Knights & Castles: 50 Hands-On Activities to Experience the Middle Ages (Kaleidoscope Kids)
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List Price: $12.95 $10.36 $ 2.59 ( 20% ) Williamson Publishing Company Avery Hart ,Paul Mantell
Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 940.1EAN: 9781885593177ISBN: 1885593171Label: Williamson Publishing CompanyManufacturer: Williamson Publishing CompanyNumber Of Items: 1Number Of Pages: 96Publication Date: 1998-05Publisher: Williamson Publishing CompanyReading Level: Ages 9-12Studio: Williamson Publishing Company
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Editorial Reviews:
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: the extremes tell it allComment: Notice the extremes of the reviews. On one side, "KelleyG" gives it 5 stars and complains about "obvious religious zealots who feel they have a right to shove their beliefs down the throats of everyone else in this country", and 4 Christians give the book 1 star for its anti-Christian themes and statements. They're both right. The book does nice activities, but its strong point is the background info provided for each activity. I value how it asks us to think about living life in the Middle Ages, like how heavy armour would feel, living without modern technology, and how short life spans lowered the marriage age. I can do an activity AND present questions that help my child relate to the Middle Ages. But, the anti-Christian perspective is flawed to the point of giving an inaccurate perception of the Middle Ages. Pointing out the failures of the church is valuable and needed. Ignoring the contributions of the church is historically inaccurate. For example, nearly every expert credits the church as being the only source of learning and scholarship during the Middle Ages. The handwritten manuscripts of the monks preserved great texts, both Christian and secular, that would have been lost forever. This vital fact is one of many that the authors ignore. Notice that "manuscript" is nowhere in the index, but "minds, open vs. closed" is an index entry. I appreciate that the book is more than just page after page of activity in that it provides historical and philosophical points. I really like it, and will use it. But, as a Christian, in the end, as I am using it with my child, I'll also be able to use it as an example of how bias distorts historical accuracy. We'll be able to talk about whether the church-bashing passages are really true, why somebody would write thus, and what is a more accurate position to take. I am absolutely not afraid to point out the failings of the church. I just wish the authors had been willing to consider the valuable contributions, also. If the church defined much of the Middle Ages, then the distortion is inexcusable.
Customer Rating: Summary: Read the all reviews first!Comment: I was really disappointed by this book. It's very anti-Christian, anti-European, anti-Middle Ages, even. Avery Hart is warping history to suit a politicly correct agenda. I hoped to at least get a few craft ideas, but those were unoriginal and not well done. The "make your own code of honor" craft for example didn't even give an example of what a medieval code of honor might have been like. The book, in my opinion at least, is a big waste.Customer Rating: Summary: Lots to do!Comment: Make sure you're ready to take on craft projects when you get this book, you'll be inspired to build castles and family crests!Customer Rating: Summary: Anti-Christian Zealotry at its worstComment: Apparently Christianity is at the root of all evil and the cause of most misfortune that occurred in the middle ages. If it weren't for those darned Christians, it seems the world would be a much better place. St. Frances of Assis was ok, (he loved animals), but all the rest of the Christians were closed-minded, violent and supersititous. I wasn't aware that the church wouldn't let people read because it might confuse them and that many people became monks because they didn't want to go to war.
Customer Rating: Summary: Excellent for Modern-Day Thought and PracticeComment: Ignore the obvious religious zealots who feel they have a right to shove their beliefs down the throats of everyone else in this country and the world in general: there is absolutely nothing wrong with a child learning about the realities of the middle ages, which was an era heavily influenced by the Catholic church. An adult subject matter, albeit an opportunity for quality parenting, this era was dominated by the church and many superstitious and malinformed beliefs we hold true today stem from this era of intolerance and brutality against human kind and religious freedom.
