Adam of the Road (Puffin Newberry Library)

Rating:
Summary: A man of means by no means. King of the road.
Review: "Adam of the Road" is daunting, no question. Kids who have no difficulties lugging huge Harry Potter sized tomes might quaver a little at the 317 page density of this 1943 Newbery winner. If they go so far as to actually begin to read the book, however, they might be pleasantly surprised to find it not only readable, but enjoyable to boot. On its most basic level the book is a tale about a boy, his father, and his dog. Beyond that, however, the book quickly becomes a quest novel where our hero picks up friends and foes along his path. In the end, a richly satisfying creation.

Our tale begins in June of 1294 in a little English abbey named St. Alban's. Here, our hero Adam has been left by his father, Roger the minstrel. Adam anticipates Roger's return (he never refers to his father by anything but the man's name, interestingly) any day. In the meantime, he has his friend and fellow student Perkin and his cocker spaniel Nick to keep him company. With an appropriate amount of pomp and flair, return Roger does. With his pop now a minstrel for a fine Lord, Adam is whisked away from the Abbey to join his father on the road. They adventure hither and yon, charming some people and amusing others. After some unfortunate run-ins with a less than chivalrous fellow minstrel named Jankin, Adam finds his dog stolen. So eager is Adam to get Nick back that in the course of his pursuit of Jankin he also loses his father. Thus, an eleven year-old boy must face a cold world with just his harp and minstrel skills to earn him food and shelter as he continually seeks his dad and dog.

As I read this story, a lingering memory began to form in my mind. Middle ages England... Minstrel & jesting skills... A boy and his father (or father-figure)... By George this is a remarkably similar plot to the 2003 Newbery award winning book, "Crispin: The Cross of Lead"! Certainly there are vast differences between the two as well, but people who wish to tie "Crispin" to another text would do very well indeed to consider the worthy "Adam of the Road". Now "Crispin" is a very socially conscious novel, pondering the fate of the poor and their servitude to the rich. "Adam of the Road", much to my surprise, was also fairly socially conscious (considering its publication date). Here the gentle reader may find complaints that the members of Parliament are all of noble birth and decide the rights of the people without asking for input from those they have (virtually) enslaved. There is a healthy amount of skepticism and careful examination of the religious leaders that have such a powerful hold over their communities. And most impressive of all was a section in which Adam seriously considers the double standard to which women were held at that time. In this scene, Adam has been informed that ladies may not chose their mates according to their hearts as the romantic ballads have said. The book says:

"The tales Roger told were full of the reverence and devotion that knghts paid to fair ladies and the desperate dangers they met gladly in order to win a smile from the ladies or a favor to wear on their sleeves. But in real life, it seemed, a beautiful young lady like Emilie was only a girl and it did not matter what she wanted because she had to do what she was told. It was very strange-".

Not only unromantic, but a hardship on the women themselves. Nothing like a little knowledgable reasoning within a children's book, eh?

There's plenty of rip-roaring adventures in this book, as well as amusing games that boys at that time liked to play. I'll admit right now that I was shocked to enjoy this book. When you've slogged through such Newbery winners as the tedious "Dobry", the mildly offensive "White Stag" or the incredibly racist "Daniel Boone", an actual honest-to-goodness fun book like this takes you completely by surprise. And did I mention the illustrations by Robert Lawson? You may remember this talented artist from such books as "The Story of Ferdinand", "They Were Strong and Good", and "Mr. Poppin's Penguins". If you've never seen a Lawson illustration, this book would be a wonderful place to start. Riddling the tale with entrancing pictures and illustrations I really feel that Lawson is the extra nudge that pushes "Adam of the Road" from midly amusing to downright fun. The book looks daunting, but definitely pick it up. I garuntee to you that it exceeds all expectations with great ease and accomplishment.

Rating:
Summary: A man of means by no means. King of the road.
Review: "Adam of the Road" is daunting, no question. Kids who have no difficulties lugging huge Harry Potter sized tomes might quaver a little at the 317 page density of this 1943 Newbery winner. If they go so far as to actually begin to read the book, however, they might be pleasantly surprised to find it not only readable, but enjoyable to boot. On its most basic level the book is a tale about a boy, his father, and his dog. Beyond that, however, the book quickly becomes a quest novel where our hero picks up friends and foes along his path. In the end, a richly satisfying creation.

Our tale begins in June of 1294 in a little English abbey named St. Alban's. Here, our hero Adam has been left by his father, Roger the minstrel. Adam anticipates Roger's return (he never refers to his father by anything but the man's name, interestingly) any day. In the meantime, he has his friend and fellow student Perkin and his cocker spaniel Nick to keep him company. With an appropriate amount of pomp and flair, return Roger does. With his pop now a minstrel for a fine Lord, Adam is whisked away from the Abbey to join his father on the road. They adventure hither and yon, charming some people and amusing others. After some unfortunate run-ins with a less than chivalrous fellow minstrel named Jankin, Adam finds his dog stolen. So eager is Adam to get Nick back that in the course of his pursuit of Jankin he also loses his father. Thus, an eleven year-old boy must face a cold world with just his harp and minstrel skills to earn him food and shelter as he continually seeks his dad and dog.

As I read this story, a lingering memory began to form in my mind. Middle ages England... Minstrel & jesting skills... A boy and his father (or father-figure)... By George this is a remarkably similar plot to the 2003 Newbery award winning book, "Crispin: The Cross of Lead"! Certainly there are vast differences between the two as well, but people who wish to tie "Crispin" to another text would do very well indeed to consider the worthy "Adam of the Road". Now "Crispin" is a very socially conscious novel, pondering the fate of the poor and their servitude to the rich. "Adam of the Road", much to my surprise, was also fairly socially conscious (considering its publication date). Here the gentle reader may find complaints that the members of Parliament are all of noble birth and decide the rights of the people without asking for input from those they have (virtually) enslaved. There is a healthy amount of skepticism and careful examination of the religious leaders that have such a powerful hold over their communities. And most impressive of all was a section in which Adam seriously considers the double standard to which women were held at that time. In this scene, Adam has been informed that ladies may not chose their mates according to their hearts as the romantic ballads have said. The book says:

"The tales Roger told were full of the reverence and devotion that knghts paid to fair ladies and the desperate dangers they met gladly in order to win a smile from the ladies or a favor to wear on their sleeves. But in real life, it seemed, a beautiful young lady like Emilie was only a girl and it did not matter what she wanted because she had to do what she was told. It was very strange-".

Not only unromantic, but a hardship on the women themselves. Nothing like a little knowledgable reasoning within a children's book, eh?

There's plenty of rip-roaring adventures in this book, as well as amusing games that boys at that time liked to play. I'll admit right now that I was shocked to enjoy this book. When you've slogged through such Newbery winners as the tedious "Dobry", the mildly offensive "White Stag" or the incredibly racist "Daniel Boone", an actual honest-to-goodness fun book like this takes you completely by surprise. And did I mention the illustrations by Robert Lawson? You may remember this talented artist from such books as "The Story of Ferdinand", "They Were Strong and Good", and "Mr. Poppin's Penguins". If you've never seen a Lawson illustration, this book would be a wonderful place to start. Riddling the tale with entrancing pictures and illustrations I really feel that Lawson is the extra nudge that pushes "Adam of the Road" from midly amusing to downright fun. The book looks daunting, but definitely pick it up. I garuntee to you that it exceeds all expectations with great ease and accomplishment.

Rating:
Summary: Adam of the Road Summary
Review: BEGINING

Adam Quartermayne, son of Roger the Minstrel, has been going to school at St. Alban's. Adam and Nick, his dog have anxiously been waiting for Roger to come home from London. Nick was staying with Dame Malkin and she told Adam that a minstrel was seen coming from a road up ahead. Hearing this Adam grabbed a great friend of his, Perkin and went off down to see if it was him. Sure enough it was Roger, riding on a beautiful warhorse named Bayard that Sir Edmund had given him. Adam chose to go with Roger and sadly said good-bye to Perkin and 'went on the road'.

MIDDLE

They went to Emilie and Sir Gervase's marriage, where minstrels came from all over to entertain guests and one of those minstrels was Jankin. Roger was gambling with dice and lost a purse full of pennies, then trying to get it back and bet Bayard and Jankin obtained the purse of money and Bayard. Then extremely upset Adam and Roger went to an inn near Westhumble Lane. Later that night when Roger was telling tales Jankin came into the inn, he also was going to stay over night. They went to sleep and early the next morning Jankin woke up and stole Nick and left without a trace. Jankin said to the stable boy that he had traded Bayard, who was now lame, for Nick.

END

Adam and Roger searched all over for Jankin, but could not find him. In a horde of people Adam yelled Roger, and bolted after Jankin. Jankin took a zigzagged path by a lake. Roger had no idea where Adam had gone and was looking for him the whole time instead of Nick. Adam never thought Roger didn't know where he was. Adam then went looking for Roger and Jankin, asking all the people he saw if they had seen either one of them. Eventually after months of chasing Adam found Jankin and tackled him and threw him to the ground screaming, "where is Nick!" Jankin told him he had ran away somewhere near St. Alban's Church. Then Adam thought of Dame Malkin, Nick must of thought that is where Adam was. Adam made it there in a few days, Nick had been there, but Perkin took him to Oxford. Adam stopped at Perkin's house first and the whole town was at a ceremony. He went to the church and Perkin came from behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. Adam was so happy to see Perkin. After, they went to his house and discussed future plans. Adam stayed at the Watson's for a week or so and then went to Oxford on his way to Ludlow. He stayed a night with Perkin, though he was not supposed to and the next day they were both called to the Warden's office. Adam opened the door and there was Roger. Adam showed him all his new things and Roger said, "You have done well, my son."

Rating:
Summary: A good introduction for Children to Medieval England
Review: I bought this book for my daughter. I read it first. It is a good introduction for children to medieval English life, somewhat unrealistic in spots, but nonetheless nicely written. It is just a simple story about a boy, whose faithful dog is stolen, and in his search for the dog, his father Roger the Minstrel loses him. Adam's adventures and misadventures help him learn courage, self-reliance, gratitude,as well as generosity. He learns the value of work, perserverance and friendship. It is a little slow in places, but the story is more about a boy growing up than it is about a boy looking for his dog. The illustrations by Robert Lawson are beautiful and really capture the spirit of the book. In general it's a very good book.

Rating:
Summary: totoally unrealistic for the times
Review: I recently read this as part of a survey of childrens' literature about the Medieval period. Let me say first, that the dialogue is completely modernized, with not even a complex word to redeem it. I know this is because the original is supposedly in dialect, but please, our children are more sophisticated than that. Adam is self-involved, careless, and annoyingly stupid. Despite it's touted 320 pages, this could have been printed in 150, and contained much the same material. The only thing that redeems this novel from being totally forgettable is the snatches of Latin and Old English ballads scattered throughout. If you want your children to have a much clearer understanding of the times, with a book focussed more on character than on plot or modern accessability, have them read Song of the Gargoyle. It's also about a boy who loses his father, and has to search for him, in the company of a dog-like being, but has ten times the depth and realism of this piece of trash. The boy is also a minstrel, of sorts, but he has more likable qualities than Adam, as well as more adventures in less pages. The ending is a happy one, but it involves a twist, which isn't at all forseeable, as theat in Adam of the Road. Please, just skip this, I don't care if it won a Newberry Award, and read Song of the Gargoyle, by Zylpha Keatly Snider.

Rating:
Summary: Hard to follow but a good book!!!!
Review: I was forced to read this for a summer reading assignment. Just so you know, I am an avid reader and have read over thirty books this summer. This was the most monotonous book I have ever read. I mean extremely monotonous. I wouldn't recommend this book to my worst enemy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Adam Of The Road
Review: The Events in this book have had Adam change a lot through out the story. Especilly when staying in different places, trtaveling on the road, or meeting new people. Let me explain why... Adam has been to different places, meeting different people proving that he can get with anyone he meeets. Though most people he met were of a different culture, if he could get alone with them, then he could get alone with anyone!

But there was probably somebody that Adan wasen't ready to meet, another pair of minstreals, after all, he was one himself! But that they didn't mean that they were rivals! Accually they got along preatty good, Why? because they stole and his HARP? This showed him that he couldn't trust everyone and that he had, had faith in someone but it had fallen through.

Also, Adam had lost Nick and Roger. Though proving that he could be a baby, and had to look for them, dealing with whatever came up, By himself! He had to have self confidence, believe in himself in order to get through the things that wanted to.

All of these events made Adam responsible through out the journey, making him realize that the world isn't prefect.

So now, you should read the story, and find out what happenes. Will Adam find his dog or his dad, or will this story, to be continued...

Rating:
Summary: I LOATH this book!
Review: this is the absolute worst book i have ever been forced to and have ever read. i would like to add that i made a very strong attempt to get more interested in the plot of this book because it was a school assignment, but jeez, this was cruel and unusual punishment. when i think of this book, the word that comes to mind is "torture". i like a number of books and i love to read, i usually don't have a problem with book assignments, but this was just...just really mean. If you are smart, you will take my advice and stay far away.