Rating: Not for me

Reading level: Early Elementary

This is Enid’s retelling of two classic heroes: Robinhood and in part 2: some of King Arthur’s adventures. She really is a fantastic storyteller for children!

Robinhood

I was pleasantly surprised by Robinhood; I like how he and his men feast on the game in the king’s forest sort of knowing that the king wouldn’t mind. It feels similar to knowing the spirit of the law, not the letter of the law. I also like how the merry men are loyal to Robinhood and devoted to him. It is a good reminder that we will always be devoted to something; choose wisely.

Things I didn’t like about the Robin Hood portion:

  • Religious hypocrites. It’s a bummer that there are greedy, snobby religious leaders who Robinhood opposes—but at least Friar Tuck is ok. 
  • Burning at the stake/witch hunting. At one point, an official threatens to burn Robin at the stake “like a witch” but naturally Robin eludes him. 
  • Violence. There is plenty of battle and occasional rough clunks and such. At one point there is talk of “hanging” the sherriff.

Adventures of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table:

I just didn’t enjoy this part nearly as much. Here are a few reasons why: 

  • Quick to turn to Violence. The knights are too quick to fight, too slow to forgive, and they don’t stop to figure out if its someone they might not want to kill until it’s too late!
  • Sinlessness human? Sir Galahad is described as someone without sin. I know that we can be sinless through Christ, but the book did not mention that part and seemed to posit him as sinless by his own clean and pure life and heart. This is theologically incorrect according to Romans (all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…).
  • Magic/Witchcraft. More references to magic and witchcraft without much in terms of redeeming qualities to make the story overall worth it.

I guess one positive aspect is that in the end, the huge heartbreaking war between Arthur and Lancelot has parallels to the war between David and Absalom. In both cases a king is forced to go to war against someone he loves because of lack of forgiveness.

Bottom line: if you’re ok with a bit of violence, Robinhood was rather sweet. But the king Arther part had too many testosterone-infused hotheads.