The Knights of the Kitchen Table

In the first book in the Time Warp Trio series, the reader is introduced to its three main characters - Joe, Fred, and Sam - and learns how they achieve the power of being able to travel to different times. The story opens with Joe's birthday, with the boys reviewing Joe's birthday haul of presents. Sam points out that Joe missed one, and Joe's mom mentions it is from his Uncle Joe. Since Uncle Joe, also known as Joe the Magnificent, is a magician, all three boys are excited to open the package. Fred is disappointed when it's just a book, but Joe is intrigued by its midnight blue color with silver and swirly designs. Before Joe has a chance to fully examine it, though, Fred opens it and expresses a wish to see the black knight in the show more picture in person. His words are followed by a swirling mist which covers the room, and when it clears, the three boys discover they really can see the knight up close and personal!

While they figure out what happened, they also have to disarm the Black Knight, who is intent on killing them. With some teamwork and quick thinking, the boys use the knight's abilities against him to knock him out, and deduce that the book Joe's uncle gave him was indeed magic and transported them into the past. They are able to determine when they are after some knights of the round table trot up and congratulate them for defeating the evil knave Black Knight. They invite the three boys, who must be wizards, to return with them to the court, where they meet King Arthur. Their troubles are far from over; Merlin mistrusts them, and seems jealous about their designation as wizards, and to prove themselves, the boys agree to defeat the rampaging ogre and flaming dragon that are both attacking King Arthur's court at the same time.

The trio use the same common sense sarcasm and wit that they applied to the Black Knight to route dragon and ogre. Even though they manage to get Merlin off their backs, they still are stuck in Arthurian England, with no way home. Luckily, Merlin eventually reveals that he found their sorcerous book and he returns it (likely to get them out of his hair). The boys magically return to Joe's kitchen at the exact moment that they left, in another swirling fog of mist.

Since this is a beginning chapter book, the story is fast-paced and short, with small chapters and plenty of cliffhanger moments. The three characters are feisty and funny boys, and the story is full of action and gross gags, all of which appeals to young readers and keeps their attention engaged. My daughters had a great time reading this book. The story also includes some jokes meant for the grown up readers, like certain references to Lancelot and Guinevere. Sciezka has a snarky and silly voice that is on full display in this book, and makes for a great read aloud. The narrative is accompanied with wonderful illustrations that perfectly capture the style and tone of the book. My family enjoyed the introduction book to this series, and plan on reading further in the series. show less

For Joe’s birthday, his magician uncle gives him a magic book that transports him and his friends back in time. Stuck in King Arthur’s time, Joe and his friends meet up with an evil black knight (that even Sir Lancelot cannot vanquish), a giant and a dragon – all the while trying to make it back to their own time.

The Response
I got through this book in about a half hour – it is positively adorable!

And I really really wish I knew someone with a young son so I could give this to them – young boys would love it!!

I really enjoy the stuff Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith do together – but this is the first time that I’ve read something written by Scieszka that isn’t a picture book. And his writing certainly translates well to show more longer books. This is the first book in Scieszka’s Time Warp Trio – a series that consists of numerous books, and a television show. And after reading this one, I am completely confident that I will be reading more in this series.

Right! So this one, though, they meet King Arthur! I adore King Arthur! And I didn’t realize that this one actually had anything to do with Camelot or Arthur or the Knights of the Round Table, but it totally does! Merlin is a mean, grouchy old bugger, but Lancelot seems as much of a ninny as he always has been. Which is a bit of a relief because I (slightly ashamed to admit this) get angry whenever Lancelot is painted in the best of lights. (But I am NOT going to go into that rant today.) I have to admit that I was relieved when I realized that Lancelot couldn’t outsmart and vanquish an evil knight that three young boys could get the better of.

One of the things that I liked most about this book compared to other books for the same age group is that it isn’t as dependent on potty humour as some others seem to be. The worst of it all is the giant with a really bad bout of B.O. I feel the same towards too much potty humour as I do towards too much swearing in books – in small doses it can be amusing, or can enhance the story… but too much of it just feels like the author is trying to shock the reader. So I really appreciated it that this book wasn’t like that.

My only real disappointment with the book was the fact that there simply weren’t enough illustrations to satisfy a Lane Smith fangirl. :P

The Bottom Line
Adorable book! Adorable start to a series! Will need to read more! Highly recommend – especially for young boys! show less

This book is a short and sweet adventure tale of three young boys who are magically swept away into King Arthur’s England where they must use their talents to defeat the evil Black Knight, the giant Bleob, and Smaug the Dragon. But will the boys be able to figure out their way home? The book is a light and entertaining read, with an appropriate amount of perfectly matched illustrations. Kids, especially boys, will enjoy this book for its adventure and humor, but personally I found it was too short to have characters that were truly interesting.

Sam, Joe and Fred are three friends who encounter adventures as they travel back in time. Joe received “The Book” from his Uncle Joe the Magnificent for his birthday and whenever he opens it and wishes for something, he and his friends land back in a time period relevant to the wish. The book on CD version includes the first two adventures. In the “Knights of the Kitchen Table” , the trio enter the middle ages to meet King Author and the Knights of the Round Table along with a foul-smelling, burping giant. In the “The Not So Jolly Roger” they wish for buried treasure and end up in Blackbeard’s time complete with a plank and a crew of villainous pirates. As exciting as these time warp adventures may sound, the characters show more are shallow and rather annoying. William Dufris, the performer, does a great impression of the goofy giant and Blackbeard’s warbles, but his voice for the three main characters has an irritating, whiny tone. This series is no match to the stellar Magic Tree House series, but I would still recommend it for elementary school level readers as it may entice the reluctant readers with its “boy” content. show less

As a medieval studies major who's studied the legend of King Arthur, you know I'm going to have a problem with this one. It's way too loaded with things that completely aren't part of the legend (giants and even dragons aren't in any of the big manuscripts, and Arthur's guys always get the black knight- unless the knight is Lancelot dressing up to mess with everyone). This imaginary journey to King Arthur's coart might have kid appeal, and they'll be able to understand the language better than if the knights spoke anything resembling even early modern English, but it annoyed me. Like I said though, the kids may like it even if I don't.

The Time Warp Trio, by Jon Scieszka, was a really easy read with a very interesting story that any kid could find interest in. The book started off very quick and grabbed the reader very well. The main part of this book that I really liked was the plot of story, but what I liked about the plot was the simplicity of it. This book is based on the basic easy to follow one conflict at the beginning and one conflict to solve the original. The Time Warp Trio books are all based on the same basic plot which is very easy to read. Another aspect of this book that I like are the characters. While the characters were all boys, making the book not as interesting to girls or easy to relate to. These boys were very easy to connect to even at my age I show more could see myself in their shoes. Also any child could imagine being friends with any of them due to the great character development. The last thing I felt fondly about was the language that Jon used all around great writing. He uses language that is not only descriptive and picture painting but also language that a young child can read with easy and speed. With only 50 pages one would think the story is lacking or just shy of detail but Jon does a great job all around with all the books in this series. The big idea in this story was to use your brain not your muscle to fix a conflict. Great idea to teach young children not to hit people but to talk to them. show less

I have seen this series sitting on my library shelves and did not realize Lane Smith was the illustrator. I actually really enjoyed this quick read and could see the appeal with young boys. I liked the sarcastic, subtle adult humour alongside Smith's dark and detailed sketches.