Young Arthur [Hardcover]

Robert D. San Souci (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 6, 1997

To protect his life, Arthur, son of King Uther, was hidden from the court when still a baby. Growing up in Sir Ector's household, Arthur knew nothing of his noble birth. Then one day at a tournament, he forgot to bring a sword for his brother, Kay. Looking for a replacement, Arthur saw a strange sword plunged into a stone. From the moment he released the famous sword he assumed his destiny as the rightful King of England. But there were still battles to be fought, and with Merlin's help and the famous Excalibur at his side, Arthur established a reign of nobility, justice, and wisdom whose fame has lasted to the present day.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This installment of San Souci's Arthurian cycle smoothly retells the stories of the Sword in the Stone and the Lady of the Lake. Ages 5-10.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-5. Through the eyes of San Souci and Henterly, Young Guinevere (1993), Young Lancelot (1996, both Doubleday), and now Arthur grow to promising adulthood in the years before Camelot. Smoothly and with engaging simplicity, San Souci spins the beginnings of Arthur's life from his birth foretold in the stars to the first victorious battle in which he wields Excalibur. There is an easy mix of magic, idealism, and the flesh and bone of heroes. Henterly's lavish color illustrations are riveting. The image of Arthur on the cover, with his piercing blue eyes, is magnetic. From the opening pages in which a fiery dragon shape is seen in the stars over Stonehenge, the artist blends the romance and solidity of medieval England. Decorative borders on backgrounds mottled like parchment set off the full- and double-page paintings. The effect is luxurious. San Souci's source note credits Tennyson, Andrew Lang, and Howard Pyle among others. While the language is spare and accessible to younger readers, this book should attract older browsers. A worthwhile addition to the body of recent work that keeps the legend fresh.?Sally Margolis, formerly at Deerfield Public Library, IL
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday Books for Young Readers (October 6, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385322682
• ISBN-13: 978-0385322683
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,267,289 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is such a great book, I think other kids should read it, December 6, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Young Arthur (Hardcover)

I waited for a long time for this book to finally come out. I am so excited that I finally have it.I liked when Arthur pulled the sword out of the stone the best. I liked very much how he illustrated it. This book inspired me to draw pictures about the middle ages. I think other kids that like king arthur stories should read this exciting book. I also wrote my own king arthur legend. Brian Kelly age 7

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good intermediate step for the Arthurian legends, December 20, 2006

By 

dnk "dnkboston" (Boston, MA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Young Arthur (A picture yearling book) (Paperback)

I am a minor Arthurian legends buff- I know many variations of the main story, both fictional and scholarly- but I'm not an expert.

I was disappointed when I read the story to see it included an early death for Arthur's mother (here called Igerna, in most other stories Igraine). In every version I've ever read, Uther dies first, and Igraine is kept off to the sidelines, usually held safe in a monastery. It also doesn't mention that Uther's Britain is not very peaceful but is for the most part divided. However, that may have been a bit too much to go into for the audience.

Overall, though, I thought San Souci hit the rest of the points well enough- the guardianship of Ector, the arrogance of Kay, Arthur's humble bravery and the magic of Merlin. The tales of the two swords are also pretty close, though again, I've never seen another version telling of Merlin flying Arthur to Excalibur. All in all, the tale of embittered, warring England united under the brave Arthur is pretty true to spirit, if not entirely form.

I must disagree with the previous (adult) reviewer: I thought the drawings were sensational, and I wasn't getting "late 80s" at all. There may have been some exaggeration of muscle tone, but since this a story of legendary heroes, that's not such a crime. Being more of a color person, I loved the way the images really jumped off the page. And the illustrator did a very good job conveying the youth and innocence of Arthur versus the quiet, humorous wisdom of Merlin (the latter of which especially isn't immediately apparent in the text).

This shouldn't be a child's first introduction to the Arthurian legends, and it's hardly an exhaustive piece of work, but for the seven- to ten-year-olds this is aimed at, it's fine.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars In Camelot, this is how conditions are, April 30, 2004

By 

E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird" (Manhattan, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Young Arthur (Hardcover)

I'll put my criticism into context. I love T.H. White's, "The Sword in the Stone" and I've a funny bit of affection in my heart for the Disney animated version of the film. Coming to Robert San Souci's 1997 version of the story (one in a series of tales told about the younger versions of characters in the Arthurian tales), "Young Arthur" had some definite potential. Robert San Souci has, after all, retold multiple adept classics like, "Sootface" or "Fa Mulan", amongst others. So I opened up this book and found, to my amazement, that is was just no good. Not a jot. It is sloppily told, poorly illustrated, and a great deal less interesting than its original sources.

The story follows the birth and subsequent discovery of Arthur, son of King Uther. We begin with a bizarre view of Stonehenge (yes, Stonehenge) where the king and Merlin (who is never really described or explained in this book) view the shape of a dragon, apparently foretelling the greatness of Arthur. When evil rebels (?!) threaten the life of the child, Merlin hides the babe with a Lord and Lady to be raised by them. The boy grows up with his foster brother Kay and is squired to Kay when the elder brother becomes a knight. When Merlin produces the sword in a stone as a means of locating the kingdom's rightful ruler, Arthur is the only one able to pull it out and he goes on to unite his people and free the land of tyranny. The end.

The text of the story is, according to an author's note, drawing on at least nine different Authurian sources. Everything from Alfred Lord Tennyson's, "King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table" to Geoffrey Ashe's "The Quest for Arthur's Britain". I wish I could say that it is as full and rich a story as you could hope could be attained from such prestigious sources. Alas this is not the case. The story seems like nothing so much as a variation on the Disney movie, recasting Kay as a greedy unlikable older brother and Arthur without flaw. Because the tale does not end with Arthur's coronation, we are privy to scenes of him fighting rebels, flying with Merlin, and defeating others in battle. For those kids interested in war, this is a fine (if uninformative) text. All in all, though I was unimpressed with the final product, the book could have remained perfectly all right if the narrative was the only flaw. There is, however, the illustrator to content with.

From the moment you view the cover of this book, you may begin to suspect you're in trouble. Illustrator Jamichael Henterly has created a work that, despite its 1997 publication date, looks like nothing so much as a product of the late 1980s. The phrase, "poorly drawn" doesn't do it justice. This artist has no sense of movement or proportion. In a fight scene between Kay and Arthur (Kay looking roughly 39 and Arthur 35 despite their stated ages of 19 and 15, respectively) Kay has apparently swung his sword at his brother. But the picture looks static and posed. In every shot of this book, characters seem to have been froze just after or just before they were about to move. The shot of Arthur pulling the sword from the stone in front of a crowd had a very He-Man from Masters of the Universe feel. Entirely apart from that is just how cheap the entire enterprise feels. The book is gaudy. It seems to try to minimize the poor illustrations of the people by occasionally tossing a Celtic band or design on the opposite page. Characters with sometimes wear Celtic broaches or fight in halls where dragons appear on tapestries. Too little too late, says I. Henterly obviously didn't do any research or take any real interest in the authentic Arthurian England, leaving most of these pictures to appear as the cardboard cut-outs we've already seen so many times before. There is nothing new, exciting, or different about this book.

To call this picture book a travesty is a bit much. Let's just call it a failure. The pictures are poorly drawn, the story is repetitive and dry, and the entire presentation is cheap. There are plenty of lovely Arthurian stories out there. Most will have illustrations that impress and some may even take your breath away. Why waste your time pouring over this pale pitiful hodgepodge of legend, myth, and text when there are so many better books in the world? Please don't waste a flicker of an eyelash (let alone a cent) on this book. It's just not worth it.