King Arthur: Tales from the Round Table (Dover Children's Evergreen Classics)

King Arthur: Tales from the Round Table is Dover Evergreen Classic's 2002 adaptation of folklorist Andrew Lang's 1902 The Book of Romance. King Arthur consists of 13 separate stories chronicling King Arthur, Queen Guinevere, Lancelot, and other Knights of the Round Table. A few of the stories are great, and others are only okay. One fantastic aspect of the volume that runs throughout are the illustrations from the original publication by H.J. Ford.One thing that must be kept in mind is that these stories are from a 1902 collection of much older folklore. As such, the style is not what a modern reader may be used to. For example, characterization and motivation are given little attention, and much of the action you'd expect from a book about knights questing is missing. Most battles are generally summed up in the text as "The two knights fought for an hour before Sir Lancelot dealt a blow to the helm to his opponent, who then yielded."My favorite story from the collections is "What Beaumains asked of the King." At 36 pages, it is the longest single narrative of the book (more pages are given to the Quest for the Holy Grail, but those pages are split between several stories). In this tale, a humble young man comes to Arthur's court, refusing to give his true name. He asks to be knighted and aide a woman who has come seeking aid for her sister who is besieged in her castle. Beaumains ventures forth to rescue the sister, defeating foes along the way as the woman scoffs at the lowly person sent to help her sister, unaware of Beaumains' true nobility.As mentioned, I really enjoyed the engravings by H.J. Ford. His 28 illustrations do much to bring the story to life, and portray the characters and setting in a very romantic light. Almost every story gets at least one illustration, and the longer ones include several. I'd actually say that Ford's art is my favorite part of the book. It's just so evocative of the source material.Overall, this is an interesting book for someone who isn't very familiar with the Round Table tales. There isn't as much depth as there could be to the stories, but perhaps that's more in keeping with the original stories, as opposed to modern expectations. The art, however, is definitely well done and makes the volume worthwhile. I'm very happy Dover included the original artwork when issuing King Arthur: Tales from the Round Table.

I can't say the book is a literary masterpiece. But if you're just looking to learn a little about the Arthurian legends without the agony of reading 12th century writings, you'll find this book enjoyable and helpful. There are a few better children's King Arthur books out there though, with more details and adventures. But, overall, you won't be disappointed if your not expecting much.

I picked this version to read to my 10 & 12 year old children because it was suppose to be an easier version. We are glad we didn't try to read any more difficult versions. Wordy at times, but enjoyable.

Everyone dies and it made my daughter cry so yeah

Got this for my little brother because he’s been bad all year, but the quality of the book is quite lovely!

I used this book as a replacement for another King Arthur Book for TOG Yr 2. My child was able to answer all of the literature questions using this book too....and it was free! Love that!

This was a great book I highly recommend it!Loved all the details. I think this is a book that everyone should read.Note: This is written by my 13 year old daughter.

I love the book because it gets to the point in the story. With a little work it is easy to understand.

I read these tales when I was a child and I loved them. I still love them, but of course I see them differently now. This particular book is aimed more at children, and so it is simply told, and therefore does not enable the reader to get intimately involved with the characters...which is to be expected, because it is more for the young.Having said this, I still enjoyed it, and consider it worth buying, which is why I rated it at 4 stars...recommended.

Good read

クラシックストーリーとして一度読んでおくべきだと思い、6歳の息子に購入しました。