Young Lancelot

knight time Robert D. San Souci turns out the third book of his Arthurian cycle with Young Lancelot, illus. by Jamichael Henterly (see Young Guinevere, p. 78). The text is hampered by clicheed dialogue (Lancelot: "You yourself say this is my destiny. Yet you hold me back"; his guardian: "Oh, King's Son... it breaks my heart to part from you"), while the illustrations present expressionless, idealized figures in romantic, richly colored settings.

Gr 3-5-San Souci continues his retellings of Arthurian legends. Lancelot is raised by the Lady of the Lake in her enchanted kingdom. Never revealing his true name or that he is the son of a king, she wants him to become an intelligent, caring warrior, but instead he becomes hardhearted and arrogant. When he hears of King Arthur's Round Table, he wants the chance to meet his destiny. His arrogance wins him no friends there, but Arthur allows him to tackle two difficult tasks to prove his worth. He conquers an evil knight and two giants easily, but falls short when battling black knights at Chapel Perilous. Lancelot feels sorry for himself at being defeated, but then has a soul-changing revelation. With his new attitude, he overcomes the black knights. His change comes too swiftly to ring true for someone with a heart that's "diamond-hard." Also, despite the use of vivid action verbs and strong descriptors, the two tasks are described too simplistically and without enough gritty conflict to make them interesting. The illustrations are colorful but do not reinforce the text: facial expressions are sometimes weak and unrepresentative of the action.-Cheri Estes, Detroit Country Day School Middle School, Beverly Hills, MI

An orphan raised by the Lady of the Lake, a powerful enchantress, Lancelot, an arrogant and cold young warrior, must learn humility before can claim his title as the greatest knight of all.

An orphan raised by the Lady of the Lake, Lancelot, an arrogant and cold young warrior, must learn humility before he can claim his title as the greatest knight of all

Presents the life of Lancelot, relating how he became the greatest knight of the Round Table.