Avoid Being in a Medieval Castle!

You Wouldn't Want to Be ...

by Jacqueline Morley

For use in schools and libraries only. An addition to a humorous, historical series describes the horrible conditions inside a medieval castle that the servants and others endured.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Childrens, Picture Books, Medieval, Historical

Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Jacqueline Morley studied English at Oxford University and has taught English and History. She is the author of numerous books, including award-winning historical nonfiction titles for children. Her books have won several TES Senior Information book awards.

Reviews

[Set · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, the fantasy of a lady in the medieval castle, poof, vanished after reading this book. This book is based on the true story of the siege of Rochester castle that happened in 1215. This book introduces us to the feudal system with the villeins being at the bottom of the cast and the King and Queen being at the top. The castle is completely re-imagined in it's glory days and every section is mapped out. My favorite explanation is always the garderobe (toilet) but they barely mentioned it. We see all the ladies in waiting's responsibilities and it still beats being a farmer outside of the bailey. We also see some of the warfare during the medieval times when the castle was laid to siege by King John to take it from the rebel barons.
"The LADY has a bath quite often-once a month or so- in a big half-barrel that is lined with cloth in case of splinters." King John goes back on his promises made in the Magna Carta and people started calling him cowardly and unjust. And then the king's man lay siege to the castle and King John uses the cathedral as a stable for his horses. hahah The clergy must have been horrified and livid. King John had the hand and feet cut off from the people that left the castle during the siege, surely, a slow death. King John died after "overeating at a dinner given in his honor" in 1216, one year later. xD

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learn about life during the Siege of King John's castle (John being Henry the 3rd's father), titles and classes of the military, servants and the nobles, the layouts of castles, warfare, survival, etc.
I knew about King John and this Siege in 1216, but even through a juvenile non-fiction, I still learn cool stuff.
Anyone who knows me knows I don't like History books unless they're about a subject that interests me, but so far, this entire series, You wouldn't want to..., is a great reading experience, because, regardless of the subject matter, it is always fun, humorous and educational. The thing that also impresses me about this whole series is even in stories of war, battle, and while there is death, blood, torture, etc, the authors and illustrators never go really indepth with that (which is both good for the parents), but the kids also understand because it is told to them, hey this happened, and it is sad, and we move on.
I really really really want to give this entire series to all of my moms who have reluctant readers, especially boys. I think because the dialogue of the books is pretty standard for 3rd Grade Reading Level, its got just enough difficult words for the kids to 1) read with their parents, 2) appreciate the artwork, 3) appreciate the humor, 4) actually understand/learn what is going on. 5) there are enough subject matters in this series to appeal to any person...If I were a homeschool parent, this series, the 'Who is?' Juvenile Biographies, the 'I survived', American Girl, Dear Reader Girls, Magic School Bus and Magic Treehouse would be my go to series for my young learners.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pre-read for CC1

[Kelly Carey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book deals more with surviving during a castle siege than the day to day events of living in a castle.

[Chelsea Hoschar · Rating 5 out of 5]

You Wouldn't Want to Live in a Medieval Castle! is another great book from Jacqueline Morley. In this book the handy hints and tips throughout guide readers through the life of a young girl in a 13th century castle in England. Many people may think this life was a glamourous one, but once they've read the story, they might think again. From harsh mistresses to weeks-long seiges, working in a medieval castle may not be that much fun after all!
You Wouldn't Want to Live in a Medieval Castle! is great from kids who are having difficulties with reading for many reasons. The best audience would probably be third grade on up, just because the book is long and there's alot to read on each page. The page-covering illustrations are a key part in understanding the story and the simple language that puts the reader in first person is easy to understand and engaging. All of these books from Jacqueline Morley are fantastic because they cover topics that students either won't ever learn about or will learn about but will get bored quickly with the presentation. These books are perfect for mid-upper elementary students, whether they are struggling with reading or not.
Morley, J. (2009) You Wouldn't Want to Live in a Medieval Castle Franklin Watts, Scholastic Inc.

[Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historically solid and entertaining.

I just discovered this series and I've been reading a few of them for fun this summer.

You Wouldn't Want to Live In A Medieval Castle is entertaining and it contains solid, accurate history presented in a visually interesting format.

While I've been lookig a few of these over for my own personal entertainment, my almost 4th grade daughter has been sneaking them out of the stack and reading them without any encouragement from me.

The book mostly is about a little girl who is brought into a castle to work as a damsel (lady-in-waiting or a bodyservant). The book is also about a real historical event - the siege of Rochester Castle in Kent, England in 1215 by King John who is having trouble dealing with the barons after he signed the Magna Carta.

There is also quite a bit about...

Read more at: http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2011/...

[Astra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned that people used to dig right under the tower when they were laying siege to a castle. This happened to one particular castle, so one tower fell. When it was repaired, it was the odd one out of the four because it was circular instead of square like the others. (They made it circular because that had no corners for the enemies to hid in.)

[Duane · Rating 5 out of 5]

"You Wouldn't Want to" series is still the best j non-fiction series out there in my opinion. Done with entertainting illustrations, young readers will learn about daily life in a medieval castle. Following the turmoil of seiges, starvation, living conditions, and daily strife, this book does a great job of showing readers what castle life truly was like back then. A great book.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bea says it was stressful and crazy. It should really be called You Wouldn't want to Live in a Castle during a Seige. I didn't like it AT ALL. Not because it was so gruesome but because of the formatting, ugly illustration style, and general boringness ;-) I guess I am DONE learning about medieval castles.

[Megan M · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite of this series so far! In this volume, you're a young country girl who has been brought to work in the castle of Rochester. Unfortunately, it's about to be put under siege by King John and his troops. More exciting than the others, with lots of background information and a fun little side character in the bumbling squire.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The “You Wouldn’t Want to…” series wouldn’t be the same without its extraordinarily clever caricature-style illustrations by David Antram. This book tells the story of the siege of Rochester Castle in 1215 with rousing good humor – and great accuracy. Ages 8-14.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was cool. Some people were scary. There was a girl that was going to live in a castle, but she had a really hard life in the castle. She did a lot of work and she did not like it.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and informative, wish I'd had this as a kid - I'd have been obsessed!

[Abraham Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book of medeaval times!

[Wilde Sky · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brief account of living in a castle - mainly surviving a siege.

There were some interesting details in this book, but it lacked depth.

Reading time around thirty minutes.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bath a month is considered often? I thank the Lord I was born in this century.

[Laura The Book Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love all the "You Wouldn't Want to Be..." books

[Emmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, informative, and featuring a cute little peasant girl that I felt terrible for. This was a really interesting read and my first experience with this series.

[Chelsea Garay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informational and interesting but not a lot of storyline.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

"You Wouldn't Want to Live in a Medieval Castle" is a delightfully informative book that middle schoolers can really sink their teeth into. It is told in the form of an introduction to castle living, addressed to the reader playing the role of a young girl living in A.D.1215 England. It covers all aspects of castle living, from the average castle day, to what happens when the Lord comes to stay, to even detailing how the castle inhabitants deal with being under siege. Castle living clearly wasn't the bed of roses depicted in "Camelot". It makes even "me" glad I live in a modern house.

An interesting and relateable book for the students, I look forward to adding this book to my classroom library.