A Medieval Castle (Inside Story) [Paperback]

Fiona Macdonald (Author)

Book Description

Grade Level: 5 and up | Series: Inside Story

Step inside a medieval castle and discover for yourself what it was like to live and work inside its massive walls. Superb illustrations and thoroughly researched information provide a vivid and intimate look at every aspect of castle life. You will see the craftsmen and builders at work, witness a great dinner in the main hall, learn about the life of the lord and lady, learn how a page became a knight, and more.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-7-- Two attractively designed series entries that make learning history pleasurable. Informative, colorful cutaway illustrations in conjunction with Macdonald's well-researched texts and captions present accurate and understandable glimpses into their topics. A Medieval Castle covers the planning and construction of the castle and outlying buildings, and gives a description of the inhabitants' way of life. The larger community of laborers, servants, knights, minstrels, and farmers are all included. The approach here is very different from that of David Macaulay's Castle (Houghton, 1977), which focuses on the physical construction. While there are many books on railroads themselves, the stations seldom receive much attention. A 19th Century Railway Station explains how they were built, financed, and decorated, and how train travel affected the lives of people at that time. Railroad employees and their jobs are also detailed. Both books are packed with information, resulting in a somewhat crowded look. They reflect their British origins in the spelling of certain terms and in the choice of examples cited. The marvelously detailed pictures, however, make up for any other small problems. For reports and recreational reading alike. --Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, County of Henrico Public Library--Fairfield Area Library, Richmond, VA
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Reviewed with Jacqueline Morley's A Shakespearean Theater .

Gr. 5-8. These entries in the Magnifications series use an intriguing visual approach to introduce their subjects. On each spread, large, technically detailed cutaway illustrations combine with smaller inset artwork to offer magnified views. The captions are full of great facts. Castle introduces readers not only to tradition designs and construction methods, as in David Macaulay's excellent Castle (1977), but also to feudal society. Children with an interest in the weapons and warfare of the time will be particularly interested in the several spreads devoted to castle defense, weaponry, and gory siege tactics. A Shakespearean Theater offers a quick overview of theatrical history, beginning with the Greeks and then covering theatrical buildings and lives of players as well as providing a glimpse of the thrilling, filthy streets of sixteenth-century London. Despite some cramped spreads and some small type, the visual approach manages to combine a browser-friendly format with enough factual substance to support basic reports. A chronology and a glossary are appended. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Brighter Child (January 15, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0872262588
• ISBN-13: 978-0872262584
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #678,375 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a sneak hit., September 12, 2011

By 

M. Heiss (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Medieval Castle (Inside Story) (Paperback)

This is an illustrated book on castles that also shows medieval life from the peasantry to the nobility.

We found this book to be terrific for our younger boys; not too many grim details. This is a very enjoyable book.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Text-Weak Illustrations, December 30, 2010

By 

Marco Antonio Abarca (Colorado) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Medieval Castle (Hardcover)

If you are going to write a book about castles for the children, "Castle" by David Macaulay is the elephant in the room. Macaulay is such a gifted illustrator and writer that a competing castle book needs to do something different. Luckily Macaulay is so interested in the construction techniques of building a castle, he leaves room for a book that can address the social and military fuctions of a castle.

Fiona MacDonald is a talented children's writer who has been entrusted to literally write hundreds of non-fiction children's book. In "Medieval Castle" MacDonald comes through with a well written and informative text. Unfortunately, the illustrator Mark Bergin is not up to his best in this book. Usually, he can be counted on to provide excellent accompanying illustrations. Unfortunatley, Bergin hits a real wall in "Medieval Castle". Many of his drawings have serious problems with perspective. In my opinion, Andrew Langely's "Castle at War" does a much better job of addressing the social and military aspects of a medieval castle. Peter Dennis' illustrations are first rate and will captivate child and parent alike.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 1000 AD, June 17, 2009

By 

Joseph Adams "brother" (Superior, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Medieval Castle (Hardcover)

This went from 1000 AD to 1450 AD to gain territory. The king divided lands to barons who sold it to the knights, freemasons found work and most people were peasants. The first castles appeared about 1070 AD and were built from timber. By the 12th century they were stone with a huge keep. By the 1300s the size increased. By 1350 castles were a small town. Most had a church. They had a drawbridge over the moat. Jousting was popular and by the 14th century knights wore full plate armor. If you weren't wealthy enough you remained a career squire.