The Sword in the Stone

The Sword and the Stone was one of my favorite books as a child and I’ve reread it several times as an adult. My paperback copy is getting old and brittle and I could see this version had beautiful illustrations so I decided to order it. I also own The Once and Future King so I was aware White revised the book quite a bit when he included it as the first part of his tetralogy; however, I was surprised to discover in the adventure with Robin and his Merry Men that White had changed the antagonists from the fairies or the Good Folk to the Anthropophagi. Wikipedia said White made some changes when The Sword in the Stone was published in the United States and that must be the explanation. Personally I prefer the version with the fairies so I’ll keep my old paperback just to read that section.I’d like to share one of my favorite scenes since I first read the book:“Oh, flout the boy!” cried Merlyn passionately. “You don’t seem to see anything this morning. What is it that you want me to do?”“Turn me and Kay into snakes or something.”Merlyn took off his spectacles, dashed them on the floor and jumped upon them with both feet.“Castor and Pollux blow me to Bermuda!” he exclaimed, and immediately vanished with a frightful roar.The Wart was still staring at his tutor’s chair in some perplexity, a few moments later, when Merlyn reappeared. He had lost his hat and his hair and beard were all tangled up, as if by a hurricane. He sat down again, straightening his gown with trembling fingers.“Why did you do that?” asked the Wart.“I didn’t do it on purpose.”“Do you mean to say that Castor and Pollux did blow you to Bermuda?”“Let this be a lesson to you,” replied Merlyn, “not to swear. I think we had better change the subject.”To conclude, as a child the anachronisms didn’t bother me because early in the novel Merlyn explains to the Wart that he lives backwards in time and knows about the future.

Muy bonito

An old copy of the stand-alone Sword in the Stone that I have had since the early 90s (Dennis Nolan illustrated) appears to be the same book as the one I just bought in hardcover format that was sold by/shipped by Amazon.My copy was falling apart and I had no idea that the same illustrated book was still being published so I am happy that I have been able to replace it for one that appears to be the same!

This book was written by a master storyteller who knew exactly how to weave a dozen-stories about Arthur's magical adventures and his teacher/magician mentor Merlin. Wart become a fish, an owl and many other critters. Each one gives him a skill that will be useful to a king. T.H. White blows J.K Rowling out of the water.

Loved the hardcover! The book had picture pages on the inside which was cool. The only problem I had with this book is that I was reading it along side of a PDF of The Sword in the Stone that I had on my computer. The problem was that the PDF was the story out of The Once and Future King book, which means even though they are the same story, the chapters were off and The Once and Future King version of The Sword in the Stone had more details and additions to the story. This book was published after the original story; it has been revised and shortened.

A wonderful book...first in T. H. White's fabulous series in his Arthurian Cycle. Written for a strong 3d or 4th grade reader, with some challenging vocabulary that can be worked out through context. I think this book has everything for kid...fantasy, humor, loyalty, politics, and a beautiful natural world to explore. Illustrations in this edition are right on the money. Also fun to read aloud.

This is a substantial, thick book for kids but word worthy for an adult. The illustrations are of the photo-realistic style, like many Tolkien illustrations, and some include creatures sprung from great imagination. Of course, having been written by master word smith T H White helps.All in all, a delightful book for a somewhat older child, I'd say. I can hardly wait until the grandkids get old enough.

met and exceeded my and my son's expectations. particularly considering his disinterest in reading; which has since been stoked! THank you T.H. White!