Hedgehogs4 Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 For a 7 yo? My daughter is All Narnia, All Middle Earth, all Kings, queens, wizards and legends right now. I won't let her listen to the LOTR yet, but she loved, loved the Hobbit, and is working on her 3rd or 4th listen of Narnia in a month. I'm wondering if the books by T.H. White would be appropriate for her? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 The first section absolutely is - that's a good time to read it. The rest of it... I would wait on personally. The themes are more grown up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeaganS Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 The first section absolutely is - that's a good time to read it. The rest of it... I would wait on personally. The themes are more grown up. :iagree: The other sections are rather adult themed. More appropriate for a teenager+. If LOTR is too much for her, The Once and Future King would definitely be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 No, according to DH, but oddly, he lets DD listen/read LOTR. She's also 7 and into all things medieval. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeaganS Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 I was just trying to think of some suggestions for her. Shannon Hale books might be good. Princess Academy, The Goose Girl, etc. Princess Academy was a Newbery Honor book and should be totally fine, although the others by Shannon Hale are considered teen books, I believe. Lloyd Alexander might work for her too. His series is The Chronicles of Prydain. Maybe Redwall? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 (edited) Well, my opinion is no. But everyone knows their own children best as to what they can handle. :) With SO many WONDERFUL books written for that age, why skip those and dive into something that will be enjoyable later on for all? Just my opinion! The Once and Future King is divided into four "books". The first is "The Sword in the Stone" and is all about Arthur as the boy "Wart", and his education by Merlin. This is lighter and accessible (and acceptable) for middle schoolers on up, but was still written for adults, and there is quite a bit of political commentary in it. For example, when Merlin turns Wart into various animals, a lot of what Wart learns and discusses with the fellow creatures is socio-political philosophy. I would just stick with the Disney animated film, which is the fun, light "education by enchantment". The last three sections of the book have much more mature themes and events: - A nasty scene of Morgaine's children hunting and beheading a unicorn. - Black magic of Morgaine and her seduction of Arthur; thru the black magic she bewitches him into thinking she is Guinevere. Morgaine is related to Arthur, and so their child Mordred is the offspring of incest. - The infidelity of Lancelot and Guinevere. Also leads to a series of challenges in which Lancelot defends Guinevere's "innocence" and "honor" -- but both she and he ARE guilty, and so the challenges lead to a lot of other knights being injured or maimed for keeping up a false pretense for the sake of keeping King Arthur from publicly having to expose his wife and best friend. - Sad marriage relationship of Elaine and Lancelot. They spend one night together as a result of Elaine desiring him and Lancelot desperate for Guinevere, and end up with a child; Lancelot -- while he does the honorable thing and marries Elaine -- spends the rest of the book moping and pining for Guinevere and avoiding his wife Elaine and avoiding being a husband and father. - The lusty court of King Arthur. Once everything begins to unravel due to the betrayal by wife and best friend, Arthur's court all become lustful and pleasure-driven. These elements are not gratuitously graphic, but it is quite clear what happens in each case. I believe this is part of the whole point of the actions -- they support the underlying theme that fallen man cannot bring about "heaven on earth", which was King Arthur's hope and plan for Camelot -- a pretty mature theme to explore, and not done in a light and fun kings and queens of Medieval times way... Below are some ideas for alternatives. BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D. MORE JRR TOLKIEN - Farmer Giles of Ham (full text online) - Smith of Wootton Major (full text online) LOVELY PICTURE BOOKS - Saint George and the Dragon (Hodges) - A Medieval Feast (Aliki) - The Making of a Knight - St. Francis (Wildsmith) - Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village - Marguerite Makes a Book (Robertson) - King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (Gelders-Sterne) - Of Swords and Sorcerers (Hodges) - Illuminations (Hunt) - The Christmas Knight (Curry) - The Good Knight Night Book (A Picture Riddle Book) (Engelman & Riggs) - The Knight and the Dragon (Paola) 2nd GRADE READER LEVEL - Good Night, Good Knight (Thomas) - Sword in the Stone (MacCarone) - The Sword in the Tree (Bulla) - The Minstrel in the Tower (Skurzinsky) - Journey Through History: Middle Ages (Verges) - Gargoyles (Dussling) 3rd GRADE READER LEVEL - Magic Tree House: Knights at Dawn (Osborne) - The Apple and the Arrow (Buff) - Tales of Robin Hood (Allan) - Robin Hood: Tale of the Great Outlaw Hero (Bull) - Joan of Arc (Corey) - Days of the Knights: A Tale of Castles and Battles (Maynard) - Dragonslayer Academy series (McMullan) -- silly fun MEDIEVAL READ ALOUDS (fiction) - Otto of the Silver Hand (Pyle) - The Door in the Wall - Adam of the Road - The Story of King Arthur and His Knights (Classic Starts series) - Igraine the Brave (Funke) - The Canterbury Tales (McCaughrean) -- an abridged retelling MEDIEVAL READ ALOUDS (non-fiction) - Castle Diary (Platt) - The Story of Castles (Usborne) - Living in Castle Times (Usborne First History series) (Gee) - If You Were There: Medieval Times (Mason) - Usborne Time Traveler (the section on Medieval Europe) EASIER KING ARTHUR RETELLINGS -- from past posts - Saint George and the Dragon (Hodges/Hyman) - The Kitchen Knight (Hodges & Hyman) - Merlin and the Making of the King (Hodges) - The Making of a Knight (not Hodges) - Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady (Hastings) PRINCESS READ ALOUDS -- more fairytale-like - A Little Princess (Burnett) - The Ordinary Princess (Kaye) - The Light Princess (MacDonald) - The Princess and the Goblins (MacDonald) - Ozma of Oz (Baum) - Enchanted Forest Chronicles series (Wrede) FAIRYTALE COLLECTIONS - The Book of _____ series (Sanders) -- OOP, but lovely collections (Dwarfs; Dragons; Witches; Wizards; Mermaids; Princes & Princesses; Kings & Queens; etc.) - World's Best Fairytales (Sideman) -- a Reader's Digest Anthology FREE AUDIO BOOKS -- from the : - The Reluctant Dragon (Grahame) -- Books Should Be Free & Librivox websites - Otto of the Silver Hand (Pyle) -- Books Should Be Free website - Story of the Middle Ages (Harding) -- Books Should Be Free website - Stories of King Arthur's Knights -- Books Should Be Free & Librivox websites AUDIO BOOKS -- for purchase or check out at library - King Arthur and His Knights (Jim Weiss) - Three Musketeers/Robin Hood (Jim Weiss) -- Musketeers are 18th century - Robin Hood (Flynn) - King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (Flynn) -- book and CD recording of the book being read ACTIVITIES - Dover stained glass coloring book -- Castles; Cathedrals; Heraldric Designs - Knights & Castles: 50 Hands-On Activities to Experience the Middle Ages (Hart, Mantell, Kline) PAST THREADS Living books about castles, kings, knights, etc. Ideas for a unit study on kings, queens, knights, castles? website of coloring pages of kings and queens Wonderful website for kings/castles, etc. Edited November 14, 2012 by Lori D. 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ladydusk Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 Below are some ideas for alternatives. BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D. Thanks so much for this list, Lori! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 Lori, thanks! I hope these tags for Lori don't disappear during the upgrade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgehogs4 Posted November 14, 2012 Author Share Posted November 14, 2012 Thanks Lori D for the input! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HLDoll Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 I've read most of the first book, previewing it for my kiddos who *loved* LOTR. I don't recall anything objectionable, but I thought it was a bit dry, and have heard that the subsequent parts aren't geared towards kids. I bought the audio for my son to listen to during some long medical appointments/procedures, but I don't know that he ever even finished The Sword in the Stone. It just didn't capture him. I imagine he'll come back to it one day, but I wouldn't recommend it for your daughter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 The first volume The Sword in the Stone, is appropriate, but the others are definitely for an older audience. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morosophe Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 To Lori's lovely list, I would like to add Gerald Morris' Arthurian books. His Squire's Tale series is meant for middle and high school, but I can't think of much that is objectionable in it for younger, advanced readers. (And hey, I enjoyed it immensely as an adult!) Some of the books in the middle of the series get a little preachy and dull, such as The Princess, The Crone, and the Dung-Cart Knight, but for the most part, the books are an exciting yet funny take on Arthurian legend. His Knights' Tales series is about perfect for a third-grade reading level, as far as I can tell. It consists of: The Adventures of Sir Lancelot the Great The Adventures of Sir Givret the Short The Adventures of Sir Gawain the True The Adventures of Sir Balin the Ill-Fated I would highly recommend these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 For a 7 yo? My daughter is All Narnia, All Middle Earth, all Kings, queens, wizards and legends right now. I won't let her listen to the LOTR yet, but she loved, loved the Hobbit, and is working on her 3rd or 4th listen of Narnia in a month. I'm wondering if the books by T.H. White would be appropriate for her? We did the abridged version of "The Sword in the Stone". Which was fine for us. It was a pick since the disney movie was a favorite for dh when he was a boy. Have you tired the following books? The Enchanted Forest Series. It starts with "Dealing with Dragons". It has princes, princesses, wizards, witches, dragons, magic, ... http://www.amazon.com/Enchanted-Forest-Chronicles-Dealing-Searching/dp/0152050523/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1352921764&sr=1-1&keywords=the+enchanted+forest+chronicles Wizard of Oz books? Especially "The Land of Oz". It has a princess, a evil wizard, and even a talking chicken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justme824 Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 Great selections. I am in the midst of planning for our year (I plan Jan-Dec) and the Medieval period is up first. This will help me find some good literature for my kiddos to enjoy :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 I did the first section as a read aloud when dc's were 7 and 9. Nothing inappropriate but no one loved it. I felt we had to because we had just moved to England. No urge to read the rest. After Lori's review really glad I didn't try it! There are so many better books...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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