In the Castle

Usborne Little Board Books

by Anna Milbourne

A boy and girl imagine what life was like in a castle, and what the king's nephew had to do to become a knight.

Genres: Childrens, History

24 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Growing up in North West England and in Germany, Anna wrote plays about talking animals, and stories about naughty children, and drew on every available surface. After school, she did an Art Foundation course, then a degree in German Literature & Philosophy at Oxford University. In 1998 she found her perfect job at Usborne in London, writing about everything from curious penguins to trips to the Moon. Usborne.com

Reviews

[hayley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought it for Niamh’s P1 classroom and I read it so it counts !
The 20 words in total definitely count <3

[Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the Castle was published by English Heritage. I'd say it's probably well suited for a gift shop book, but actually I think its best use would be to read before - maybe in the car en route or some such - a trip to visit a castle. Apart from that it acts as a good introduction to what would've gone on in a castle (gory bits glossed over, naturally, given the age group) which could help a child get more out of the visit, I think the last line could really inspire:

That was all a long time ago... but just imagine if it weren't...

Cue illustrations of boys running around a castle dressed up as little knights with swords drawn. It probably wouldn't make for a sedate trip, but it'd be a good way of trying to get a child's imagination running in overdrive! And that's the beauty of going on days out - not to read loads of information plaques, but to engage with the history!