenced countless countries and documents as the most important document ever created. As we approach the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta (Charta) in 2015, having well-written books about the Magna Carta like this one will be invaluable. My students that hate to read love this book and fight to take turns to read aloud!! Only downside is it is very pro-King Richard and anti-King John without recognizing the faults of Richard and the horrendous situation he put John in. But that aside, this book is great for middle or high school students. It may be old, but it is a fabulous book---------teachers and students, buy it!

This book was donated by the East San Gabriel Valley Republican Women Federated to the Covina Public Library. The Book was chosen by the Children's Librarian.