The Usborne Illustrated Robin Hood

by Rob Lloyd Jones

New young reading title
An exciting story from the legend of Robin Hood, retold for for children growing in reading confidence and ability. When Much Middleton's father is arrested by the evil Sheriff of Nottingham, Much seeks the help of the mysterious outlaw, Robin Hood. Beautifully illustrated by Alan Marks. Part of the Usborne Reading Programme developed with reading experts at the University of Roehampton.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Adventure, Fiction, Historical, Classics

176 pages, Hardcover

First published April 25, 2008

About the author

Rob Lloyd Jones was born in San Francisco but grew up in London. He studied Egyptology at University where he learnt hieroglyphics, and often goes on digs with the Egypt Exploration Society. He is a senior editor at Usborne, for whom he has written over thirty books – mostly historical non-fiction, but also adaptations of classics such as JEKYLL AND HYDE and THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO. Rob is also a volunteer reading helper at a primary school in Clerkenwell and wrote episodes of the children’s TV show ‘Bernard’s Watch’ for Carlton Kids. He lives in south London with his wife Sally, and 14-month-old son Otis.

Reviews

[Sue Read]

The legend of Robin Hood retold for younger children. Well illustrated.

[Joseph R.]

This version of the Robin Hood story tells two adventurous tales and gives some historical context to the legends and facts surrounding Robin Hood.

The first tale is a pretty standard retelling of the most popular bits people know about Robin Hood. Robin robs from the rich to give to the poor who are being overtaxed by the Sheriff of Nottingham. The Sheriff lays a trap for Robin in the form of a contest. Robin competes in disguise and wins the contest by splitting a bull's eye arrow. The reward for winning the contest is a job--protector of the Sheriff's treasury. After all the greatest warrior in the land should be able to keep Robin's hands off it, right? There are some nice twists and turns at this point that made it more interesting to a veteran of Robin Hood tales like me. Jacob and Lucy loved the story.

The second tale is about Much Middleton, teenage son of the village miller. One day the Sheriff comes to collect taxes and a riot breaks out. Much's dad is captured and sent to the dungeon. Much escapes and finds Robin in Sherwood Forest, sure that he will help. Robin doesn't immediately act, other than bringing Much into his band and training him for the eventual conflict at the end of the tale. This was a new story to me and has that "kid gets to work with his hero" plot that engages readers well.

The final part of the book discusses life in the middle ages and the possible origins of Robin Hood. The original stories about him are from the 1200s and 1300s, with the first written reference in Piers Plowman. The stories spread all over England and many of them have conflicting details, e.g. some say he was once a wealthy lord while others claim he was a poor villager. The lives of the rich, the poor, and the outlaws are all described. The discussion around outlaws caused a tricky conversation with my children--trying to explain that most outlaws were evil men and Robin Hood was a very rare exception proved more difficult than I imagined.

The illustrations by Alan Marks are nice but not great. They suggest swashbuckling and the distant past but don't quite hit the mark. It doesn't detract from the text but doesn't provide a great enhancement either. You can judge for yourself from this sample:



Overall, this is a fine introduction for children to Robin Hood.

[Helena Spiteri]

The story of Robin Hood has been re-told in many versions, and this one by Rob Lloyd Jones and illustrated by Alan Marks is for a younger audience. It was chosen as a reading book for Foundation and Key Stage 1 in my first placement for their themed topic on Myths and Legends. It opens with Robin Hood creeping across the rooftops in the village of Sherwood. A young boy, Jack Fletcher, sees his hero in the distance from his bedroom window and longs to meet him.

The following day the evil Sheriff of Nottingham comes to Jack's village and demands money from the villagers. Jack despises the Sheriff for his wicked ways and throws some horse dung at him. In a rage, the Sheriff instructs his soldiers to go and arrest him, but Jack's father tells him to run away. The Sheriff's soldiers take Jack's father away, and he is imprisoned in the castle dungeon. In desperation, Jack ventures into Sherwood Forest to go in search of Robin Hood with the hope that he will help him to rescue his dad. The two becomes friends and Robin Hood teaches Jack the art of swordsmanship to prepare for the rescue.

The story reaches a climax when Robin Hood and his band of merry men invade the castle, battle with the evil Sheriff of Nottingham and Jack's father is freed. The Reception children I was teaching thoroughly enjoyed this version of the tale. The story was used for lots of different activities including a discussion of favourite characters and story sequencing. We also did lots of role play acting out the characters of Robin Hood, Friar Tuck, Little John and the Sheriff of Nottingham in masks and costumes.

[Jason]

Enjoyed reading this one, it contains two robin hood stories about his battles with that naughty Sheriff of Nottingham. These are good fun, if only I was the sheriff I would have put a stop to Robin pretty quick-smart.

The last 30 pages of the book discuss whether Robin was real, what exactly was an outlaw, how the poor and rich lived (similar to today) and a little bit about the merry men.

A good book for kids interested in Robin Hood... or a life of crime.

[KakEllereads]

This is another book by Usborne for young readers. Pretty sure many of us know this story by heart since we've been exposed to it since young.

I have choose to read this book before my son so that we can discuss further on the story.

Some might think it is okay to do bad things in order to help the needy or poor people, however this should not be accepted.

[Darren]

Good book with a lot of action.

[Samantha]

It was cool, Robin Hood was very kind. He gave all the money he stole to the poor.

[Lizzie]

*3.5 stars
I bought this book for 50p in a charity shop to add to my growing collection of Robin Hood books, and as a Robin Hood nerd I'm glad I picked it up, it is a lovely book visually. Lovely watercolour illustrations. And I'm impressed with the factual 'chapter' at the end about the Robin Hood legend, real outlaws, life in the middle ages etc, written concisely for its target audience of course but I like that it doesn't romanticise Robin Hood or outlaws etc, and includes information about what we don't know about a real Robin Hood.

However, the two stories, fun though they are, don't feel authentic to me, there are much better stories that could have been chosen among the traditional ballads and tales.

[Ian Pyo]

it was a sunny day and there was a boy who named much but than a sheriff came to the village and said from now on you will all pay double that night much saw a robin hood and chase him and lost in the forest and.

[Eszter Molnár]

A good introduction to Robin Hood. My 8-year-old couldn't get enough of it.

[Samia Ali]

Love the story

[Subhojit Bera]

Great illustrations, and the stories have been appropriately edited for Children.
Perfect for your young ones to be introduced to the forest of Sherwood.

[Rachel]

A beautifully illustrated picture book which offers a twist to the classic tale of Robin Hood. The author, Rob Lloyd Jones rewrites the classic tale from the point of view of a little village boy named Jack. Jack finds himself in trouble after his father is arrested by the Sheriff of Nottingham because Jack decided to throw horse dung in the sheriff's face. Lady Marian leads Jack to a hideout where he meets the legendary hero Robin Hood and his gang. Jack is taught new skills, sword-fighting and "stealing from the rich and giving to the poor". A fire irrupts in Jack's old town and robin Hood and the gang come to the rescue. They rescue the other villagers and Jack's dad from the grasp of the sheriff. Jack is hailed a hero and Robin Hood and the gang ride off into the dark to conquer another conquest.

This picture book would suit Early Years and Key Stage 1 classes. The use of vocabulary and adjectives such as "trickled, eerily, whirling" can be discussed in English class and produce a group discussion as to the use of adjectives and alternatives. The book is illustrated by Alan Marks, who uses undefined sketches, water colors and shadowing to bring the book alive. This book could also be used in discussing history, myths and legends, which in turn could lead to an art project of paining, drawing our favorite mythical legends.

[Siskiyou-Suzy]

I've loved Robin Hood ever since the animated Disney version took over my childhood, so I was excited to see this book. Interesting that it added a kid character -- a way of connecting children with it, I suppose. I was a perturbed to see how much off-screen violence there was. I mean, they show that a battle is going to happen, and the result must be Game of Thrones-style mass death. But you don't see any of it. The villagers just win. So, I don't know.

[Erin]

This is the story of Robin Hood told through the eyes of a child. I'm not completely thrilled with it. The boy is the main character and is the catalyst for Robin storming the castle and having his last fight with the Sheriff of Nottingham. As this is folklore, the author can totally change the story to fit his whim. I just don't like the result here.

[Raylin Daria]

Esta adaptación sería ideal para los niños, tiene ilustraciones muy bonitas, y fue rápido de leer, lo que más me gustó fue la parte final del libro cuando se trata de responder la incógnita de si realmente existió Robin Hood y que, como un plus nos da una pequeña lección de como era la vida para las personas en la edad media.

[Asharani]

This book is interested and a when much millington 's father was arrested the evil sheriff of Nottingham, much seeks the help of the mysterious outlaw. Robin hood . Together they plan a daring raid on a sheriff castle and they go and they fight and one king was death and then you no

[Lisa]

A very short version of a classic tale, retold by Rob Lloyd Jones. Benjamin read it aloud to Thaddeus and I.

[Lady]

A friendly version for a younger audience

[Simone]

I liked this book because of maid Marion.

[Katie Gann]

Great book I have never read Robin Hood before and don't really remember the movie very well. This book was still good and a all time favorite

[Nancy Thompson]

A fun Robin Hood tale but I found it a bit too short.

[Kelsey Nunez]

This book is about a criminal who steals from the rich to give to the poor. I think this book is perfect for grades 2-4. I really enjoyed reading this story.

[Re1han]

It is adventurous. It's a story about RobinHood, a persons who steals from the rich and gives to the poor.

[Eisa]

I like the story of Robin Hood