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eupomene's review against another edition
5.0
Sequel to the classic Half Magic and just as magical - and maybe even more fun. Roger and Ann are the children of little Martha from the first book, and they are as wonderfully bookish and adventurous as their forebears. Knight's Castle has the added excitement of seeing what your own toys may be like when you are just the right size to belong in them - and the consequences of unbridled imagination. Watching classic stories like Ivanhoe and Robin Hood morph into something completely different because someone made toy knights play baseball during the day, well, it's just one of those tales you always wish would happen to you (just watch out for your dollhouse).
kateshark's review against another edition
4.0
Edward Eager's books are classics, and some of my very favorites from childhood. The illustrations by N.M. Bodeker were a huge influence on me, and I loved the stories (you think Harry Potter is original? Hardly). These are excellent books, published mid-century, that build on a foundation laid decades earlier by masters like E. Nesbit.
caties_books's review against another edition
3.25
The only Edward Eager book I've rated less than a 5, I'm just not into wars and castles and sieges, I had to push myself through it
deannah's review against another edition
4.0
One of our Dinner read-alouds. We read this after Eileen had finished Half-magic. The kids found it quite engaging. I think it would have more enjoyment if they were actually familiar with the story of Ivanhoe. (I, myself, haven't read it since high school.) They were confused by some of the characters and missed some of the silliness as the characters behaving or not behaving as written. We did love all the yeomanly talk.
cheriekg's review against another edition
3.0
My kids have thoroughly enjoyed read-alouds of Eager's books before, so we were looking forward to this one. While still a fun, goofy, imaginative romp with great dialogue, this one was tougher than others. It relied heavily upon the plot of Ivanhoe, which neither my kids nor I had any familiarity with. That made it tough to follow along, though we did enjoy the characters and the interaction between the real and magic worlds. So, still a good book but maybe not quite right for today's audiences?
kailey_luminouslibro's review against another edition
4.0
Roger and Ann's father is ill, and Roger wishes on an ancient lead soldier toy for his father to be healed. But the magical lead soldier tells Roger that wishes must be earned, and Roger, his sister, and their cousins are swept into an adventure of derring-do in the Merry England of Robin Hood, Ivanhoe, and King Richard the Lionheart.
The moment Roger arrives in this magical land, everything seems to go wrong despite his good intentions! Roger begins to doubt that he can ever do enough good deeds to earn a wish for his father, and it's only when he relies on his sister and cousins that the adventure truly begins to come together with surprising results for everyone.
This writer is so brilliant! I love his stories, especially because they are written in the tradition of E. Nesbit's magical books. Every page is so hilarious and fun! The characters are loveable and courageous. You never know what crazy magical thing is going to happen.
I read this entire book in one day. This would be so perfect to read aloud, because so many of the words are rich-sounding, and the dialogue would be so much fun to act out with voices!
zoenikos's review against another edition
5.0
I would highly advise reading this book along with Scott's Ivsnhoe. I read this first and then Ivanhoe but I think the opposite order would work as well. Hilarity will ensue.
dinoreader84's review against another edition
3.0
A good amount of adventure etc. I think some of the stuff about Ivanhoe was over the kids' heads but that happens sometimes!
verymom's review against another edition
5.0
This book was really, really fun for us. Early on in the story, the children went to see Ivanhoe at the movie theater. By the copyright date, it was probably the version with Elizabeth Taylor. Being unfamiliar with the tale of Ivanhoe, we paused our reading and looked up both the book and the movie. I read the original story on the side, and we all watched a "newer" Ivanhoe movie from 1982.
The kids adored it and watched it twice. This gave us footing to read the rest of Knight's Castle which makes use of (and abuses) the characters from the book & film. Again, Eager engaged us with wit and humor and had my kids laughing. He doesn't write "down" to children, or even really try to write "for" children. He just writes ABOUT children and their stories are imaginative and funny.
This all spawned quite a bit of knight play at our house - they got out their little plastic knights (by TOOB) and built the wooden castle that has been collecting some dust lately, and had several jolly battles. We also dove into the history and lore that surrounds King Richard and Prince John (neither one great guys, honestly, but Prince John was not the utter villain so many stories like to make of him)... this all led to Robin Hood lore as well (as he is a character in Ivanhoe and stars in this book as well), so we watched the greatest Robin Hood movie ever - the one with Errol Flynn, of course!
All in all, this book was the launch point for a lot of organic learning and fun. We're on to "The Time Garden" in the series now, and will be quite put out when we're all through.
The kids adored it and watched it twice. This gave us footing to read the rest of Knight's Castle which makes use of (and abuses) the characters from the book & film. Again, Eager engaged us with wit and humor and had my kids laughing. He doesn't write "down" to children, or even really try to write "for" children. He just writes ABOUT children and their stories are imaginative and funny.
This all spawned quite a bit of knight play at our house - they got out their little plastic knights (by TOOB) and built the wooden castle that has been collecting some dust lately, and had several jolly battles. We also dove into the history and lore that surrounds King Richard and Prince John (neither one great guys, honestly, but Prince John was not the utter villain so many stories like to make of him)... this all led to Robin Hood lore as well (as he is a character in Ivanhoe and stars in this book as well), so we watched the greatest Robin Hood movie ever - the one with Errol Flynn, of course!
All in all, this book was the launch point for a lot of organic learning and fun. We're on to "The Time Garden" in the series now, and will be quite put out when we're all through.