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The Door in the Wall

The Door in the Wall

List Price: $4.99
Your Price: $4.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: NEVER EVER
Review: I hated this book! The story was pretty confusing, and it's a children's book! I had to read this with the class and no one liked it. Don't buy it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: My 6 1/2-year old loved it!
Review: I just finished reading this book aloud to my son tonight. We both loved it. When I first started it, I thought he might quickly lose interest, but he surprised me. And this kid is NOT a mellow child, he's as rambunctious as they come. This book is beautiful in every way. Its focus on virtue is inspiring to both young and old, and its positive portrayal of religion and the Church in everyday life teaches a great lesson. Children ought to be regularly exposed to challenging books and language while they are young; then we might have far fewer "it was boring" complaints when they reached sixth grade. If you're a little weary of all the insipid children's books out there and wish to set your own children's minds on more noble things, read this book aloud and allow its beauty to refresh their (and your) souls.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Medeival Fun
Review: I like this book because it was exciting but still
calm.even thogh it is fun read I think its good for
7 and up !

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Not exactly fun to read
Review: I read this book as required reading for school, and it's easy to see why I wouldn't read it by my own choice. I won't say this book is trash, because it isn't, but it is in that league. Though the chapter about the robbers was mildly gripping, this book is no thriller. Reading about Robin, the crippled boy, is a slight waste of time and provides little information about life in the Middle Ages. If you are honestly interested in historical fiction, you might like this. But if you're searching for entertainment, look elsewhere.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: A booring book.
Review: I read this book in the 6th grade cause it was assigned for a book report. It is not a good book at all. If you are thinking of buying it I would reconsider.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Inspirational!
Review: I read this book in the sixth grade, and this is the book that made me start reading (I read a lot). It involves you an interesting story, set in the Middle Ages, about a lame boy who overcomes his handicap and becomes a hero. Anybody, including adults, who perseveres through the slow beginning will love this novel. It certainly deserved its Newberry Medal.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Better as time went on
Review: I remember reading this book ages ago, and I hated. I thought it dated and dull, with its archaic language and details about medieval life. Now, after years of studying mythology, including the Prose Edda, I can better appreciate it. It's not a GREAT book, but it is a good one.

Robin is the son of a knight, destined to become a knight one day himself - until he falls ill and loses the use of his legs. The plague is ravaging medieval England, and it claims several of the servants who were caring for him. Robin is rescued by a kindly monk, Brother Luke, who takes the crippled boy to a local monastary and patiently cares for him there. Under Luke's guidance, Robin learns how to swim, read, whittle, and how to become a humbler person rather than the rather snobby noble boy that he once was.

But all is not well in England. Robin must "open a door in the wall" -- the walls that hemmed him in when he lost the use of his legs -- and discover that you don't necessarily have to be a knight to serve your king and country.

This is not a 9-12 book. Oh, not because of any objectionable content or attitudes, but simply because the, majority of 9-12 children will be bored witless by it. It's better suited to young adults who can handle the gradual pacing, softened archaic language (a fair number of twills, thous, amisses, and arts) and virtually actionless plot. As a result, "Door in the Wall" resembles a a slice of real life from the POV of a crippled boy rather than a fictional story. Such gruesome details as the plague and the violence of war are smudged out, by the way.

It seems a lot longer than its 120 pages. Ignore the silly cover art, the characters aren't like that at all; the interior illustrations are soft and realistic. de Angeli's writing lacks detail much of the time, but her dialogue is well-scripted. Robin's responses to the loss of his legs, his plans, and fear of his father's disappointment are perfectly done. He isn't a perfect lead character; he gets irrational, angry, snobby - but overcomes all of them. Brother Luke seems a little too perfect at times, but is also a good character. So, for that matter, is minstrel John-go-in-the-Wynd. (Yes, this book has those delightful Middle-Ages names based on the job, physical characteristics or past experience)

As for complaints about this book: Note that virtually all of them say that it was a schoolwork book; once again, we have disgruntled students seeking "revenge" on a non-fluff book that they had to read. This is not a book that should be assigned, but a book that should be selected individually. Don't read it just because it's a Newbery, read it if you can handle it!

In short, I recommend this book -- but not to everyone...it if you love to read, and if you enjoy a story where characters are emphasized over action.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: The Door In The Wall
Review: I thought that this book was okay it wasnt great it dsent give to much deateal and some of the parts in the book are sad and some dont even make scence and it dose use some words fromthe middle ages and also relates to the mii think that this a good book to read if you are studying the middle ages and if you want a good fiction book or if you want to learn some new words from the middle ages this book was okay

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: An okay book.
Review: I thought The Door in the Wall was a mediocrer book;it lacked description of the characters and places. For an example, the book did not describe what Robin looked like; was his hair black or brown, and so on. I was not able to go "into" the story.

I thought the plot was pretty good, but the only way I was able to actually go "into" the story was to look at the pictures, that didn't look so good in black and white.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I loved this book as a child
Review: I was looking for this book to give as a present to my niece. I was dismayed at the number of young people who hated this book. I have a disability and it was when I was trapped in my bed that I read this book. And I loved it. It captured the spirit of my struggle. I felt triumphant at the end. I can't help but think that we must be teaching our children not to think about important things in life and instead we feed them shootum up movies and action books. I think the message of this story is timeless.


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