The Door in the Wall

First off, a little announcement - as of August 1st I will no longer be on staff at 5 Minutes for Books. Jennifer and the rest of the ladies of the team have graciously let me go. I feel a little stretched these days and wanted to simplify and focus on Reading to Know. So here I am but that certainly won't preclude me from participating in the various carnivals that are hosted on Tuesdays over on the other site.

Following the Children's Classic Mystery Challenge earlier, Dawn has stepped in to host Children's Classics for the remainder of the year. The focus is on reading award winning children's classics and if you'd like to learn more about this themed challenge, click here to see what Dawn had to say about it.

Several months back on a trip to Powell's, I had scooped up a copy of The Door in the Wall and seeing that it had won a Newbery Award, I thought it would be a great book to kick this challenge off with!

If you are as unfamiliar as I was with the story it, I'll help fill you in. It tells the story of ten year old Robin, son of Sir John de Bureford, a well respected knight in the king's army. John has suffered some sort of physical malady causing his legs to not function properly, disenabling him from pursuing training as a page. His father is away at war when John is crippled, as is his mother - who is a lady in service with an ailing queen. John is taken into a monestary and is cared for by Brother Luke who teaches Luke how to carve wood and teaches him patience and various character traits.

The title of the book is taken from a remark made by Brother Luke who tells John, "Thou hast only to follow the wall far enough and there will be a door in it."

The message is that although John is crippled, he can still prove to be a useful and profitable member of his society.

Amazon reviewers seem to not care for this book very well, but I have to say that I rather did. It's a quick 121 page story set in medieval times. There are feasts and monks and kings and it's all very intriguing. I thought it was kinda fun and different.

It received the Newbery Award in 1950. Author Marguerite de Angeli wrote a slew of books and won a handful of awards, including two Caldecott's. She also illustrated many books. (Although I do have to honestly state that I wasn't a big fan of the illustrations in this story!) The Door in the Wall apparently went on to be written into a play, although I can find only the mention of it online and not very much information besides. At any rate, despite the fact that modern tweens don't seem to find much value in this book, it did win a Newbery and I think that says something for it. I don't think it is difficult to comprehend at all, and is, in fact, a delight to read. I'm glad I stumbled across it and I'm very glad to Dawn for hosting the Children's Classics carnival to give me just the motivation I needed to pick it up off the shelf! Thanks!