Overview / 简介: |
| Eleven-year-old Adam loved to travel throughout thirteenthcentury England with his father, a wandering minstrel, and his dog, Nick. But when Nick is stolen and his father disappears, Adam suddenly finds himself alone. He searches the same roads he traveled with his father, meeting various people along the way. But will Adam ever find his father and dog and end his desperate search? |
Foreign Customer Review / 国外客户评价: |
| "Adam of the Road" is daunting, no question. Kids who have no difficulties lugging huge Harry Potter sized tomes might quaver a little at the 317 page density of this 1943 Newbery winner. If they go so far as to actually begin to read the book, however, they might be pleasantly surprised to find it not only readable, but enjoyable to boot. On its most basic level the book is a tale about a boy, his father, and his dog. Beyond that, however, the book quickly becomes a quest novel where our hero picks up friends and foes along his path. In the end, a richly satisfying creation.
Our tale begins in June of 1294 in a little English abbey named St. Alban's. Here, our hero Adam has been left by his father, Roger the minstrel. Adam anticipates Roger's return (he never refers to his father by anything but the man's name, interestingly) any day. In the meantime, he has his friend and fellow student Perkin and his cocker spaniel Nick to keep him company. With an appropriate amount of pomp and flair, return Roger does. With his pop now a minstrel for a fine Lord, Adam is whisked away from the Abbey to join his father on the road. They adventure hither and yon, charming some people and amusing others. After some unfortunate run-ins with a less than chivalrous fellow minstrel named Jankin, Adam finds his dog stolen. So eager is Adam to get Nick back that in the course of his pursuit of Jankin he also loses his father. Thus, an eleven year-old boy must face a cold world with just his harp and minstrel skills to earn him food and shelter as he continually seeks his dad and dog.
As I read this story, a lingering memory began to form in my mind. Middle ages England... Minstrel & jesting skills... A boy and his father (or father-figure)... By George this is a remarkably similar plot to the 2003 Newbery award winning book, "Crispin: The Cross of Lead"! Certainly there are vast differences between the two as well, but people who wish to tie "Crispin" to another text would do very well indeed to consider the worthy "Adam of the Road". Now "Crispin" is a very socially conscious novel, pondering the fate of the poor and their servitude to the rich. "Adam of the Road", much to my surprise, was also fairly socially conscious (considering its publication date). Here the gentle reader may find complaints that the members of Parliament are all of noble birth and decide the rights of the people without asking for input from those they have (virtually) enslaved. There is a healthy amount of skepticism and careful examination of the religious leaders that have such a powerful hold over their communities. And most impressive of all was a section in which Adam seriously considers the double standard to which women were held at that time. In this scene, Adam has been informed that ladies may not chose their mates according to their hearts as the romantic ballads have said. The book says:
"The tales Roger told were full of the reverence and devotion that knghts paid to fair ladies and the desperate dangers they met gladly in order to win a smile from the ladies or a favor to wear on their sleeves. But in real life, it seemed, a beautiful young lady like Emilie was only a girl and it did not matter what she wanted because she had to do what she was told. It was very strange-".
Not only unromantic, but a hardship on the women themselves. Nothing like a little knowledgable reasoning within a children's book, eh?
There's plenty of rip-roaring adventures in this book, as well as amusing games that boys at that time liked to play. I'll admit right now that I was shocked to enjoy this book. When you've slogged through such Newbery winners as the tedious "Dobry", the mildly offensive "White Stag" or the incredibly racist "Daniel Boone", an actual honest-to-goodness fun book like this takes you completely by surprise. And did I mention the illustrations by Robert Lawson? You may remember this talented artist from such books as "The Story of Ferdinand", "They Were Strong and Good", and "Mr. Poppin's Penguins". If you've never seen a Lawson illustration, this book would be a wonderful place to start. Riddling the tale with entrancing pictures and illustrations I really feel that Lawson is the extra nudge that pushes "Adam of the Road" from midly amusing to downright fun. The book looks daunting, but definitely pick it up. I garuntee to you that it exceeds all expectations with great ease and accomplishment. |
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