Merlin and the Making of the King- Margaret Hodges
We'll start with one I didn't like as much. Although I like the illustrations in this one, I didn't much like the writing. I felt that the writing was a bit rushed, skipping over too much. In addition, this version focuses on the Christian elements of the Arthurian legends, which isn't my favorite. I don't really like mixing Christianity and magic together, so I generally prefer Arthurian storytelling that focuses on the magical elements over the Christian ones. I know its impossible to ignore it all together, what with things like the Holy Grail, but nonetheless I like it minimized.
Merlin and the Dragons by: Jane YolenA wonderful picture book about Merlin's past. Beautifully illustrated and accurately told, this is wonderful picture book. I enjoyed it! Good for young and older children as well as adults.
King Arthur by: Sir Thomas Mallory
One again, beautifully illustrated. The writing here is average. Along the far sides of the pages there are various facts about Arthurian legends and history to supplement the writing. Overall an enjoyable experience. I'd say the target audience is 8-12.
The Fall of Camelot by: "Time-Life Classics"This is my favorite of the bunch. It is written for a more adult audience, but I enjoyed it's tone and flow quite a lot. In my opinion, the best written of the bunch. It also has some of my favorite illustrations.
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table Sir Thomas MalloryThis one is more of a chapter book for preteens. The writing feels pretty bland in comparison to some of the others, but it still decent. There are a few scattered illustrations, but they are nothing special.
And that's it for now. I also have a book about the themes within Arthurian stories, and during my breaks at work I'm reading a compilation of relatively unknown or forgotten Arthurian legends. At some later date hopefully I can tell you about them.
First off, I would like to point out that the illustrator for the first book was Trina Schart Hyman. If Anthony's correct about the not-so-hot writing (and I don't doubt his reading abilities on this), it's probably still worth checking out just to gawk at her glorious artwork. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteAlso, not surprised that the Jane Yolen one was good overall. I LOVE her young adult books about the history of Scotland, as well as several of her other children's books.
I may just check out the Time-Life Classics one; thanks for the recommendation!
And, I'm curious--has anyone read "The Once and Future King"? I'd love an opinion or two on it, before attempting to dive in.