Forbidden Forest: The Story of Little John and Robin Hood

by Michael Cadnum

This companion book to the author's highly acclaimed "In a Dark Wood" tells the story of one of the most beloved literary legends of all Little John.

Michael Cadnum takes us on a journey through medieval England and deep into the heart of Sherwood Forest. From his humble beginnings as John Tannerson , son of the Tanner, we watch John Little's story unfold as he grows into one of our most beloved heroes of lore--Litte John. The adventure begins on a ferry north of Nottingham. A thwarted attempt to save a man's life forces John into the life of an outlaw. To escape capture, he hides in Sherwood Forest, where he joins Robin Hood and his band of merry men--and the excitement begins.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Retellings, Fiction, Historical

218 pages, Hardcover

First published October 6, 2015

About the author

Michael Cadnum has had a number of jobs over the course of his life, including pick-and-shoveler for the York Archaeological Trust, in York, England, and substitute teacher in Oakland, California, but his true calling is writing. He is the author of thirty-five books, including the National Book Award finalist The Book of the Lion. His Calling Home and Breaking the Fall were both nominated for the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe Award. He is a former Creative Writing Fellow of the National Endowment for the Arts. Also a poet, he has received several awards, including Poetry Northwest's Helen Bullis Prize and the Owl Creek Book Award. Michael lives in Albany, California, with his wife Sherina.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cadnum returns to Sherwood Forest for his second exploration of the Robin Hood myth, told this time from the alternating perspectives of Little John and Margaret Lea. John, fleeing from the law after he accidentally kills a man, at first takes up with the aristocratic robber-baron Red Roger, before falling in with Robin Hood. Margaret, falsely accused of murdering her new husband on their wedding night, flees also to the forest, where after many plot convolutions, the two fall in love, and Margaret joins the outlaws.

I found this somewhat of a disappointment after Cadnum's excellent In a Dark Wood , which retells the Robin Hood legend from the perspective of Geoffrey, Sheriff of Nottingham. Somehow, Forbidden Forest had none of the emotional power of the earlier title, nor the thought-provoking dialogue. If I were not so deeply in love with the entire Robin Hood mythos, I would probably have rated this lower than I did.

[Sandra Strange · Rating 3 out of 5]

This realistic story Little John and Robin Hood parallels and explains many of the legends associated with that “outlaw.” Told mostly from Little John’s point of view, with sections told by a merchant’s daughter, the adventure appeals to both girls and boys. The book gives a realistic portrait of life in early medieval England. Although the format of the book makes it look like it is aimed at middle school/junior high audiences, this retelling is NOT for faint of heart. Mature, but not horribly offensive bawdiness and sexual references, as well as explicit portrayals of medieval torture and punishment and violence make this a mature book. It is basically positive, though the thievery is taken for granted because of the horrible inequities of the times. The story is well told, with dynamic protagonists, who grow and change, facing problems unique to medieval England and common to adolescents everywhere.

[Thapan Dubayehudi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Cadnum is my friend and I love this work of his!

[Brandon Owen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary Tease:
Forbidden Forest: The Story of Little John and Robin Hood is a fictional interpretation of the legend of Robin Hood, told shadowing the thoughts of John Little. The story begins before John had ever known Robin Hood truly existed, as he and his master try to grab a penny or two off of some rich folks on a ferry. Things go awry when a knight catches them stealing and John is forced to flee the scene, leaving his master behind, presumably to die. In the struggle he accidently kills the knight, and therefore is looked upon as an outlaw by the entire kingdom, forcing John to plunge himself deep into the Forbidden Forest in hiding. While there he encounters a few different groups of unsatisfactory thieves, until he eventually stumbles across the fabled Robin Hood, where he is accepted into their band of thieves, so beginning their romp through history…

Who might be interested in this book? Why?:
While the appeal of Robin Hood to most people isn’t too strong, I truly think that this book might be interesting to a decently large group of people. I believe this because when I was reading this book, I was genuinely intrigued by its adventurous plot and developed characters, despite the fact that I don’t necessarily care for the tale of Robin Hood. In a broad sense, this book would appeal to any reader looking for an adventurous story with a little bit of action. That being said, anyone looking for a modern take on a classic tale would also be quite pleased with this book. Additionally, this books medieval setting would appeal to most lovers of history or the medieval era.

Overall Satisfaction:
I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars because, even though I’m not really a fan of the legend of Robin Hood, I did thoroughly enjoy this book. Cadnum’s unique style of storytelling kept me engaged in this book, and I am glad to say that I was delightfully surprised with this book. The only reason I didn’t give this book 5 out of 5 stars is because I only give my absolutely favorite books that rating. This book was an adventurous romp from cover to cover, for there aren’t really any dull moments. Following the life of an outlaw with morals is pretty entertaining, and the constant tension of being caught by the law or killed by a villager keeps the pages turning. Overall, I enjoyed this book quite a bit.

Literary skills (at least 3 of our keywords):
Jargon (some medieval terminology is used), argument (stealing from the rich is okay, because they have more than enough), and characterization (many of the characters are characterized as ‘good thieves’)

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, Little John is my favorite.

I know its cliché, but there is something extremely lovable about the “gentle giant” whose heart is the only thing stronger than his muscles. But it’s a trope / cliché / archetype / whatever that WORKS. Just about every version of the Robin Hood story uses it- writers love tearing apart the Robin Hood character and putting him back together looking stranger than a Picasso painting, but Little John stays as the moral compass. He is someone you can count on to say what is the right thing to do.

In this version, we focus on Little John’s origin and watch how one ordinary day spirals quickly out of control into a Very Bad Day that ends with a man dead and Little John on the run for his life. John makes friends and enemies at a fast clip, but things don’t really take off until the famous bridge scene when he meets – and fights – a very cheerful Robin Hood and is soon the much respected second in command of the outlaw group.

The story then starts jumping back and forth from the forest to Nottingham where we meet Margaret, a merchant’s daughter and the betrothed of a knight who may or may not have killed his previous wife, so she’s understandably nervous about her wedding day. The wedding comes, and, awkwardly, her husband ends up dead in a fight that she gets the blame for, leading her to make a run for the forest as well, where she and John fall in love practically on first sight.

There’s a lot of running and hiding as they both try to outmaneuver the deputy intent in both their heads, but there’s an happy ending for the two young people, and a fitting one, considering they fall in love as much with the forest as with each other.

The book has a sort of dreamlike quality throughout – I would have preferred something more down to earth, but I still give it high marks for realism without a lot of shoe horning as it deftly makes the point that life was nasty, brutish and short.

I also really enjoyed how everyone in the book uses a variety of accents and dialects, depending on who they are talking to – farmers will speak one way to each other, and then quite differently to a knight, or a priest, or a nun. Accent say a lot about a person’s station, class and background, as well as how they rank to the person they are talking to. And, tellingly, Robin Hood has the only accent that does not change, but neither is identifiable as any particular rank or place – he is, in every way – outside the norm.

[Emily Tierney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story of war, justice, and love is told through the eye's of Little John. With a name like Little John you'd think he was a young boy, yet surprisingly enough Little John is just Robin Hood's younger assistant. As the story begins John is left on an empty field with nothing but the earth and wind surrounding him; as time goes by the reader is told the promising story of how John and Robin are united and create a friendship of faith and trust. Later the story explains why Robin stole from the rich and gave to the poor, like any story involving a dangerous plain one character has a disagreeing thought ( John ) yet, he soon realizes that he now has the power to change others lives for good. As this tale counties Robin finds himself in love with the fair maiden or as others may call her the Princess. When her life is threatened through rape and death, Robin jumps in and save her; this sadly leads into war for this Princess hand in marriage. Many men die yet Robin and John live. Robin gets married to the princess... John slowly fades to the background to live his life in peace with the tale of the brave Robin Hood always in his mind.

[Tay Mackey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a guy named Little John, and he tries to save a person in his village. The villager is getting excuted for perjury. Little John then saves the villager because he believes he is innocent. The king and his men then chase him so they can put him in jail and maybe excute him. Little John then excapes and has to find another place to live. While he is trying to find his way around he runs into Robin Hood and his crew. Robin Hood and his crew invite him to the crew and now he lives life as a hero. He has to try to get use to stealing from the rich and give to the poor. The king and his noble still search for him. You have to read the rest of the book to figure out what happens. I think this is a good book because it teaches bravery and courage. It has good imagery and uses very good descriptions. I think this book would be great for younger people who like the midevil times.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book to be fairly mediocre. There was no explanation for what I think was old English inserted randomly throughout the book. I really don't see why they were there. It was really odd and confusing, but it fits in with a lot of other odd and confusing aspects of the book. Often I felt a little whiplash. Some of the scenes consisted of only four or five sentences making it feel like the author has ADHD. It made everything feel disconnected. The scenes would skip time an dnot explain how some important things came to be. I thought at times the story difficult to follow. The book became less entertaining for the latter half. The story was harder to follow and characters became more annoying.

[R.M. ArceJaeger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this book starts with John becoming an outlaw, I found it kind of dull…at first. About 1/4 of the way through the book, a certain other character was introduced (not Robin Hood) and then things started to get much more interesting. In the end, I was pleased with the book, although the ending left me dissatisfied.

[Dominique · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was geared for a young adult and the foreshadowing was quite obvious, though it might not be for the readers this book is geared for.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story. An easy read.