Favorite Medieval Tales - Softcover

Osborne, Mary Pope

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0439141346 ISBN 13: 9780439141345

Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks, 2002

Synopsis

In their fourth magnificent collaboration of the world's great stories, Mary Pope Osborne and Troy Howell present nine best-loved tales from the days of chivalry, honor, and enchantment.

This collection contains nine treasured tales from medieval Europe--from the mysterious Celtic world of Finn MacCoul to the enchanted realm of King Arthur. Readers will meet the noble French hero Roland and the merry English outlaw Robin Hood. They will learn about the brutish chieftain Beowulf, the chivalrous knight Sir Gawain, and the brave young prince Hagen. And they will be entertained and enlightened by Marie de France's honorable Werewolf and Chaucer's venerable but clever-witted rooster, Chanticleer.

About this title

From Booklist:

Gr. 4^-6, younger for reading aloud. Dramatic and immediate for storytelling, this companion volume to Osborne and illustrator Troy Howell's Favorite Norse Myths (1996) has the same large-size, handsome design with spacious type, thick paper, and full-page painting and illustrated title page for each story. Osborne's nine retellings are faithful in spirit to the original stories, from the Arthurian chivalry of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight to the cozy domesticity of Chaucer's beast fable "Chanticleer and the Fox." There is also a Robin Hood story, a French werewolf parable, and versions of Finn Maccoul, Beowulf, the French Song of Roland, and the German Island of the Lost Children, all of them passed down orally and first written down between 1100 and 1450. Howell's acrylic paintings evoke the brightly detailed designs of illuminated manuscripts and medieval tapestries, with monsters and heroes, arches and battlefields. The excellent, readable notes provide historical and literary context, and many readers will go from here to the great full-blown retellings by such writers as Rosemary Sutcliff and Howard Pyle. Hazel Rochman

From School Library Journal:

Grade 4-9-This beautiful storybook is also an entrancing introduction to medieval art and literature, and to the development of the English language. Rather than attempting a potted life history, each tale presents a defining narrative for its hero: Finn MacCoul, Beowulf, King Arthur, Hagen, Roland, Marrok the Werewolf, Gawain, Robin Hood, and Chanticleer. Sometimes this incident is virtually all there is (e.g., Marrok), but the informative notes do not always indicate when additional tales about the figure exist, as they do for most. The language of the retellings manages to be both dignified and lively, with just a hint of the archaic. The introduction notes that the chronological sequence of the tales also reflects the development of the English language. Howell has contributed detailed notes on the medieval elements and inspiration in his work from the elaborate borders to the compositions of the full-page, color illustrations and ornamental title pages. Strikingly handsome, this collection should appeal to a wide range of readers.
Patricia Lothrop-Green, St. George's School, Newport, RI
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0439141346
• ISBN 13: 9780439141345
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 96