The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood

I am a special education teacher. I have many sets of Stepping Stones books for my reading class. This one is true to the old movie with Errol Flynn which I aslo obtained. It is great to be able to bring the classics to older students who struggle to read.

It pains me to read the reviews here by people who bought this book looking for the Disney fox. This is a legend, folklore, not fairy tale. It's closer to Beowulf than Beauty and the Beast. The language is fantastic, poetry! I read it first when I was very young, fourth grade maybe, but I enjoyed it then as much as I enjoy it now. The language is an obstacle for the first two pages, maybe three, but, after you acclimatize yourself to it, it creates a unique mood and atmosphere. This book is one of my all time favorites. I laughed, I cried, I wrote a review.

Who hasn't heard of Robin Hood and his merry band of outlaws in Sherwood Forest? In this book you meet them all - including the powerful Little John, courageous Will Scarlet, musical Allan a Dale, and sly Friar Tuck. Howard Pyle offers what is probably the most complete and best collection of Robin Hood tales. All the old favorites are included - Little John and his quarter-staff toppling Robin into the water, Robin winning the golden arrow at Nottingham's archery contest, and the Sheriff being outsmarted in numerous attempts to capture Robin. But these are just the tip of the iceberg - this book is chock-full of entertaining merry adventures.The medieval setting is portrayed beautifully, including the vast gulf between the upper and lower classes of society, the corruption and greed of the nobility, and the hypocrisy of the medieval Roman Catholic church where religion has degenerated to mere outward rituals. Even the language is somewhat antiquated, which initially seems tedious, but persevere because you will soon find that this an enjoyable and essential addition that heightens the heroic atmosphere of the story. But the medieval setting is not presented without a social commentary - Pyle shows that the unbalanced social structure inevitably resulted in the oppression of the poor and weak. It is left to Robin Hood and his men to take justice into their own hands, and fight nobly for the cause of the downtrodden. Such justice is accomplished in a questionable manner, because the notion of robbing the rich to help the poor implicitly endorses civil disobedience. But the more important theme of seeking justice and maintaining truth and right is in itself a noble one. With Robin Hood, we find ourselves wanting justice, and being prepared to make unselfish sacrifices in order to achieve it. When justice is done, it is actually the greed and corruption of the nobility that has led to its own destruction and ruin.But the real attraction of this gem are the enthralling exploits of Robin Hood and his band of merry men. Howard Pyle presents Sherwood Forest as a rather glamorous utopian world where feasting and song abound, where it is never winter, and where the ale rarely runs dry. Robin Hood clearly represents a form of hedonism, and in his company there is never a lack of action, adventure, or for that matter - ale. But it's not the beer that attracts us to Robin Hood, it's rather his bravado. There is no end to the accomplishments of muscles and mind, as he and his merry band outwit all comers by sheer physical skill in archery, wrestling, swordmanship, and quarter-staff combat, or by outsmarting them with deceit and disguise. To our delight, Robin's brawn and brains always come out on top at the end.Howard Pyle's collection of Robin Hood's merry adventures is a classic that is constantly entertaining and exciting - one that you'll want to own and read over and over!

Pyle's book is simply THE GREATEST version of the Robin Hood legend ever written (it is no wonder it has been in print for one hundred years). The poetic Medieval english is never too difficult for readers of a young age because the dialogue is stirring, a blood-rousing call to adventure with Robin and his merry men. Pyle perfectly captures everything that makes the Robin Hood legend still compelling today, without making the battles between noble Robin and the corrupt government of early England into a treacly, heavy-handed lesson in morals (unlike many of the books his contemporaries were writing). This book is especially fun to read aloud; it was a popular read with the kids I babysat for in high school. (Plus, what kid doesn't dream once in a while of running away and living in the forest, hunting deer with longbows, and showing off in front of the damsel of his dreams by defeating the "bad guy" in a duel of broadswords?)

I am 6 years old in first grade and I love this book! I like the characters best. It's great. The words were not hard for me. I've got 20,000 Leagues under the sea, the last of the Mohicans, Robin Hood, and Kidnapped, and Robin Hood is one of the best of these.