Knights and Castles by Seymour Simon

Knights and Castles by Simon Seymour

*Review created for Texas Woman’s University graduate level class*

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

             Simon, Seymour.2006. KNIGHTS AND CASTLES. San Francisco, CA. Chronicle Books. ISBN 978-0-8118-5408-5

            2. SUMMARY

            Simon entrances young children with information on knights, castles, and lords in the Middle Ages.  In addition, Simon provides information on the weaponry and armor of knights, as well as their training.  Boys at the age of 7 were sent away to begin training as a knight; at the age of 14 they were made squires, and at 21 they were finally made a knight. 

3. CRITICAL REVIEW

Jousting, swords, lances, arrows, crossbows, horses and armor; what do these all have in common?  Knights and the castles they lived in.  Simon presents Knights and Castles in a comprehensive format for children between the ages of 7-9.  Simon uses visually attractive photographs of the armor, clothing, weaponry, and castles, interspersed with text.  The text is filled with factual information about how knights lived, the armor and weaponry of the Middle Ages, as well as the castles and keeps they built for defense and survival.

In addition to his splendid style of engaging children, he also gives the pronunciation of unfamiliar words such as Renaissance, jousting, mythological among others, to help children and their pronunciation.  Simon captures the reader’s attention, but does not overload the reader with information; just another example of his superb style.  Knights and Castles is sure to engage children with its story like quality, visually entertaining pictures, and interesting facts about knights.  Did you know that a trained archer could fire 12 arrows a minute?  I didn’t. 

4. REVIEWS/AWARDS

“Large, bright pictures instantly engage readers in the subject”… Chronicle Books

Author is the winner of several different awards, including the Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children

Author of more than 250 children’s science books

5. CONNECTIONS

Read other nonfiction books by Seymour Science

Have children create their own nonfiction book about any topic

Read other books, both nonfiction and fiction, about knights, castles, and the Middle Ages

Make fake armor out of cardboard and aluminum foil

Have children create their own coat of arms on a cardboard shield

Do a general ancestry search, perhaps some of the children are related to knights

Works Cited

Powell's Books. "Knights and Castles." Accessed July 14, 2012. http://www.powells.com/biblio?show=TRADE%20PAPER:USED:9780811854092:2.50#synopses_and_reviews.

Seymour Simon. "About Seymour Simon." Accessed July 14, 2012. http://www.seymoursimon.com/index.php/about_seymour_simon/bio/.