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?

The year is 1294; the hero, 11-year-old Adam Quartermayne, good-natured son of Roger the minstrel. Shortly after the story opens, Adam has a joyous reunion with his father, who's been gone five months. Upon his return, (along with Adam's beloved dog, Nick), they set off on the road together. Life goes smoothly until Roger gambles away both money and horse to fellow minstrel Jankin. Things get even worse when Jankin steals Nick and Adam gives chase, losing Roger. Over a period of many months and miles, Adam goes it alone, searching for Roger and depending on strangers: Adam knew why Roger said the road was home to the minstrel. It was because people were kind. Along the way, the reader gets a good feel for the time period and, by journey's end, Adam has found both father and dog once again. Although over sixty years old, Gray's story (like Avi's Crispin: The Cross Of Lead, another Newbery-winner recounting roughly the same time period) remains one that today's reader can relate to: If [grown-ups] told you anything, they expected you to remember it forever when you told them something half the time they forget it Engaging and beautifully written, Adam and his travels are worth the journey, but frequent use of words like demesne, villein, reeve, and hauberk make me question the Ages 8 and up readership the publisher claims. The illustrations by Lawson (also a Newbery winner) are perfect, and their placement directly before the chapter creates a nice sense of anticipation.

Categories:

• Teen & Young Adult
  
  
  • Historical Fiction
    • Medieval