From: Kirstin <ktonning>
Date: Thu, 13 Feb 2003 15:50:56 -0800

I read this book along with a group of 7th and 8th graders; we discussed the book half way through and then again when they'd all finished, and much of our initial conversation revolved around their theories of who Crispin was. From early on most of them were convinced he was Lord Furnival's son. As with some of the earlier CCBC posts, they felt the strengths of the book were in giving you the feel of medieval Europe and in the characters. Most of them really liked the complexity of Bear's character and we had a great discussion at the end about what Crispin's options were and what choices seemed right for his character. The thing that kept this book from being a favorite among most of them seemed to be the predictability factor.

-Kirstin TonningsenRiverdale Grade School Portland, OR


I suspect that what is quite obvious to us as adult readers with many years of experience under our belts, may be indeed be more of a surprise to many younger readers. Has anyone had any reactions from young people yet? Micki S. Nevett I live for books ~ Thomas Jefferson
Received on Thu 13 Feb 2003 05:50:56 PM CST