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by: Michael Cadnum
Amazon.com's Price: $6.99 Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Paperback
EAN: 9780142300343
ISBN: 0142300349
Label: Puffin
Manufacturer: Puffin
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 208
Publication Date: October 01, 2001
Publisher: Puffin
Reading Level: Young Adult
Sales Rank: 187775
Studio: Puffin
Related Items:
Editorial Review:
Book Description:
Edmund, an apprentice, is seized by the king's men and thrown in jail for his master's crime of counterfeiting. Then Edmund is unexpectedly released into the custody of Sir Nigel, a knight in search of a squire. Edmund will train as a squire and accompany the knight on a journey to fight alongside Richard the Lionheart on the Crusades. As they travel across Europe, Edmund is fascinated by all he sees, but he fears for his safety in the days that lie ahead. How can he possibly prepare for the untold horrors of war? 'This is a pulse-pounding tale, vivid and visceral.' -Booklist
'Fans of history and adventure will devour this well-crafted, dramatic quest.' (Publishers Weekly, starred review)
Amazon.com:
'God wills it!' the Crusaders cry in battle. In this richly detailed and lovingly crafted story, Michael Cadnum explores the terrible paradox of holy war through the eyes of Edmund, a young apprentice metalworker, who finds himself unexpectedly rescued from prison and pressed into service as a squire to a knight. Without a bit of experience with horses or swords, Edmund goes off in terror and delight to help rescue the True Cross from the infidels in Jerusalem, and finds his manhood in surviving the siege of the sea-fortress Acre and the terrible bloody battle of Arsuf.
This is not the sanitized version of the Middle Ages that appears in so many young adult novels. From the first scene, in which the king's men punish Edmund's master by whacking off his hand, Cadnum gives us the authentic brutality of the period--its stink and bugs, random cruelty, drunkenness, and sudden death--as well as its colorful pageantry and lofty ideals. His previous medieval novel, In a Dark Wood, first showed his poetic skill with the small, vivid details that bring these times alive in all their strangeness. In The Book of the Lion, Edmund's journey to the Holy Land is full of such moments, as well as the heart-stopping adventure teens enjoy. The many young readers who are in love with the Middle Ages will come away from this story with their understanding of that time (and our own) enriched and deepened. (Ages 12 and older) --Patty Campbell
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - Is this appropriate reading for 12 year olds
I wanted to use this book in literature circles this year with my 6th graders but I am somewhat concerned about some of the references in the book with regard to pleasure women and rape. I am not sure I could use this book in the classroom without offending some of my more conservative parents. Thoughts from any teachers who have used the book in the classroom would be appreciated.
Rating:  - not a bad book
The Book of the Lion, by Michael Cadnum, is an interesting book. It begins with a boy named Edmund who is a coiners apprentice. But it turns out the coiner is cheating on how he makes his coins and his hand is chopped off by order of the king, he later dies from the blood loss. When they are interrogating Edmund he lies and says he's rode a horse and used a sword before. So they send him off to fight the holy crusade with a group of knights and squires. In the end he becomes the squire of a feared ... Read More
Rating:  - Book of the Lion?
Bleh. Add bawdiness to "..stink and bugs, random cruelty, drunkenness, and sudden death..." and you've almost got it. The story started out so good, but it got worse the more it went on. Frustrating. And the title had nothing to do with the story (unless I missed something).
Rating:  - Truly Enjoyable!
My first Michael Cadnum book will definitely not be my last! The depth of his research is apparent, as well as his grasp of the historical realism of the period. I particularly enjoyed the characterization of Edmund (the main character). His traits were well developed and personal. They helped me to identify even more with the story, as if I could feel what it would be like if I were really there.
The gritty realism of the battles and medieval life were well done, I thought. It left me ... Read More
Rating: - no time sense
It was a ok book, telling the story of a young? apprentince coinsmyth. What I didn't like is no refrence to year, time of year or even what year. when he is first taken to the knight's household, and runs away, and captured, it seams like the following about him fixing the pots and such and becoming used to being there, takes days atleast if not weeks or longer, but is then called to see the Kinght, and you learn it was the same day. You don't even know how long they were at sea to the crusades. ... Read More
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