The Adventures of Sir Lancelot the Great

I don't like Arthurian stuff. I just don't. It's messy and tragic and all those knights are confusing and I had a bad run-in with the literary symbolism of Sir Gawain in college and if you read the older stories the language is impossible and if you read the new ones they sound dumb....you get the point.

But. I have found an Arthurian series I like. In fact, I laughed myself sick (literally, since I had a bad cough when I first read this and laughing set it off. very painful). And it's a beginning chapter book! Not enough of them around, especially good funny ones like this!

All I'll say is that it involves shiny armor, love-sick ladies, and afternoon naps....

Verdict: Not to be read while drinking milk.

ISBN: 978-0618777143; Published May show more 2008 by Houghton Mifflin; Borrowed from the library; Purchased for the library show less

It's been way too long since I read me some Arthurian legend. And while I should probably go back and remind myself of everything I've forgotten from T.H. White's The Once and Future King, or perhaps Roger Lance Green's King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table (with it's spiffy new Puffin Classics edition), it was more fun to get Gerald Morris's take on the French knight aimed at the young reader crowd.

Fun is key here. Morris has neatly selected a series of tales from Lancelot's part in the legends and presented them as a series of adventures that begin with his inadvertently spectacular arrival at Arthur's court to his days where he has grown weary of the burden of being Sir Lancelot. Along the way he meets challengers to his show more title as unbeaten, ladies who hold him hostage until he chooses one for a wife, and in the end, defender of the innocence of the queen.

Ah, yes, Guinevere. There's no mention of Lancelot's secret affair here, and nothing else unsavory that might scare off young boys (and girls, to be fair) who might be getting their first introduction to the Arthurian legends. Guine isn't even mentioned by name, she's simply the queen. All in all there is a very sanitized, safe feeling about these adventures, but that doesn't make them any less enjoyable.

The humorous illustrations, both inside and on the cover, are an appropriate indication of what the reader can expect. In some ways, the book's lineage feels closer to Monty Python than any of the traditional prose or poetry of legend. It's hard not to see the rampaging John Cleese at times as Lancelot goes through his paces, until you come across one of Renier's illustrations and are confronted with an entirely different, but equally humorous, character. show less

Reviewed by Jaglvr for Kids @ TeensReadToo.com

Everyone knows the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. And everyone knows that Sir Lancelot was the most famous and bravest night of the group. Mr. Morris has taken the story of Lancelot and made it entertaining and fun for readers of all ages.

THE ADVENTURES OF SIR LANCELOT THE GREAT is the first book in the new THE KNIGHTS' TALES series. In this retelling of Sir Lancelot, Mr. Morris makes Lancelot humorous and quite the whimsical knight.

Lancelot hears that the knights of King Arthur are the best and shiniest in the lands. So he leaves his father and his home country, France, on a quest for the world-famous knights. On his journey, he winds up in a rain storm, making his show more armor quite muddy. In his attempts to clean his armor to present himself to the Court of King Arthur, he is attacked by sixteen different knights. As his right hand was busy cleaning his armor, he managed to defeat all sixteen by using his left hand. Little did he know, he had stumbled into the midst of a tournament and unknowingly wins.

As with all the adventures in this quick read, Mr. Morris makes the story humorous when it is revealed that this very tournament was for King Arthur himself.

Readers of all ages will delight in the amusing adventures that Lancelot finds himself faced with. He gets caught in a tree, tied up by four queens, and becomes a reclusive forest man. Aiding the storytelling are the equally entertaining illustrations done by Aaron Renier.

I found myself laughing while reading this story and look forward to the next book in the series, THE ADVENTURES OF SIR GIVRET THE SHORT, due out in October 2008. show less

This book is a hilarious version of historical fiction that breaks the stereotype of the genre. Boys ages 8-11 will especially like reading about the silly adventures of Sir Lancelot. While the vocabulary in this book is large, it lends opportunity for learning and discussion with teachers/parents. Within the lighthearted adventures readers will find morals they can relate to, like 'the grass is always greener on the other side' and 'friendship is lasting.' Also check out the rest of the series!

Written for readers who are transitioning to more complicated chapter books, this is a simplification of Sir Lancelot the Great's adventures. The author picks about 4-5 episodes and makes short, chapter-length stories out of them. It's a good introduction to the legends and probably makes them more interesting to kids who would otherwise be put off by the more inaccessible language of other retellings. Hopefully kids will gain an appreciation for the tales and later be motivated to move on to some more complex King Arthur material. I didn't enjoy the illustrations - I'll go on record as saying they seemed like bad Hanna-Barbera cartoon cels.

My kids really liked it. It was a fun and easy read, but not true to the original tales of King Arthur.

not true to the original legends, but very humorous