- set in 1294 England, an 11-year-old boy eagerly joins his minstrel father on his travels, training to be a minstrel himself
- setbacks on their journey include loss of their animals, rowdy lawbreakers, being separated, a robbery, and other age-appropriate drama
- the boy is hard-working, brave, and refreshingly honest
- convo: religious elements (see asterisk below), gambling, drinking
Type: chapter book
Ages: 8-12
Author: Elizabeth Jane Gray
This book gives us such a unique view into the past! Gray artfully infuses the story with accurate historical facts and practices. It’s an overall fairly mild read, but there are definitely a few somewhat faster scenes.
*Here are some of the religious elements to keep in mind:
- pilgrims traveling to pray at shrines of saints
- supposed miracles happening at these shrines
- pilgrims collect and display medallions for each shrine they visit
- the works-based message of, “The farther you go, and the harder the way, the greater the merit.”
- a play is performed to depict “The Fall of Adam” – ends with demons (actors) coming to pull Adam and Eve down to hell and then dance in triumph
- mentions holy water
- a couple (and brief) superstitious actions
None of these elements were a major part to the story.
Readers will learn just how important minstrels were in those days. Since a single book cost more than a horse (and most couldn’t read anyway), stories from minstrels’ travels were practically essential. They not only entertained, but they also brought news and communication from other towns.
Musicians and poets will likely enjoy this story as various verses are throughout. The boy is quite the musician already at age 11! Relatedly, the audiobook reader, Stuart Blinder, did a wonderful job with accents. Might be a good one for your family to listen to, with the above points in mind.
Regarding the audio, please excuse me if I missed something. I keep detailed notes, but small things can fall through the cracks when I don’t have the book in hand. The above is quite reliable in any case!
Overall, I appreciated how responsible and honest Adam was. He maintained good integrity throughout, and gives us a charmingly different view from a medieval minstrel’s perspective. The ending was quite dear–his reunions with various other characters. Let me know if you read this one. 🙂