Minstrel in the Tower

by Julek Heller Gloria Skurzynski

In this gripping medieval page-turner, Roger and his sister Alice are kidnapped and held for ransom in an ancient tower. To escape and find their uncle, the children must summon all their courage and imagination. "Designed as easy-reading material for middle-graders, this has the virtues of an attractive format and illustrations, a fast plot, and even a feminist fillip: Alice is the more intrepid of the siblings, Roger's gifts are for music and ventriloquism."--"Bulletin, Center for Children's Books."

Genres: Historical Fiction, School, Fiction, Childrens, Medieval, 2nd Grade, Chapter Books

60 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1988

Reviews

[Vertrees · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read with my 7 yo. Good story, great to talk about towers, castles, moats.

[C.J. Milbrandt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roger and Alice are still waiting for their father to return from the Crusades, even though the war ended three years ago. When their mother falls sick with a fever, she begs her children to find her brother, who will surely help them.

Lutes and lyrics. Tree-climbing and towers. Ruffians and ransom. Uncles and heirs. A neatly-written short story that gives a glimpse of medieval life. Alice's tomboyish ways and outspokenness are endearing, and her older brother Roger's carefulness and cleverness are equally winsome. Their cooperation and courage bring about a happy ending.

Beautifully illustrated!

[✨Arline✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple but not stereotypical knights and damsels story. Good read aloud or first chapter book.

[Emmie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is part of our Sonlight Curriculum in Core C. We're studing the middle ages and this quick read is a captivating story set in this time period.

The mother is ill and in desperate need of medicine. She sends her children to fetch a nobleman to come to her aid. Along the way the children are captured and held prisoner. The children scheme to get away and get help. Will their scheme succeed?

While an easy read, the story will hold your attention as the characters are made very real in their simplicity. I also appreciate the feeling of the time period and gaining some understanding of what this time in history was like.

My kids and I all enjoyed this book!

[Emilia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm going to go out of my way to draw attention to one paragraph in this book. In this one paragraph Roger mentions their sick mother and Alice starts crying. "Don't cry" he tells her, because a) apparently is ok for him to tell his sister to squash her emotions, and b) evidently being sad isn't ok. Then in the same paragraph a little later on, he tells her "Go to sleep now." And we wonder why men grow up feeling superior. I'm not for book banning, but these "seemingly harmless" little snippets need to be addressed directly to the reader so she or he can decide whether it's a problem or not. There, I've said it.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another historical fiction children's book that is impressively accurate about the time period in which it is set. This was a quick, simple read for my upper elementary student, but it was not so easy that the plot was simplistic and boring. It kept my attention as an adult and I was pleased with how it conveyed the sense of uncertainty for widowed women and her children in the Middle Ages. Also, the main characters are two resourceful and plucky children and so readily identifiable with the intended audience.

[Congetta · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an easy book for someone entering middle school. I used it for read aloud fluency for my son. It was simple, but he liked it. However, I do have a problem with it categorized as a history book. This was historical fiction and should have been classified as such. It lead to a conversation about how books are classified, so that was an unplanned teaching moment. Very easy intro to the Middle Ages. I think it could have been more complex.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book quite a bit as a kid, probably because I could see myself in Roger, and my sister in Alice. It's a bit simpler than I remembered it being, but I enjoyed the illustrations, and even though it doesn't really take full advantage of its medieval setting, there are some fun words in there that aren't common usage these days. 3.5 out of 5 stars, rounded up for the illustrations.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this to the children. They liked it well enough, but weren’t on the edge of their seats excited. The characters did remind me a little of Jack and Annie from the Magic Treehouse series. But at one point in the book the kids are separated from each other and the action becomes very slow at that point. Not especially memorable story weeks later after reading it.

[Ruthe Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is part of a group of books (Stepping Stones) that are written for children who are either new to reading or have difficulty reading. Many of the books are abridged copies of classics. This particular book is historical and contains a fairly good story of a brother and sister living in England during the Crusades in medieval times.

[Mh Weyler · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was rather lackluster. Perhaps suspenseful for a child but plot rather poorly rounded for a more mature child or adult. Don’t feel like it was overly educational either. And the storyline ended with modern feminism— the girl is told she can continue to climb trees and act as she wishes despite being a noblewoman by birth.

[Aubrey Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as part of our homeschool history curriculum. I have kids ages 10, 8, 8, and 3. My 3 year old was able to understand a lot of the book, and pick up on who the characters were. My older kids enjoyed the book and were happy with the length of the chapters. We learned a lot of new words reading this book.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read, reasonably entertaining for ages, I dunno, probably 7-9 or so. Pretty straightforward story, clean ending (if a little simplistic), it was fine: I wouldn't consider it amazing, but it was okay.

[Nichole Ostrander · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story has great adventure, and fun action. It really helps bring the Middle Ages to life for a young readers. I would say this book is great for second graders and some third graders. We really liked to story.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What fun for a beginning chapter book!Family values, adventure, conquering fears, villains, knights, and a happy ending of course.

[Jacquie · Rating 3 out of 5]

My nine year old read this one. Didn't seem to really engage him, but he never complained about reading it either.

[Bethany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for history. Goes along with Veritas press history

[Reed Dreifuss · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it. my favorite part was when their uncle cornered the robbers.

[Matthew Hodge · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick fun read set in medieval France but not hugely memorable.

[James Tetley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple tale but enjoyable. Set after the Crusades involving knights and barons and scoundrels and 2 small children in search of their uncle!!

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good way to help children learn about medieval times by way of introduction. Easy to read and engaging for children.

[Kest Schwartzman · Rating 1 out of 5]

that was SPECTACULARLY bad. Not even fun bad, just eye-rollingly awful.

[Suzanne Simpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great little book, doesn't take long to read but a good story. Great for a child who likes adventures but doesn't like books that last too long.

[Johnny Bennett · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was enjoyable and very short. Could easily see it being made into a made for TV movie.

[KatieK · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great little read that takes you right into the medieval period!

[Joyfully Jules · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow a great book. Too bad it was so short. Gave me "Crispin and the Cross of Lead" vibes :)

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice little chapter book - historical fiction set in France at the time of the Crusades. My littles (ages 7 and 8) really enjoyed it!

[Jennifer Ritchie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple yet enjoyable story set during medieval times. The illustrations are very nice, and add to the story.

[Carmen Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

For such a short book, it was really quite riveting. I read it aloud to my 10,9 and 7 year olds and they didn't want me to stop reading it.