Marguerite de Angeli, you may remember, wrote The Skippack School which I recently reviewed.The Story.Robin should have been training with Sir Peter de Lindsay in the noble ways of knighthood. Instead, he is lying in London on a sick bed – crippled. Thinking that he would be joining Sir Peter soon, Robin’s mother, Lady Constance is serving the Queen, while his father is fighting with the king. Robin feels helpless and alone – what will become of him?Praise be, a monk by the name of Luke takes him to the hospice of St. Mark’s where he is looked after and trained in civilized ways. It is in the company of Brother Luke and the minstrel, John- go-in-the-Wynd, that he finally makes his way to Sir Peter’s castle where he is kindly received. But shortly after his arrival, the Welsh besiege the castle.Are Robin’s parents safe? And will Sir Peter’s castle withstand the Welsh’s siege? Is there anything that Robin can do to help his parents or save the castle?Discussion.I have rarely enjoyed a children's story as much as I enjoyed The Door in the Wall. Ms. de Angeli’s gentle story-telling combined with sterling moral lessons made this story a real treat.The moral of this story is that of being grateful for what has been given to you and taking advantage of whatever opportunities are set before you – the ‘doors in walls’. As the story begins we are introduced to a newly crippled, very aristocratic Robin. In the first few pages, he quarrels with his nurse and throws porridge on her, proving his spoiled state. A few pages later, he takes offense at the familiarity of a humble working boy when he bids him greeting. But Robin’s character grows as he labors under Brother Luke’s tutelage. He learns not to take people for granted, but to be grateful towards them. He learns not to shirk his responsibilities because of his injury, but to bear up and play his role. He learns not to be afraid of life, but to meet it head-on, and joyfully. And, in the end, *spoiler* Robin offers himself to be dressed in common clothes and to go forth in search of aid for the besieged castle. He has become a sweet and courageous though still crippled lad.In one of the first scenes of the book, Robin is attempting to whittle a cross, but he loses control of the chisel and mars the wood. In a display of temper, he throws the chisel. Instead of simply letting him get away with this behavior, Brother Matthew rebukes him, telling Robin that it was his own fault, not the chisel’s. Robin eventually feels ashamed of his anger.On one occasion, Robin’s alertness keeps his party from being robbed.For the entire story, Robin is separated from his parents by unavoidable circumstances. But he thinks of them often, wishes he knew where they were, hopes that they are safe, and wonders what they will think of him when they return. It is obvious that he loves them, and *spoiler* when they are all reunited, they are very tender towards one another.Robin’s good friend, Brother Luke, is a monk. He occasionally blesses himself and says the office. These sort of monkish activities were only mentioned in passing and, instead of being subversive, served to reinforce the medieval setting.Conclusion. The Door in the Wall is one of the sweetest children’s stories that I have ever encountered. It is a must read for those of you who are searching for fine literature. I give it my full endorsement!Visit The Blithering Bookster to read more reviews!www.blitheringbookster.com
The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli is a fantastic short novel with fantastic illustrations. The dust jacket consists of old medieval like ilustrations of a family on a horse going to or moving away from the city. the dust jacket goes all the way to the end of the dust jacket which consists of more families. The novel follows the path of a ten year old boy named Robin in medieval England who gets separated from his family and later on developed an illness which is believed to be polio since he can no longer use his legs. After some training from brother luke who helps him learn to walk with crutches. This was a very interesting book and at first glance I was intrigued by the choices of color on the cover and then astounded by the monochromatic illustrations all done in pencil. This book has a made a great point in that just because you same some sort of handicap issue does not mean that you are incapable of doing normal everyday things. This touched me on a personal level as I had grown up with a mother who has one hand and is still the single most strongest person I know. Robin reminds me of her as he is brave and is ready to tackle on every day tasks. I would recommend this book to anyone ages 10+.
What do You think about The Door In The Wall (1998)?
If this is the book I read in 6th grade, I felt the same exact way! I tried to block it from my memory (haha) so I can't remember if it was or not. Was it written in old english type writing with lots of "thee", "thou" words? If so this was it!
—Julie
Genre: Historical FictionSummary: Robin, a young boy that is separated from both his mother and father, becomes crippled and loses the use of his legs. After being rescued by a friar and taken to St Marks, Robin learns his mind is a very powerful thingCritique:a.tArea for comment: This book carries many themes but one that stands out is perseverance. b.tAs a young boy being groomed to become a brave knight, losing his the use of his legs at an early age is hard to comprehend. To make things worse, his father is away and his mother has been sent for as a lady-in-waiting for the Queen. When John Fletcher, the knight doesn’t arrive, Robin is left all alone until the friar; Brother Luke takes him away to learn how to grow stronger mentally and physically. As the story progresses, so does Robin's drive to succeed as he learns what he does have to be thankful for.c.tOne afternoon at the river, Robin truly starts to feel different physically as he floats in the water and “felt himself moving along with Brother Luke walking and supporting him. All the troubles of the past months seemed to float away with the running of the brook and the strength and power running into his arms.” Curriculum Connection: This book includes many strong themes such as perseverance and friendship. I think this would be a great novel for students to learn about themes. My only reservation is to be careful because this book mentions God and faith often, which, I think, could cause issues with some families.
—Courtney
A decent story, I suppose. But it is so torturously slow-paced that my mind wandered off so many times that I can't keep track of them all. I was left with many questions at the end. What sickness did Robin have? Why did he of all people go out to get help for the war? Why did it have to have such a cutesy-wrapped, unrealistic ending? The medieval language is terrifyingly accurate, and the pencil illustrations are gorgeous. But unless you really love slow-paced stories or medieval history, I wouldn't recommend it.
—D.C.
