The Bremen Town Musicians text set

 The Brothers Grimm recorded this fairy tale. It takes place during the medieval era. 

1. The Bremen Town Musicians retold by Louise Simonson illustrated by Lisa Weber

A donkey, a dog, a cat, and a rooster are no longer useful to their owners. Fearing that their owners will put them to death, they leave their homes, meet each other along the way, and form a band. On their way to Bremen Town, they encounter a group of bandits rejoicing over their recent thievery success. They scare the robbers out of the house & secure a home for themselves.

Warnings: People believe the house is haunted. The thieves think ghosts,monsters, a witch, and a werewolf chase them out of the house.

2. The Musicians of Bremen retold & illustrated by Niroot Puttapipat

The illustrations in the retelling are beautiful. 

Warning: The one robber reports that a witch scratched him, a troll stabbe him in the leg, & a demon hit him with a club.

-Borrowed both from the library.

Reynard's Tale by Ben Hatke

 I was researching tales that were written during the medieval era and read about Reynard the fox. The library system in my county only owned this graphic novel version of the tales. I was not impressed. I would not want kids reading it. I THINK the library has it shelved as a juvenile book. The publisher has it labeled as young adult. But the cover, book size, sentence & book length make it appealing to younger kids.

Reynard avoids an evil king's summons by fleeing & returning to the place where he stays for the winter. Along the way he encounters danger, pursuers, and former lovers. A surprise ending.

Warnings: Most of the women  show at least cleavage. The mermaids' chests are somewhat or fully exposed. One woman has a dress with a long slit-shows lots of leg. Reynard gets drunk with a woman & spends the night with her. An illustration shows him waking up in the bed beside her. She is on her stomach with the blanket pulled down halfway down her back. The reader can tell she is naked. The reader will infer he had a relationship with another woman & produced an offspring with her. He says the word "dn" & bstd". 

-Borrowed from the library.

Saving the Liberty Bell by Megan McDonald illustrated by Marsha Gray Carrington

 Ms. McDonald illuminates how the bell (eventually called the Liberty Bell) was hidden from British soldiers during the Revolutionary War. A farmer & his son haul it to Bethlehem, PA, where their wagon breaks down. Another farmer carries it to its final hiding destination-Allentown's Zion Reformed Church. I found the author's note interesting.

The bold illustrations and first person narration will make this story appeal even more to kids.

-Borrowed from the library.

The Pied Piper of Hamelin by Robert Browning illustrated by Kate Greenaway*

 While preparing for my son's history course, I read about how this poem is based on some historical truth. This addition defines archaic words. My son will be reading this poem & researching the different theories on this event.

I love the old-fashion illustrations.

*Highly recommend.

-Borrowed from the library.

The Bell Family by Noel Streatfeild*

 The Bell family lives in a vicarage in London. With a reverend's salary, the parents need to become creative when it comes to purchasing food, clothing, and booking a vacation. What they lack in material wealth, they are rich in escapades. Each child contributes to the excitement-Paul who wants to be a doctor must deal with pressure from a grandfather to abandon his dream and join the family business, Jane who longs to be a professional dancer but must attend a charity school, Ginnie says whatever is on her mind and is disciplined the most often, and Angus collects catepillars in matchboxes.

An entertaining story  I enjoyed every minute! Some awesome adult characters

British writing does not utilize commas like Americans. I had to adjust to this writing style. Also, sometimes her sentence structures were different, which caused me to reread.

Warning/discuss: keeping secrets from each other (eventually each character comes clean), the word ass is used a few times (I don't think that is a curse word in Great Britain).

*Highly recommend, especially for readers who love realistic fiction, character development, & stories about large, boisterious families.

-Borrowed via ILL

The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton

 When my niece was in high school, her history teacher required his students to read this book during the summer. She recommended this book to me this summer. I can understand why a history teacher would utilize this book. Mr. Crichton immerses the reader into Victorian England, 1855-1856. What research he must have done to weave in so many details about this time period! The narrative format prevents the reader feeling like Mr. Crichton is forcing facts. He integrates them seamlessly. He also incorporates terminology/words the population would have said & explains them in the context. 

While I read it, I felt like I was reading a historical fiction novel, not a nonfiction account.

This novel shares with the world how gold was stolen off of a train that was traveling from London to Paris. Months before the actual robbery, the men involved were carefully planning it. Because of Mr. Crichton's careful, extensive research, the reader witnesses each little plan unfold & tested/evaluated.

I did not finish this book. One scene kept resurfacing in my mind. One of the men had syphilis. During this time, people thought one cure for it was for the man to have relations with a virgin. This man had relations with a supposed virgin to "cure" him. Although the scene wasn't overly graphic, it was enough that parts of it come randomly to my mind. What disturbed me the most was the girl was probably 12 years old. The rest of the book may not have any more sexual scenes, but I did not want to allow for the possibility. Other references to prostitution and relations were included but not as explicit as this one.

 I tend to romanticize earlier eras. This book, however, reinforced how man has always been wicked without God.

-Borrowed from the library.

A Book of Giants by Ruth Manning-Sanders illustrated by Robin Jacques

 This collection of short stories about giants would have entralled my oldest son when he was in elementary school. Most of the stories center on an unlikely male who outwits terrifying giants. I thoroughly enjoyed reading these clever stories.

Warning: violent, graphic killings-chopping off heads, gouging eyes etc

-Borrowed via ILL.