Merlin and the Making of the King

You could be forgiven for thinking that it was about time for Margaret Hodges to rest on her laurels. Consider her widespread accomplishments. In 1983 she takes Edward Spencer's "Fairy Queen" and turns it into a Caldecott winning picture book that is readable by children ("Saint George and the Dragon"). As I write this the woman is nearing her 95th birthday and is still going strong. Heck, she's so important that her papers and correspondence are kept in the Elizabeth Nesbitt Room of the University of Pittsburgh (which, I might add, Hodges founded in the first place when she was a Professor Emerita there). Yet here she is with yet another accomplished retelling of a story all children should know. As a children's librarian, I often field interesting requests from patrons. Yesterday a woman came up to me and said, "My children are really into the 'Magic Treehouse' series, especially the books that talk about Merlin. Do you have a good book that tells the King Arthur and Merlin story that they might like?". I was torn. Not because the kids were going from vapid series to a tale with origins dating back to the 1400s. Not because I had any doubt in my mind that "Merlin and the Making of the King" would be a perfect choice for the woman. No, I hesitated because I knew perfectly well that my library branch has a single solitary copy of this book... and that it was sitting on my desk at home waiting for me to review it for this website. So I recommended it whole-heartedly and am now trying to write a review of it ASAP so that I can connect these kids from modern day piffle to a tale originally known as "Le Morte d'Arthur". Covering the entire life of King Arthur, we begin our tale in the presence of the great wizard Merlin. When Uther Pendragon defeated the Duke of Cornwall and became king of all England, Merlin appeared to the ruler in a dream and told him that due to his personal failings, the wizard was going to spirit away his soon-to-be-born son at the earliest possible convenience. Uther, apparently okay with this, sends his baby boy off without a fight and soon thereafter dies. The baby is little Arthur, and he is raised by the kindly Sir Ector alongside a boy who becomes a knight by the name of Sir Kay. One day a sword is stuck into a stone and anvil and sure as shooting, Arthur pulls it clean out and becomes king. He receives a sword from Vivien, the Lady of the Lake, and goes on to rule the round table. In a somewhat quick and dirty encapsulation, the book skips over most of the fables associated with King Arthur and just sticks with the stories connected to his life. We meet Morgan le Fay, Mordred, Guinevere, and Launcelot. Arthur fights Mordred thrice, is defeated at last, and departs with the promise that he will someday return. As for Merlin, he disappears with many rumors surrounding where he has gone. No one knows for certain. The Arthur myth is so integrated into our public consciousness that as I read this bo

This book is a wonderful gift for any child between 6 and 10. And for many an adult. Its illustrations have just the exact amount of beauty and dream like quality the foggy ages of the Arthurian saga demand. Children are confronted with the beauty of ideals, the necessity of moral strength, the real possibility of the arising of enemies even in your own family -like the brother wanting the glory of having taken the sword from the stone for himself, almost steeling Arthur's destiny- the mysterious forces at work to help fulfill one's life aims, either noble or evil, thus the eternal war among good and evil in and outside ourselves. And finally, the reality of death. Even the bravest have to die. All these truths of life expressed in a clear simple language, with the strength of one of the main myths of the western mind, the story of King Arthur, what a gift! This is the wonderful encounter of what was already there -the old chunk of Arthurian litterature- with what was created by the authors, the simple, powerful telling and the jewel like images.

A brilliant and gorgeously illustrated retelling of the Arthurian legend for very young children; even kindergarteners or first graders could appreciate its stately but simple language paired with Hyman's magnificent pictures.