by Marguerite De Angelo
This was a very readable book about a young boy named Robin who was the son of a nobleman. His father was off at war and Robin, at the ripe old age of 10, was to be sent to a knight to learn to become a knight. Since Robin’s father was gone and her son would be off learning knight stuff, his mother answered a call to serve the queen. However, there was a gap from when she left for the queen’s service and when Robin was to leave, so she left the servants to take care of him. Unfortunately, Robin fell very ill, and so did the servants. They died and did not return. Robin lost the use of his legs and was, luckily, happened upon by a monk who took him back to his monastery to take care of him with all the plague victims in the area.
Once the plague abated, the monastery cleared out and Brother Luke was able to focus more on Robin who was better, but without the use of his legs. He started teaching him to read and write, to whittle and, as physical therapy, to swim. Robin grew in strength and eventually managed to get around using crutches. He also grew in wood working skill and made his own harp.
The knight who was supposed to teach Robin all about knighting eventually found out what happened to him and invited him to his castle with Brother Luke and a minstrel named John-go-in-the-Wynd. Robin and his two caretakers go on a long journey to get there with much adventure. Once there, the castle falls under siege and, despite his handicap, Robin is able to help.
This book was excellent. The story was entertaining, we learned a lot about life in that time period and the characters were very lovable. My son said, “It wasn’t that bad.” High praise from my anti-reader! This book was excellent and I’d definitely recommend it.
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