GALAHAD AND THE GRAIL

GALAHAD AND THE GRAIL by Malcolm Guite. Illustrated by Stephen Crotts.

GREEN LIGHT

AGES: 7TH GRADE - ADULT

This book is going straight to my Sarah's Favorites Booklist!

Malcolm Guite's Galahad and the Grail is the stuff that classics are made of. Even though it's Arthurian legend, and you may be asking yourself if we really need another book about King Arthur and his infamous knights, the resounding answer when reading through this book is yes! What makes Guite's book so wonderfully engaging to the senses is it is written in poetic form. The words literally sing from the pages which gives it the feel of its original writing.. While caught up in the reading, it's so easy to envision oneself in a great hall where shields gleam, fires roar in hearths, and chivalry reigns feasting at a long, wooden table..

Guite has been steeped in these stories since the early days of his childhood, and that shines through in his writing. His mother read to him the original stories when he was young with all the greatness, all the wonder, and all the mistakes made. However, Guite tells us, " At the heart of those early versions of the stories is the Holy Grail itself: the presence of Christ and His Gospel, moving as an unbearably bright light through the mists and magic of pre-Christian Celtic Britain, drawing even the wizards and the faery folk towards Himself, baptising the imagination of our ancestors, fulfilling and disclosing the true meaning of our earliest stories." This tale is one of saving and redemption which makes it a powerful story worth hearing.

Galahad and the Grail is the first of three volumes of King Arthur retellings. I will definitely be purchasing the next two as they are released and adding them to our book collection.

HOMESCHOOL HELPS - So how do we use this in a homeschool setting? It is possible to read the book on its own and enjoy and gain understanding of the tales. It is also possible to pair this book with a story version such as Roger Lancelyn Green's King Arthur (or other depending how deep you want to go - all the way to Le Morte d' Arthur.)