Merlin and the Making of the King

Merlin and the Making of the King

By Margaret Hodges

Illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman

Holiday House

Copyright 2004

pp.39

Merlin and the Making of the King

Traditional Literature

     This retelling of tales of King Arthur includes three different stories, The Sword in the Stone, Excalibur, and The Lady of the Lake. I was only vaguely familiar with the Sword in the Stone and Excalibur and had never heard of the Lady of the Lake tale. The Sword and the Stone tale reminded me of a bit of Sleeping Beauty because she, like Arthur, was taken away and raised by others to hide her true identity. I had always thought that the sword in the stone was actually Excalibur, but I learned that this is not so. In the tale of Excalibur, the reader learns that the sword is actually from Vivien, the Lady of the Lake. She owned the sword and gave it to Arthur to use as long as he used it only for good.

     I found this retelling a bit difficult to follow without any prior background knowledge. I would most likely only use this retelling in conjunction with several other retellings as a compare and contrast literature lesson. This is an upper elementary to middle school level text because of the difficult vocabulary.