The Spoon in the Bathroom Wall: A Humorous Middle Grade Fantasy About a King Arthur Spoof for Kids

by Tony Johnston

Living in the Bloggins School boiler room isn't glamorous, but that's life for Martha Snapdragon, daughter of the beleaguered janitor. Life only gets weirder when Martha realizes bizarre events are afoot at the school. There's the dastardly dealings of evil principal Dr. Klunk and school bully Rufus. There's the dozen dancing eggs and the misbehaving dragons, property of the mysterious science teacher. And then there's the strangest thing of a giant golden spoon that simply appears one day, stuck in the wall of the school bathroom. Although everyone tries, only Martha is able to extract the spoon from the wall--an act that leads her to a destiny far beyond her meager life in the boiler room.    Tony Johnston's funny, magical story spoofs the legend of The Sword in the Stone—and conveys some poignant truths about teaching, leadership, and the responsibilities we have to one another.

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Childrens, Fiction, Juvenile, Humor

144 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Tony Johnston has written many acclaimed books for young people. She and her husband lived in Mexico for fifteen years, where they raised their children. She now lives in San Marino, California.

Reviews

[Lisa the Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another Brett Helquist cover...

This is a whimsical retelling of the Legend of King Arthur. Told in a style reminisent of Roald Dahl or Lemmony Snicket this is charming and slightly twisted.

I'm not sure this would be fully appreciated by a reader not familiar with at least the basics of the original Arthurian origin lengends, but is fun on its own merits.

An underlying theme of bullying and dealing with it are addressed without being overly preachy.

A well written quick read.

[Camille Stanford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a weird, but interesting book based off of Arthur and the sword in the stone. Martha is the janitor's daughter who both live in the basement of the school of the mean "Dr." Klunk. She has a strange science teacher named Ms. Ferlin with dancing eggs and a bully who calls her Marthur. When a golden spoon gets stuck in the bathroom wall everyone in school tries to pull it out and become king of the school. It was interesting, funny, and strange story I did not expect to enjoy.

[Lorene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this modern-day silly version of The Sword in the Stone. Some parts were almost too silly, but overall, an enjoyable book that I wouldn't hesitate to read to/with my kids. I especially loved Ferlin's teaching rules, because "teaching and kinging are very close to the same thing." Cute!

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was chosen for our Mom/Daughter book club - such a sweet message of always trying to see the good in things. Love the strong female character, written by a strong female author. So happy my daughters are reading this! I especially like the quote "Read your brains loose". Sounds about right . . .

[Corinne · Rating 2 out of 5]

A retelling/spoof on The Sword In The Stone very reminiscent of Lemony Snicket with hints of Roald Dahl. A mishmash of rhyme and random occurances (the principal is punishing first graders for being first graders by making them nail jello to trees, etc.) that I think a kid would enjoy, but lacks the Roald Dahl charm that extends to adult readers.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the IDEA of the a reworking of the Arthurian legend, modernizing it and changing it up, and setting it in a school. But somehow, this reworking felt overworked. And, I'm pretty sure that a brainiac ten-year-old reader would be at least passingly familiar with the legend of King Arthur -- I was.

[Sam Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apparently i like this book a lot more than a lot of other grownups. Sure there were lessons to be taken away if you are into such things, though i think they would be more appealing as tropes kids will recognize, and sure it was a fun retelling of the Arthur legend, but the part that made me give it four whole stars is that it was just so FUN.

[Mary Peterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's lots to love about this Arthurian spoof. Characters, language, voice, pacing, all a delight. I have my quibbles but I'd for sure recommend this to any young reader. Well seasoned with humor and clever wordplay.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Take-off on "The Sword in the Stone," with a school setting. Not the greatest, except for Ferlin's 11 rules of teaching.

[Mary Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book for 2nd and 3rd graders! Plot offers a little bit of fantasy, a good way to introduce the genre to children.

[gryphon · Rating 5 out of 5]

its most possibley one of the best book ive ever read

[The Fairy Godmother]

Based on the legends of Camelot.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

i found this book a lot of fun. It is very similar to a Lemony Snicket book. I really enjoyed it.

[Claudia Harrington · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice children's book. My daughter really enjoyed it. But for me it was just ok. It could be a nice book to teach children about bullies.

[Kate Hastings]

RL580

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun twist on the legend of The Sword in the Stone. Lizzy liked it so much she insisted I read it.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

a great story for second and third grade students about friendship

[Lizzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

really good sword-in-the-stone parody.

[Stephanie Dreyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The girls and I loved this!

[Marva · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is really written for younger people than me. But it made me laugh!

[Marg Corjay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great chapter book for kids that want chapter book content but need advanced vocabulary.
Fun characters, good succeeds in the end.

[Jazzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was funny.

[Carfig · Rating 3 out of 5]

It started out as a school story of a young girl being pestered by a really rotten principal at her school and his minion, a boy in her class. All of a sudden, her name Martha was changed to Marthur… there is a spoon stuck in a wall. Gee, who can pull it out? The science teacher's name, Ferlin, rhymes with Merlin, as the author points out. All the names are given "rhymes with" status, which is fun. The language is also fun but a little over the top at times: "Her father would read her face like three-inch headlines" and even a riff on "Goodnight Moon": "In the science room there was a telephone. And a red baboon. And a picture of--George Washington...." Younger readers would probably enjoy it.

[Ms Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting take on the classic King Arthur tale I found it a little thick in its writing style, it wasn't a very smooth read with a lot of wordiness and rhyming. It lends itself more to being read aloud than to oneself.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fine. It tried too hard to be clever, imo. All of the (rhymes with...) asides were annoying rather than funny to me. It was a quick read that many kids would enjoy.