The Sword in the Stone

I’ve just finished reading this book to my sons for the third time (5&7). They absolutely love this story of the innocent Wart and his tutor, Merlyn. They wish they, too, could experience the lives of animals, plants, and minerals. Rest assured, the humor and lessons are not lost on them… though the vocabulary and references are sometimes difficult to sift through. The boys beg me to find more books in the series, but I’m afraid they’ll have to wait until they’re older as the books get darker from here. Nevertheless it is fun to enjoy the Wart’s sweet boyhood while it lasts in this text.

This was my favorite story as a young child. The book is even better than the movie. It is easy to read and easy for a child to understand when being read to. The illustrations are excellent and provide interaction with the child as they focus on the drawings while the story unfolds. Excellent for bedtime reading, these books can be completed in one sitting for a child who cannot go to sleep, or over several nights for a child old enough to retain the storyline from one day to the next. Having these books, specifically the Classic Series, still available for children today is a wonderful library addition for any kid's room.

The Once and Future King, which is built upon and uses text from the Sword in the Stone, is one of my favorite books. Much like the Hobbit is a sometimes silly preamble to the Lord of the Rings, The Sword in the Stone is the less serious story of King Arthur as a boy that sets the stage for the novel, The Once and Future King. And like the Hobbit, while it can be occassionally silly- a deadly serious and powerful story is just below the surface. White was clearly impacted by the struggle to hold views of evolution and a God-centered world view, and was also clearly impacted by the tensions of war torn Europe. He weaves some fun stories of Robin Hood, life in a hawk mew, and light-hearted jousting in with all his explaining and metaphorizing, though. I can't imagine not liking the vivid imagery and exotic story-telling, and if you are a fan of any of the other initialed British writers you'll certainly feel at home with T.H. White. Read the Sword in the Stone- it won't take much time, but then by all means read The Once and Future King one day for the real masterpiece.

"Sword in the Stone" is the must-read book of Arthuriana, an imaginative fantasy romp that has inspired all our ideas about the venerable Merlin and about King Arthur's boyhood. White infuses the book with whimsy, poignancy, and a mixture of early 20th-century England and medieval times.Sir Ector's ward Arthur (known as "Wart") has no idea what he's in for when he accompanies Ector's son Kay out on a hunt. When a bad-tempered hawk escapes and refuses to come out of a tree, Wart ends up staying behind all night in the hopes of recapturing it. But he's interrupted by an odd old man called Merlin and his talking owl Archimedes. Merlin captures the hawk -- and then comes home with Wart. Soon he is firmly established as tutor to the two boys.But they soon discover that nobody is quite like Merlin, and the lessons he has to teach Wart are more than just math and Latin. Merlin transforms Arthur into a fish, an owl, a hawk, and sends him on bizarre journeys with Robin Wood (Wood, not Hood -- a common mistake) and his band of Merry Men, a duel with an evil witch, a gathering of trees, a fumbling King and the Questing Beast, and capture in a sinister giant's castle.T.H. White was a wonderful author, and an even better comic author. His characters are fully fleshed and endearing (even the nasty ones), but at the same time there is a delightful lightness to them. There isn't a speck of realism in the entire book -- chronology is bent and spindled, magic and realism are twisted together, and readers won't care at all. In a sense, "Sword" seems almost to exist in a parallel universe where animals talk, Robin Hood chit-chats with the once and future king, and carnivorous humanoids roam through Britain."Wart" is a good hero -- quiet, unassuming, thoughtful, and occasionally puts his foot in his mouth. His foster brother Kay is also good -- Kay is hot-tempered and a little loud-mouthed, but he is a nice person at heart. Merlin is the perfect crabby gray wizard, eccentric and unashamed to use his magic in a perfectly casual manner, and constantly a little befuddled due to his ability to live backwards in time. He'll endear himself to readers from the first page onward. There are dozens of equally funny characters: The always-questing King Pellinore and his Beast, the worried Sir Ector, the walking mustard-pot, the crabby but kindly owl Archimedes, and many, many more.White's writing goes at a slightly uneven clip: Sometimes it zips along quickly, at other times it crawls. He displays plenty of knowledge about medieval times, and seems a little too eager to reveal it to the readers. But his descriptions and dialogue are delightful, a mix of the modern and the medieval. There are some extremely frightening scenes, and some (such as the having to put down a fatally-injured dog) that will make you cry.Readers will come out of this book feeling like they have made a number of memorable, kindly friends. It's a must-read for anyone who loves the legends of Arthur.

A boy named the Arthur, called Wart, livng during the Middle Ages, is taught by a magician about the past, present, and future, and about all creatures living on the Earth. When the opportunity arises for the Wart to become King, he must recall everything he has learned to pull the magic sword from the stone and become the new leader of England. I enjoyed this book because it had so many exciting battles and page turning adventures. Even a small bit about Robin Hood! The plot really doesn't appear until the last few chapters, where you realized that every story within the book was connected all along. It is nice to know that there are fun and interesting books to read about the Medeival times. I think that if you are looking for a book with lots of adventure, this is truely one that you should read.

This is the book I read as a child and loved, then read again as a man and loved more. It is part of how I see the King Arthur legend. I will never part with my copy, and I will read it to my son when I have one.