The Ballad of Sir Dinadan by Gerald Morris

In which Dinadan wants to be a minstrel but is bound to be a knight. One night his father sends him out. He meets a young Welsh knight named Culloch. Together they go to King Arthur's court. When they leave they meet another king and have many adventures. Dinadan leaves Culloch and goes all over England playing his magical music. He meets lots of people including a strange silent knight. After saving a lady and giving a man his throne back Dinadan becomes the most musical knight in all England.

Some of Dinadan's songs are funny and the remarks people make are even more funny. Dinadan's older brother Tristram has made a vow of silence. Never will he speak of his love (and he goes on to tell Dinadan "to speak of the gold of her flaxen hair, to tell of the blue of her eyes, to express my love for her would only harm me.") When Dinadan offers to ride in silence Tristram says "It would be to tear open my wound yet again, for every word I speak of her is as a red coal pressed to my breast, searing me to the very heart. Nay, I can not even speak my own, for to tell my own name is to speak of her, for what is Tristram but the slave of Iseult?" That Tristram talks constantly of his vow of silence is very funny!!

This is in the Squire's Tales series.

Recommended for people who like: Ballads, Tristram and Iseult's story, and laughing out loud!

Parsifal's Page by Gerald Morris

In which Piers, who wants to be a page, and Parsifal, a woodsman who wants to be a knight, meet a nice old man who knows a lot about being polite and they live three months with him. Then they continue traveling and after many adventures with Parsifal and the knight Gawain, Piers learns more about his father (who may not be who he seems. . .)

Before this book I had never heard of Parsifal (I had never heard of Gawain before these books either but never mind that). In the author's note, Morris tells you how some of the names in these stories are spelled in many different ways, and explains why he chose the spellings he did for his retelling. For example, here are a lot of ways to spell Parsifal's name, you can spell it Percival, Parzival, Parsifal, or Peredur. All of these different spellings are from different places which I think is so cool! I can't wait till you meet Ariel, a water nymph who is so fun to read about. Happy reading!

This is in the Squire's Tales series.

Recommended for people who like: red armor, magical castles, and adventure.

The Savage Damsel and the Dwarf by Gerald Morris

In which Lady Lynet lives in a castle that is under siege by the evil Red Knight who wants to marry her older sister. One night Lynet sneaks out to go get help. She meets a dwarf named Roger on the way. When she gets to King Arthur's court nobody will help her except for a kitchen knave called Beaumains. After many adventures, fights, and colorful knights, Lynet, Roger, and Beau (as they call him) get to the castle and Beau defeats the Red Knight! But her older sister won't marry Beau until he tells her what his name is. Lynet learns to be an enchantress and saves Roger who has been taken prisoner by her sister only to learn something new.

This is a very funny book to read. I loved Lynet and Roger the Dwarf. (You don't find out who Beau really is until the end of the book.) You will meet old characters like Terence, Eileen, Gawain, and Morgan Le Fay. Lynet was a new character.

This is in the Squire's Tales series.

Recommended for people who like: Strong-minded women, knights incognito, damsels in distress (although, really who does like damsels in distress? So dependent!) and happy endings.

The Squire, His Knight, and His Lady by Gerald Morris

In which Terence and Gawain are at the Christmas feast when a large knight all dressed in green comes and challenges any knight to play his game, to chop of the Green Knight's head tonight only to have his (whichever knight takes the challenge) head chopped of in one year. The King, being sad because his Queen has fallen in love with Sir Lancelot, says he will play. Gawain stops him and accepts the challenge. So Gawain and Terence go to find the green knight. Gawain is captured by a evil Marquis. Terence goes to the Marquis's castle and he saves Gawain with the help of the Marquis's niece Lady Eileen who runs away with them. They get into the Other World and find a magical castle with a silly lord and stay before they meet the Green Knight.

I love this book! There are a lot of funny-laugh out loud, happy, and scary scenes in this book. (It is hard to do reviews for these books because there is adventure on every page!) The author Gerald Morris has made up some characters like Terence and Eileen to make the stories more fun but most of the characters are from the Medieval versions of th stories like Sir Alan, Sir Lancelot, Sir Gawain, and Parsifal.

This is book 2 in the Squire's Tales series.

Recommended for people who like: Kings incognito, mythical wild woodsmen, short-tempered ladies, and Sir Wozzle.

The Squire's Tale by Gerald Morris

In which Terence lives with the hermit Trevisant (who can see the future but not the past). Terence meets Gawain, who is going to King Arthur's court to become a knight, and goes along to be his squire. They meet Tor who wants to be a knight too. When they get there the King gets married to the lovely young Guinevere. But on the wedding night a large stag and hound run on the tables! Then a ugly woman on a donkey comes after the animals and tells the Arthur to send two knights to go after the deer and dog. Sir Gawain, Squire Terence, and Sir Tor go. After many adventures, battles, bloodthirsty women, and strange lovers they meet Nimue who leads Gawain and Terence to a magical land where they learn new things.

The author turned these old Arthurian stories into modern versions. At the end of the book the author tells you what people he took from the old versions the main one being Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory. They are so much fun to read. They are funny and full of adventure! You meet Morgan Le Fay (Gawain's Aunt) the evil Morgause (Gawain's mother) and Arthur who I just love! He is very humble, peaceful, and loves his Knights, people and country.

This is book 1 in the Squire's Tales series.

Recommended for people who like: Arthurian stories, Sir Gawain, and ADVENTURE.

Elisabeth: The Princess Bride by Barry Denenberg

In which Elisabeth learns that her older sister Helene is going to go see the Emperor of Austria in hopes of becoming the Empress and Elisabeth is going along. Elisabeth would rather stay home with her Father but she has no say whatsoever. When they get there the Emperor only has eyes for Elisabeth and not her sister. He asks if she will marry him and she says yes. After months of preparation and saying good-bye to all her pets and friends, she gets married and becomes the Empress of Austria.

Their marriage was not "happily ever after." Her mother-in-law (who was also her aunt!) did not like Elisabeth (she even took Elisabeth's first two children!). Elisabeth's husband was very obedient to his mother and did not talk very much to his wife. Before this book I had NEVER heard of Elisabeth . And it was fun to learn about somebody new. I learned that while Empress, she took beauty to a WHOLE new level. Her auburn hair came down to her feet and took 3 or 4 HOURS to fix correctly, and she hardly ate anything to keep her 20 inch waist. She walked, rode her horse, and every other kind of exercise that she could do. She spent the rest of her life devoted to looking nice.

This is in the Royal Diaries series.

Recommended for people who like: writing poetry, their dads, and just plain craziness.

Catherine: The Great Journey by Kristiana Gregory

In which Sophie lives her life in Germany with her mother, father, and two younger siblings. One day she learns that she is to go to Russia to meet Empress Elizabeth and meet her future husband Peter! Sophie and her mother get on a sleigh and start the long journey to Russia. They get there and the Empress changes Sophie's name to Catherine when she changes her religion. She gets showered with gifts from the Empress: jewels, dresses, and a little puppy that she dresses up. Catherine's husband is still a boy but they become friends.

Before I read this book I didn't really know who Catherine the Great was. It was fun to learn about somebody new. She ruled for 35 years after Peter III died. So much happened during her reign. LOTS of stuff happened in the new world: Europeans discovered Hawaii, Uranus was spotted, and Catherine helped cure smallpox. I'm a new fan of Catherine the Great and can't wait to learn more about her.

This is in the Royal Diaries series.

Recommended for people who like: Catherine the Great, snow, and long walks.

Marie Antoinette: Princess of Versailles by Kathryn Lasky

In which young Maria Antonia, a princess in Austria. One day she learns that she is to be married to Prince Louis Auguste, next in line for the French throne! She starts to learn the French ways and dress in the French style. When she gets to the French border she must leave everything that had in Austria (including her clothes) behind to be French! When she meets her husband he does not talk to her much. She is very lonely for months and is watched constantly, but eventually they become friends. After she shows Louis how to make a snowball he does a little dance and says "I have the most wonderful wife in the world! She is the most talented, beautiful creature on God's earth."

I learned a LOT about Marie Antoinette in this book. Before reading it, the only thing I knew about her was that she misplaced her head. It was not Louis and Marie's fault that they stunk at ruling. They were not taught the right things about ruling. I learned that the hair fashion at the time was CRAZY!!! Women have whole scenes put into their wigs. I have a lot more sympathy for Marie Antoinette now.

This is in the Royal Diaries series.

Recommended for people who like: Maire Antoinette (Or if you don't like her...READ THIS BOOK!) the French, and crazy fashion.

Cleopatra VII: Daughter of the Nile by Kristiana Gregory

In which Princess Cleopatra learns that her father King Ptolemy XII has fled from the angry people that he rules, and she lives in constant fear of being killed by her older power-hungry sister Tryphaena. When she hears that her father is going to Rome to ask for help against the fierce Egyptian rebels, she goes with him. They get to Italy and learn that they must travel north to meet up with Julius Ceasar. On the way Cleopatra meets Marc Antony, Cicero, and Pompey the Great. Her father gets help and they go back to Egypt and her father takes the throne back from Cleopatra's older sister.



I learned a lot of new things about Cleo in this book. I did not know that her older sister Tryphaena's real name was also Cleopatra and Cleo's mother was named Cleopatra as well! She married her younger brother Ptolemy XIII, Caesar (who was 52 years old while she was only 21. YUCK!), and Marc Antony. She had four children with Ceasar and Marc.


I was Cleopatra for halloween in 2007. ;)


This is in the Royal Diaries sieres.



Recommended for people who like: Egypt, Cleopatra, and families who are just plain crazy.

The Somebodies by N.E. Bode

In which Fern and Howard get expelled from Mrs. Fluggery's math class and Fern gets an invitation to the Annual Anybodies Convention with guest speaker Ubuleen Heet in the City Beneath the City, a city under NY City. Fern learns about the evil Blue Queen, who eats book souls. When the Drudgers hear that Fern and Howard have been expelled, they want to send them to the Military! Fern and Howard, not wanting to be sent away, jump into the invitation and into Willy Fattler's Underground Hotel, an ever-changing hotel. They look for the Brainkeeper, run away from evil flying monkeys, and bump into the Blue Queen.

This was a very dramatic book. Full of adventure, worry, goofiness, sadness, and a disguised author. N.E. Bode is still running from the crazed writing teacher! There are a lot of silly characters and an apple that's really The Art of Being Anybody, a winking goldfish, and a mini wild pony made out of hair. You might have to mix some letters and make new words (or names).

This is book 3 of a trilogy.

Recommended for people who like: book souls, moths, and smart girls.

The Nobodies by N.E. Bode

In which Fern and Howard are going to Camp Happy Sunshine Good Times for Anybodies. They get on the bus and are driven to camp by a blind bus driver! They meet Corky Gorsky on the way. When they get to Camp, the counselors are half animal, half human (who are always drinking Diet Lime fizzy drinks) and there's a vicious mole named BORT on the loose, and whenever Fern tries to shake something out of a book, a Diet Lime Fizzy bottle falls out with a notes saying "Help us Fern! We are Nobodies" She meets the hermit, Phoebe, and learns some new tricks. In the end she meets the Nobodies, everybody lets their bad feelings out (flooding in New York City in tears!) and sails away in a giant peach pit boat.


This was a fun book to read, and I think everybody should read these books. (wait until you meet the book birds!) But it made me NEVER EVER want to go to summer camp ;) It is full of adventure, sadness, and a very scary blind handyman. N.E. Bode talks to you directly in the book, talking about his old writing teacher (who is out to get her since she called him a windbag and dimwit in the last book). She tells you all of her scary encounters like being pushed over a waterfall, being attacked by a fake Seeing Eye Dog, almost being hit by a bus, or the elevator that dropped at high speed right after he got off. It's really funny!


This is book 2 of a trilogy.


Recommended for people who like: Their brother or sister (you better like your older sister! I am one!) very blind moles, and peach bread, peach jam and everything else that you make with peaches.

The Anybodies by N.E. Bode

In which Fern, a very smart and imaginative girl, lives with her insanely dull parents the Drudgers. One evening, a man called the Bone comes and tells them that his boy, Howard, and Fern were switched at birth. The families trade kids for the summer and Fern goes to live with the Bone. Soon they move to Fern's grandmother's house, a house made out of books. Fern and the Bone (disguised as Mr. Bibb and Ida Bibb) are looking for one book. The Art of Being Anybody. What is an Anybody you ask? I'm not going to tell you.

These books are very funny, mysterious, and sad all at the same time. The author "checks" in on you or says things to you throughout the book. My favorite is "Here you should take a sip of water or stretch or look around you to make sure that everything is intact. Hopefully the house isn't on fire or being invaded by a horde of some sort." This is a fun book to read for everybody and anybody.

This is 1 of a trilogy.

Recommended for people who like: over-sized peaches, shaking things out of books, and references to classical fairy tales.