Official Review: Saint George: Rusty Knight and Monster T...

Please use this sub-forum to discuss any young adult books.
Forum rules
Authors and publishers are not able to post replies in the review topics.
User avatar
Rachaelamb1
Posts: 986
Joined: 07 Mar 2015, 01:58
Favorite Author: CS Lewis
Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... onwitch</a>
Currently Reading: Falling Star
Bookshelf Size: 128
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-rachaelamb1.html
Latest Review: "Dragon Born" by Ela Lourenco

Official Review: Saint George: Rusty Knight and Monster T...

Post by Rachaelamb1 »

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Saint George: Rusty Knight and Monster Tamer" by John Powell.]
Book Cover
4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review


Saint George: Rusty Knight and Monster Tamer by John Powell is a humorous fantasy story for children in the 6-11 age range.

England is overrun by monsters but never fear, George can save the day! Sure his armour is rusty and he isn't anywhere near as wise as Merlin the Whirlin, but he alone holds the secret to taming the monsters. Sure it puts him in danger sometimes, but he is willing to do the job as long as he gets his 3 shillings and 6 pence a week (don't even think about messing with his armour-off week).

I enjoyed reading the stories in this book. They are just plain old fun without any lessons to learn or educational merit. While those types of books certainly have their place, I think it's great for kids to just sit back and enjoy reading. The characters have fun personalities, there is plenty of action, and lots of humor. Children will get a kick out of the silly things the characters say and do, like taking a bath in a full suit of armour and sleeping a whole week through. I'm sure parents who read this to their kids will also get a laugh out of it.

Each chapter introduces a new adventure for George, so it is easy for children to read one chapter at a time without losing track of where they left off. The book also contains a few illustrations. This will help younger children who are making the transition from picture books to chapter books.

Because the book is set in England, there are some jokes and references American children may not understand. For instance, one chapter is about a game of cricket. Having never seen a cricket game, there are a few things I didn't quite understand. In my opinion, this does not make the book any less enjoyable. In fact, it made me interested to find out more about British life. I plan to look up how cricket is played, so I can reread the chapter and see what I missed.

As far as parental guidance goes, this book does contain one use of mild language and there is a joke made about suicide which may not be suitable for young children.

Overall, this is a really cute book. If its purpose is to entertain and make children fall in love with reading, then it has succeeded. I can definitely see myself reading this book with my son when he is older. For that reason alone, it has earned 4 out of 4 stars. It is also well written and I did not notice any grammatical errors.

******
Saint George: Rusty Knight and Monster Tamer
View: on Bookshelves | View on Amazon | View on Amazon.co.uk

Like Rachaelamb1's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: "Dragon Born" by Ela Lourenco
User avatar
Heidi M Simone
Official Reviewer Representative
Posts: 7054
Joined: 17 Jul 2015, 20:19
Favorite Book: Harry Potter
Currently Reading: Beyond the Wand
Bookshelf Size: 556
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-heidi-m-simone.html
Latest Review: The Movie Chair by Shari Borkin
Publishing Contest Votes: 27
fav_author_id: 0

Post by Heidi M Simone »

Wonderful review, Rachaelamb1! This sounds like such a cute and relaxing book for kids! I definitely agree about have a fun book to read to just escape, not necessarily learning a valuable lesson. (I like these too :shhh: )
Congratulations to the author for receiving such a positive review! :tiphat:
Heidi
Official Reviewer Representative

"There is nothing as powerful as a mother’s love, and nothing as healing as a child’s soul." – Unknown
User avatar
Kourtney Bradley
Posts: 2137
Joined: 10 Oct 2015, 21:45
Favorite Book: Bridges of Madison County
Currently Reading: Layla
Bookshelf Size: 412
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-kourtney-bradley.html
Latest Review: Dante's Demons by K.L. Barstow
Reading Device: 1400697484

Post by Kourtney Bradley »

Nice review! Sometimes I like to enjoy a positive children's book, and actually I occasionally find myself more interested than my son while I'm reading to him :)
Whenever you read a good book, somewhere in the world a door opens to allow in more light. :techie-studyingbrown:
–Vera Nazarian
User avatar
Rachaelamb1
Posts: 986
Joined: 07 Mar 2015, 01:58
Favorite Author: CS Lewis
Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... onwitch</a>
Currently Reading: Falling Star
Bookshelf Size: 128
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-rachaelamb1.html
Latest Review: "Dragon Born" by Ela Lourenco

Post by Rachaelamb1 »

hsimone wrote:Wonderful review, Rachaelamb1! This sounds like such a cute and relaxing book for kids! I definitely agree about have a fun book to read to just escape, not necessarily learning a valuable lesson. (I like these too :shhh: )
Congratulations to the author for receiving such a positive review! :tiphat:
Haha yes the what would the world be without purely fun books?!

-- 19 Jul 2016, 21:10 --
klbradley wrote:Nice review! Sometimes I like to enjoy a positive children's book, and actually I occasionally find myself more interested than my son while I'm reading to him :)
Thank you :) There are some books I read to my daughter like that !
Latest Review: "Dragon Born" by Ela Lourenco
User avatar
gali
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 53652
Joined: 22 Oct 2013, 07:12
Favorite Author: Agatha Christie
Currently Reading: The Suite Life
Bookshelf Size: 2287
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-gali.html
Reading Device: B00I15SB16
Publishing Contest Votes: 0
fav_author_id: 2484

Post by gali »

Sounds real cute and a good book for kids despite the mild language. The suicide joke sounds inappropriate though.

Thank you for the great review! :)
A retired Admin/Mod

Pronouns: She/Her

"In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you." (Mortimer J. Adler)
User avatar
kimmyschemy06
Posts: 2598
Joined: 20 Oct 2015, 20:49
Currently Reading: The Searching Three
Bookshelf Size: 694
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-kimmyschemy06.html
Latest Review: Kazi Boku by M. Poyhonen

Post by kimmyschemy06 »

Sounds like a cute book mainly for entertainment purposes :) I agree, though, about the joke on suicide being inappropriate for the target audience. Great job on the review. Congratulations to John Powell!
User avatar
Rachaelamb1
Posts: 986
Joined: 07 Mar 2015, 01:58
Favorite Author: CS Lewis
Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... onwitch</a>
Currently Reading: Falling Star
Bookshelf Size: 128
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-rachaelamb1.html
Latest Review: "Dragon Born" by Ela Lourenco

Post by Rachaelamb1 »

Thank you for your comments! I agree the suicide joke is not a good one for this age....I can just see my children asking me to explain what it is. It's a discussion that will have to happen one day, but not in a careless way.
Latest Review: "Dragon Born" by Ela Lourenco
AuthoressofMystery
Posts: 61
Joined: 12 Aug 2016, 20:36
Currently Reading: Finding Poe
Bookshelf Size: 342
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-authoressofmystery.html
Latest Review: "Learn English, Spanish, French, German, Turkish and Persian - Vocabulary Book Series" by Vahid Asghari
Reading Device: 1400697484

Post by AuthoressofMystery »

Great review! Sounds like a fun book worth reading!
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.

Edmond Burke
Latest Review: "Learn English, Spanish, French, German, Turkish and Persian - Vocabulary Book Series" by Vahid Asghari
AA1495
Posts: 1210
Joined: 17 Aug 2016, 14:45
Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... 19636">Out of the Box Awakening</a>
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 122
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-aa1495.html
Latest Review: YiaYia’s Kitchen by Brianna Koucos Midgley

Post by AA1495 »

Glad you enjoyed reading the book. Thanks for the review!
User avatar
bookowlie
Special Discussion Leader
Posts: 9071
Joined: 25 Oct 2014, 09:52
Favorite Book: The Lost Continent
Currently Reading: The Night She Went Missing
Bookshelf Size: 442
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-bookowlie.html
Latest Review: To Paint A Murder by E. J. Gandolfo

Post by bookowlie »

Nice, thorough review! It sounds like a cute book with silly situations that kids would find funny. I agree that a suicide joke is weird and inappropriate in a children's book.
"The best way out is always through" - Robert Frost
User avatar
mindyg123
Posts: 439
Joined: 07 Feb 2016, 19:36
Currently Reading: Lycan Fallout
Bookshelf Size: 565
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-mindyg123.html

Post by mindyg123 »

This seems like the perfect book for my 9 year old grandson. He will absolutely love it and he can read it to his little brother so they'll both get enjoyment out of it. I love the idea of illustrations for the younger grandkids when I read it to them they'll be able to look at the pictures. Wonderful review for what looks like a wonderful children's book. Congrats on being BOTD!
Mindyg123 :techie-studyingbrown:
User avatar
AishaTBN
Posts: 84
Joined: 21 Jun 2016, 16:33
Currently Reading: The Thousand Nights And One Night
Bookshelf Size: 38
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-aishatbn.html
Latest Review: "The Banned Book about Love" by Scott Hughes

Post by AishaTBN »

Wonderful review. I think I'd like this book for my niece and nephew.
Latest Review: "The Banned Book about Love" by Scott Hughes
TrishaAnn92
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 3986
Joined: 20 Oct 2013, 15:59
Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... =2595">The Messenger (2)</a>
Currently Reading: A Game of Thrones
Bookshelf Size: 192
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-trishaann92.html
Latest Review: Superhighway by Alex Fayman
Reading Device: B00JG8GOWU
Publishing Contest Votes: 20

Post by TrishaAnn92 »

Wonderful review! This sounds like a book my eldest would enjoy having read to her! Your enthusiasm for the book really shined through! :) Congrats to the author on a positive review and on being BOTD!
chocomeiske
Posts: 144
Joined: 29 Aug 2015, 05:14
Favorite Author: Ben Galley
Currently Reading: The Prey
Bookshelf Size: 4152
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-chocomeiske.html
Latest Review: "The Last Bucelarii (Book 1): Blade of the Destroyer" by Andy Peloquin
fav_author_id: 11401

Post by chocomeiske »

Sounds hilarious. I cant wait to see what I think of it a d I do know something about cricket being from the West Indies so I hope I catch on.
Latest Review: "The Last Bucelarii (Book 1): Blade of the Destroyer" by Andy Peloquin
AT+rmarathon[16]
Posts: 76
Joined: 21 Aug 2016, 06:50
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 35
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-at-rmarathon-16.html
Latest Review: Phobia Relief by Kalliope Barlis

Post by AT+rmarathon[16] »

wonderful review...seems like a great read..
Post Reply

Return to “Young Adult Fiction Books”