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LoriD and others: Which of these books set during the Middle Ages are "not to be missed"?


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Again, these are for my reading-hating 12-15 year old girls:

 

Cushman: Catherine Called Birdy

Gray: Adam of the Road

Green: The Adventures of Robin Hood

Lovett: The Great and Terrible Quest

McGraw, Eloise: The Striped Ships

Rinaldi: Nine Days a Queen

Temple: The Ramsay Scallop

Tusiani: Dante's Divine Comedy: As Told for Young People

 

Please feel free to suggest other Middle Ages books on a 4th-6th grade reading level/7th-9th grade interest level. :)

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I only know Adam of the Road and Robin Hood (we have Green's). I agree with getting a good King Arthur (Pyle's). Also maybe some more advanced collections of myth and fairy tale. Bullfinch is great, as well as Percival Graves Irish Fairy Tales. (By advanced I mean more difficult language, not adapted for young children). Also explore the stories of China and Japan etc!!!!

 

Rats Bulls and Flying machines is good for nonfiction (Renaissance). Also maybe Crispin The Cross of Lead by Avi, The Door in the Wall, The Midwife's Apprentice, The Once and Future King, Tales From Shakespeare, Thousand and One Arabian Nights, The Trumpeter of Krakow, Canterbury Tales (there are some adapted ones available), Beowulf, Gawain and the Green Knight.....

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Again, these are for my reading-hating 12-15 year old girls:

 

Cushman: Catherine Called Birdy

Gray: Adam of the Road

Green: The Adventures of Robin Hood

Lovett: The Great and Terrible Quest

McGraw, Eloise: The Striped Ships

Rinaldi: Nine Days a Queen

Temple: The Ramsay Scallop

Tusiani: Dante's Divine Comedy: As Told for Young People

 

Please feel free to suggest other Middle Ages books on a 4th-6th grade reading level/7th-9th grade interest level. :)

 

Catherine Called Birdy

A good book to connect with teen girls. I personally preferred Midwife's Apprentice a bit more, as the protagonist has an attitude and suddenly is made aware of it, and makes a positive change -- however that appeals to the parent in me ;), whereas I think teen girls are likely to prefer the diary aspect and chatty-girly aspects of Birdy more. Both are great books.

 

Adam of the Road

Great read-aloud. Enjoy!

 

The Adventures of Robin Hood (Roger Lancelyn Green)

JMO: I find Roger Lancelyn Green's writing very dull; just sucks the joy of the story and interest in reading right away. But that's just me. Howard Pyle's classic version is written in an older language style which might not go well with teens who dislike/struggle with reading. (If you go with Green or Pyle, I highly recommend as a read-aloud, based on your other post about the reading non-ability of these young ladies.)

 

Perhaps Ann McGovern's Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest (moves along at a spritely pace, yet maintains a bit of the older language) -- as I recall, our DSs read this one back in the late elementary grades. Or Geraldine McCaughrean's Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow and a World of Other Stories? -- ETA: oops! No this will not work; finally found a table of contents; this a collection of 34 tales from around the world from ancient through 1800s times.

 

Not familiar with any of the other titles.

 

 

More Medieval ideas (500-1500)

- Favorite Medieval Tales (Osborne) -- Finn, Beowulf, Arthur, Song of Roland, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Robin Hood, Chanticleer the Rooster (from Canterbury Tales)

- The Sword and the Circle: King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (Sutcliff)

- Canterbury Tales (McCaughrean)

- Joan of Arc (Stanley) -- non-fiction

- A Medieval Feast (Aliki) -- non-fiction

- Castle Diary (Platt) -- non-fiction

- Brendan The Navigator (Fritz) -- easy and interesting biography

- St. George and the Dragon (Hodges) -- legend; picture book -- and afterwards, read Nesbit's "Deliverers of Their Country" just for fun

- Ivanhoe (Mayer) -- very nice abridged version -- OR -- Classic Illustrated Graphic Novel: Ivanhoe (Harris)

- Stories of Beowulf (Marshall) -- OR -- Beowulf: A New Retelling (Nye) -- OR -- graphic novel: Beowulf, Monster Slayer (Storrie)

- Favorite Norse Myths (Osborne) -- esp. with the recent Thor movies from Marvel, makes for a connection!

- 1001 Arabian Nights -- in another thread, you mentioned you had a version; I love Tenggren's illustrations in this version

- "Farmer Giles of Ham" (Tolkien) -- read aloud, just for fun

- "Smith of Wooton Major" (Tolkien) -- read aloud, for fun, but also has lovely spiritual themes

- The Great and Terrible Quest (Lovett) -- powerful quest tale, lovely spiritual themes

- Knight's Castle (Eager) -- VERY fun; read after Ivanhoe and Robin Hood

 

Renaissance Ideas (1500-1650)

- Rats, Bulls and Flying Machines (Prum) -- non-fiction

- Good Queen Bess (Stanley) -- non-fiction

- Michaelangelo (Stanley) -- non-fiction

- Leonardo da Vinci (Stanley) -- non-fiction

Kids Discover magazine: Leonard da Vinci

- Kids Discover magazine: Shakespeare -- non-fiction

- Shakespeare Stealer (Blackwood)

- Tales from Shakespeare (Williams) -- comic strip style retellings

- Witch of Blackbird Pond (Speare) -- 1600s Colonial America

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Catherine, Called Birdy or The Midwife's Apprentice are definitely not to be missed, IMO.  Matilda Bone isn't bad either, but those two are just great, IMO.  The Ramsay Scallop is really great too.

 

I would say the first section of The Once and Future King is not to be missed.  It's sometimes sold on its own as The Sword in the Stone.  While it's often a read aloud for youngers, the writing is just super and the whole thing is very logic stage to me (though there is some drama around all the adultery, that's just inherent in the story) but maybe not for a strong reader.

 

When I taught this period when I was classroom teaching middle school, we did Crispin: The Cross of Lead and I liked that very much as well, though I don't know if it's "not to be missed" I do prefer it to Adam of the Road, which is not a favorite for me.  I think it's just more accessible and covers a lot of good medieval ground.

 

I also think The Road to Damietta is a great middle ages/early Renaissance book for this age that is generally forgotten.  It may be my favorite of Scott O'Dell's work, though it's generally forgotten for him as well.  It's about the life of St. Francis of Assisi and one of the later crusades.

 

A few of those I haven't read.  Ann Rinaldi is usually good for this age, but I don't know that one.  Robin Hood is a great story, but I find Lancelyn Green a bit dull.

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You know, Cushman has written a few other books in that time period - Midwife's Apprentice, Matilda Bone. They're all fairly short.

Thanks!  I looked at those, but chose Catherine, Called Birdy based on my students' ages, interests, and personalities.

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Also explore the stories of China and Japan etc!!!!

 

I've picked The Magical Monkey King: Mischief in Heaven by Ji-Li Jiang (http://www.amazon.com/Magical-Monkey-King-Mischief-Heaven/dp/1885008252/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1404783459&sr=1-1&keywords=magical+monkey+king

 

Sorry--I can't figure out how to do links anymore.  :(

 

Also maybe...The Door in the Wall...

 

This one is on the girls' required summer reading list! :)

 

...The Midwife's Apprentice...The Once and Future King...Tales From Shakespeare...Thousand and One Arabian Nights...The Trumpeter of Krakow, Canterbury Tales (there are some adapted ones available), Beowulf, Gawain and the Green Knight.....

 

I've looked at all of these and eliminated several. For most, the vocabulary is going to be too dense or too "flowery." These girls really need books on a 4th-6th grade reading level with very straightforward language. Think ESL-type reading material. The Door in the Wall (reading level 6.5) is pushing it. I am, however, considering adaptations of some of the classic tales you mentioned.

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Ann McGovern's Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest  

Favorite Medieval Tales (Osborne)

Joan of Arc (Stanley)

A Medieval Feast (Aliki)

Castle Diary (Platt)

Favorite Norse Myths (Osborne)

"Farmer Giles of Ham" (Tolkien)

"Smith of Wooton Major" (Tolkien)

Knight's Castle (Eager) 

 

 

I'll look at these.  Thanks!

 

I'm already planning to use McCaughrean's Canterbury Tales and 1001 Arabian Nights, and possibly  Morpurgo's Beowulf, Arthur, and Sir Gawain stories. The Great and Terrible Quest was on my short list (see my original post).. 

 

I've started a thread asking for input for the Byzantine era and another asking for suggestions for the Medieval period, but I think I'll make a new post with my complete list for next year.  It really helps to get good feedback.  :)

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I also think The Road to Damietta is a great middle ages/early Renaissance book for this age that is generally forgotten.

I had run across this one and had it on my list, but the reading level will probably be a bit high for my students.  Amazon says it's for grade level 7 and up, but my students' reading level is more like 5th or maybe 6th.

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The Great and Terrible Quest

 

Be ready to use this one as a read aloud rather than a reader -- sentence structure bumps this to a late middle school reading level IMO, and the fact that much is implied rather than directly stated can make it hard for non-readers to figure out what is going on.

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Robin Hood by David Calcutt has gorgeous illustrations, attracting even the most reluctant reader (or keeping the interest of one too young to read it).  My DH read it to all my kids from ages 3 to 12. 

 

We are doing Middles Ages too this year.  I have planned Castle Diary.  Even the youngest can understand it, and it is funny which might appeal to your girls.  For my 4-6th grade readers, I'm using The Story of King Arthur by Lister.  My 7th grader is doing the Pyle one.  We picked up the book Knights by Heller and Headon and will be also trying it with my 4th grader.  It has biographies of different knights, good illustrations.  A library sale find I think this one was.   We are also doing Adam of the Road, Door in the Wall, etc., already mentioned. 

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