King Arthur: The Sword in the Stone

Tales of King Arthur #1

by Hudson Talbott

Except for the dragon-shaped constellation that appeared at his birth, there was nothing that suggested Arthur was destined for greatness.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Mythology, Fiction, Fantasy, Arthurian, Medieval

25 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 20, 1991

Reviews

[Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written version for children and I enjoyed the narration by Christian Coulson.

There was just one odd moment when the author felt it necessary to say that Merlin and the archbishop were of different religions but decided to get along together. Though I've read 7 or 8 version of the arthurian legends, this was the first time someone felt it necessary to throw that in; it definitely seemed like a bit of preaching inserted into an otherwise wonderful story.

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could have been better. Emphasis on making your own fate, despite the medieval integration of church and state. References to celebrating the mass. The last page has a useful history of the legend of Arthur and mentions some other popular modern versions for children.

After reading this book, we watched Disney's The Sword in the Stone (1963), which was written by Bill Peet (whose books we have recently read a number of). Merlin is super modern in the movie version, including making some disparaging remarks about the Middle Ages (although after he visits the 20c and returns to medieval Britain, he acknowledges that modernity has made a real mess of things).

The last page of this book has some interesting information about the origins/popularity of this legend.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really scratched an itch for me the other day. I wanted a story about King Arthur with evocative images, written for a young audience, but still with some of the details and themes from the original work. This book was exactly that!

Though I've never read this book, I felt really nostalgic while reading it. The art style and the text blocks reminded me of similar books, and books about dinosaurs, I read as a kid and really enjoyed.

I'll probably read the other books in this series.

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Edit it all you like, the tale of Arthur is just too long and complicated for little kids. Or at least Talbott doesn't seem to have made it any less so with this edited but still wordy retelling of the Sword and the Stone. I'm not sure what age exactly the author was intending this for; the illustrations elision of scandalous details suggest a younger audience than I would expect to be interested in the text, which was fairly long and, I thought, rather dull. It also seemed a bit odd to take out plot details but include long passages on, say, jousting. The illustrations were nice, if occasionally a bit hectic when crowds were depicted.

[Congetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a great introduction for children about the stories of King Arthur. I also loved the illustrations and bright colors. One of my favorite illustrations was the jousting scene with all the different colors the knights were wearing.

I have a couple comments regarding how appropriate this version is for young children. The comments I read about this book being too long and difficult for young children were thoughts I would have once had too. But my research on education and learning and my first-hand experience with my son with read-alouds over the last 12 years has shown me something different. Yes, I read this picture book aloud to my 12-year old son. Yes, he is capable of reading it himself.

I think society today feels that books for children should be simple and easy, because children are not able to understand if the book is too long, uses complex language or perhaps may be too dense. This may be true to a degree if you don’t read aloud much to your children or if they only read what the powers that be allow them to read, so their exposure to literature is limited. Children understand more then what we think they do. The problem is they may not be able to always articulate or narrate back what they heard using the same level of vocabulary or level of thought. I was reminded of this when I started reading this book to my son.

Years ago I tried reading the Howard Pyle-version of King Arthur ala Charlotte Mason. Now this version is dense and detailed which required reading only short bits at a time. It also has no pictures. I stopped reading after a chapter or two as I thought he wasn’t getting it. This was based on his level of attention and his responses to some of my questions. We essentially covered the amount of information covered in this book, but that version had more information and more detail. In retrospect I realize I also stopped, because it was also hard for me to read aloud. At that point in my read-aloud journey and personal reading, I hadn’t read many “hard” books though I was an avid reader.

After reading a page or two of this book, I made some comment about this version of the story. He then proceeded to tell me what was going to happen in this story based on what he remembered the first time I tried reading King Arthur to him. This was something he was not able to do the first time I read it to him.

There is no rule that a picture book must be completely finished in one sitting. Enjoy this time and the book with your children. This is a long and dense book, but the gorgeous illustrations reflect what is written. Your children can and will enjoy it, if you take your time to do the same. You are building their minds with imagination and a vocabulary to support it. This book and story will provide both. Plus, you will teach them to read and enjoy hard books, something they can enjoy when not playing Fortnite.

I picked up two other King Arthur books from this author from the library. We are looking forward to reading the tales and looking at the sumptuous illustrations.

[Carri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book but it did not hold the interest of my eight year old, even though Arthurian legend is one of his areas of interest. It is rather lengthy compared to many picture books, which may be part of the reason. The illustrations are beautifully done.

[Megan]

CURRICULUM: RR/Classics

[Lisa Beth Hutchins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series by Hudson talbott is beautiful! The story is well told, but the book is excellent because of the incredible illustrations.

[wildct2003 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent adaptation

[Pedro C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hero:
Talbott, Hudson. Tales of King Arthur: The Sword in the Stone (1991).
Motif: the sword in the stone
Who doesn't love the stories of King Arthur, Camelot, knights’ fights, and Merlin the sorcerer? The story is about an unloved orphan, grudgingly fostered by the knight Sir Ector. It is assumed by all that Arthur will one day be squire to his foster brother, Kay. Arthur is not a talented child, but he is honest, kind, and helpful,the complete opposite of Kay. Arthur’s work with his mentor Merlyn the wizard helps him learn about the world and prepares him to become the legendary King Arthur.
The illustrations (vivid watercolors of detailed artwork like: costumes, armaments, and the crowd) are eye-catching. Illustrations such as a tournament with thundering hooves, flying pennants, and lances provide the idea of a medieval joust. The story is told in an interesting, dynamic way that gives pause for wonder, such as the conversations between Sir Ector and his son Sir Kay. Their personalities come through and we can appreciate the types of men they are.
The book touches very important topics for children: honor and respect. The idea of honoring and respecting one's elders, telling the truth, and being brave are excellent behaviors to expose young readers to.
The final picture, the crowned Arthur dressed in white and gold, holding the sword in his hands is such an archetype of the young hero that can serve as an example for children. I recommend this book for 6 and up. The young ones will love to be read to, and the older ones will enjoy reading it.
Target audience: 6-12 years.

[Trevor Bouma · Rating 5 out of 5]

i liked it very much, The pictures were neat and the story was good.
When i was in England last summer i visited some places where Arthur lived like London and the Lake District where Arthur got excalibur from the lady in the lake.
Nobody knows if Arthur was real or just a myth but either way the story is great!

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 5- and 3-year-old kids loved this book. The story is told in a way that was easy for them to understand, and the illustrations were great! For their age it was definitely too long to read in one sitting, so we read it over four or five nights.

[MD · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully illustrated picture book version of King Arthur & "The Sword in the Stone!" This book, due to the complexity of the King Arthur legend, is best suited for the later elementary years and early middle grade years.

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

My 5 year old daughter checked this out from her school library. She liked it, but I would rate it more stars for an older child.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this story!

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good retelling and could work as an introduction for those who want to read the original version.