Customer Reviews: Read 36 more reviews...
 Ok, but not great November 28, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is an interesting little book. I read it as part of my children's literature course back in 1999. The book is partially Arthurian Legend, part social commentary and part farce.
I did not like the inappropriate references for the time of the story, trains, buses ... As well I didn't appreciate the mixing of Robin Hood (Wood) in the 12th Century with Arthur of the 6th Century.
Yet all in all it was a fun book - easy to read.
ENGLISH CLASS November 14, 2008
B4 we started reading this book we read julius caesar by shakespeare which was a good book... and this book has a very nice story... especially cuz b4 this i barely knew anything aobut king arthur... just that there was a sword that only he pulled out...
 Delicious April 2, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Pretty much everyone has seen the Disney cartoon, but T.H. White's The Sword in the Stone is a story that must be read. Nowhere in the movie do you get delicious bits like:
"The cottage had a brass plate screwed on the garden gate. It said: Madame Mim, B.A. (Dom-Daniel) Pianoforte, Needlework, Necromancy."
Or how about the casual mention of Merlin in running shorts ... Merlin knitting his beard into the nightcap he's making ... Merlin's dishes washing themselves up, shouting, "Hey! Let's dunk the tea pot!"
Or a falcon who's been mewed up too long and cannot keep from quoting all the bloody passages of Macbeth? (My personal favorite bit of deliciousness, since I have a similar character in my story.)
Most people pick up the story of King Arthur from the day in the churchyard, when young Art pulls the sword from the stone and is hailed by all of Merry Old England as their sovereign lord. T.H. White, however, looks back to the innocent childhood of England's once and future king, the days when outlaws like Robin Wood (read: Hood) roamed the Forest Sauvage and knights spent their entire lives questing mysterious beasts.
While certain passages did drag on and I felt like someone should remind White that young readers aren't interested in philosophy, and he harped about evolution more than once, this would make a wonderful read-aloud ... Ay say, the dialogue is absolutely lovely, what?
Fragmented Masterpiece December 24, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Finding a COMPLETE version of this book is difficult. When the Sword and the Stone was grafted onto the rest of the series to form the Once and Future King, T.H. White removed several scenes from the book. Growing up enjoying the Walt Disney version of the film, I was disappointed when I read the Once and Future King. Where was the wizard's duel between Merlyn and Madam Mim? Surely, Disney didn't come up with that on their own.
Well, the truth is these lost parts are still out there if you wish to find them. Some of the lost episodes include: Kay and Wart taken captive by Madam Mim, a wizard's duel between Merlyn and Mim, Wart and Kay battle a giant who has taken King Pellinore captive, Wart becomes a snake, and Archimedes takes the Wart in bird form to meet his mother Athene and hear a song from the trees. The version I found that still contained these passages was published in 1963 and features Disney illustrations on the cover. I do not know if other versions include these chapters, but the Once and Future King does not.
Some speculate that White thought these episodes to be too childish and light-hearted, but I think they are wonderful. The Sword in the Stone is a very difficult book for children. I believe it needs these light-hearted moments to offset the preachy life lessons. Don't get me wrong, I think the lessons that can be learned from the book are innumerable, but everyone needs a little fun with their learning.
If you are looking to read the Sword in the Stone, I encourage you to seek out the oldest version with the chapters still in tact. They're worth it.
Not Free SF Reader September 3, 2007
This is the first part of the Once and Future King series of novels.
Wart, a young boy, initially has no idea who he really is. This is the
story of this young lad, and the events and lessons and trials that
lead to him becoming a leader. Of course, it details the bumbling and
accidents that lead him to drawing The Sword in the Stone.
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