School Library Journal Review

Gr 4-6-A finely illustrated, well-organized book. Five sections cover early knights, the Crusades, chivalry, the Hundred Years War, and more. Chapters are short but enticing. A few of the men (Braveheart, El Cid, Richard the Lionheart) may be familiar, but most names will be new. Joan of Arc gets a brief mention. There is humor-William Marshal is shown about to have his tournament-dented helmet hammered off his head-as well as horror-Sir John Chandos takes a lance in his eye. Even the dread of medieval medicine is touched upon: Henry of Monmouth is shown having surgery to deal with an arrow lodged in his cheekbone. Fact sheets at the end of each section offer brief information on castles, weapons, food, tournaments, etc. The large and mostly colorful illustrations bring the subjects to life. Even the monotone drawings are impressive. One confusing paragraph describes Bohemund the giant as having blond hair and a ruddy complexion, but he's shown resembling Sylvester Stallone more than, say, Gary Busey. Not really in-depth enough for reports, this smart choice will, however, attract even reluctant readers who are at all interested in knights.-Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.