From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.
Gr. 4^-7. Morpurgo's retelling of nine familiar stories about Arthur Pendragon and the Knights of the Round Table is beautifully presented and certain to attract browsers. It is Morpurgo's faithfulness to the original stories, however, and the fine writing that captures all the adventure, drama, and tragedy that will engage readers. Arthur himself tells the tales to a 12-year-old boy, who awakes in Arthur's cave after atempting to walk the seabed to the Eastern Isles. As the boy recovers, he learns how Arthur became king, hears the legend of Excalibur and the adventures of the knights, and finds out about the end of Camelot. Although the Green Knight appears in armor when he is described wearing different attire, Foreman's hazy watercolors are usually a perfect complement to the dreamy, bygone-times quality of the stories. Arthurian retellings abound, but libraries should consider adding Morpurgo's admirable narrative to their collections. --Chris Sherman