Author: Stuart Gibbs
Illustrator: Stacy Curtis
© Date: 2022
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Pages: 153
Chapters: Yes
Illustrations: Yes, many page layouts have an illustration
Publisher Recommended Age: 7-10 years
Bonus Activities at End of Book: No
Summary from Book: Once upon a time there was a peasant named Tim.
Yes, you heard that right. This is the story of a boy who wanted more out of life than to grow up to be a peasant like his parents. (And all his other ancestors as well.) Even if that means making a treacherous journey filled with dangerous beasts, angry ogres, and very devious humans.
Until now, the only path to success in the Kingdom of Wyld was to be born a prince.
But there’s never been a hero like Tim before.
Page Pig Thoughts: Tim’s journey from peasant to knight was witty and amusing. While I didn’t really latch on to Tim as a character, I rather enjoyed the story as a whole. I found using modern social opinions to look at a story in an older time intriguing. The illustration style added extra entertainment for me. The informal narration style combined with telling the story of medieval times from a modern perspective made the story more relatable.
This story rethinks expected social structures and life and is presented in a lighthearted manner, it never felt preachy. Through all of the humor and peril, the story has a happy ending with some sage advice. “…Don’t believe everything you hear…. If someone tells you something, maybe you ought to investigate whether it’s true or not, instead of blindly believing it.”
This one gets Page Pup thumbs up. Since I read it twice, maybe my IQ is extra boosted from the IQ boosters, maybe not. Either way, we look forward to reading the next one in the series.
Family Unit: Tim lived with his mother, father, and fr-dog in a hut
Conflict/Social Issues:
- Tim does not want to be a peasant
- Belinda does not like her life choices of being a housewife or witch, so she is trying to be a boy.
- Prince Ruprecht is trying to maintain his handsome and brave prince image.
Positive Items:
- The story values a useful trait – being able to accept that the information you have always heard is not correct.
- Tim is able to find his bravery and uses his quick wits to forge a different path than being a peasant.
- Having a goal in life and finding ways to make that happen (not being a peasant, not resigning yourself to the expected norm, etc.)
- Realities of peasant life can be learned, but the humor is sufficient to make it not feel like a forced educational moment.
Items of Interest:
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- Tim is a peasant. His family lives in a hut without windows because they are peasants. The hut has bugs and other vermin because there is nothing to keep them out. He only has one set of clothes.
- Tim is used to a diet of gruel because he is a peasant.
- Princess Grace being kidnapped by a stinx creates an opportunity to sign up as a knight to accompany Prince Ruprecht in saving the Princess.
- Tim’s parents do not understand why Tim would want to be anything other than a peasant. At the end of the story, his parents are proud of him.
- Belinda is a peasant. She does not like that the options for girls are being a housewife or a witch. She is not good at spell casting and enjoys doing things like chopping wood. She pretends to be a boy and signs up to be a knight with Tim.
- Ferkle is the village idiot. He comes from a long line of village idiots, so he took up the family business. In the end, he is actually rather smart, which disappointed his parents. He continues being the village idiot because it is not as life-threatening as being a knight.
- Nerlim is an evil wizard that has worked well to create an image of being all powerful. Turns out that his magic is actually amazing card tricks, he can’t turn anything into a newt. He tries to maintain his image all the same.
- Big vocabulary words are used throughout the book with an IQ Booster sign. These are for “if your parents ever start giving you grief for reading a book with lots of pictures in it, you can tell them it’s actually educational.” Even a word that parents likely won’t know is used in the story.
- Some potty humor is used. The word usage sentence for malodorous is “Whenever Mom passes gas, it’s extremely malodorous.” There is also mention of professional bum wipers to tend to the royalty in the castles.
- Princess Grace is kidnapped by a stinx. Turns out that a stinx had received a bad reputation and they really aren’t that bad. Princess Grace has really just been hanging around them waiting for a prince to save her. That is what princesses are supposed to do, wait to be rescued by their prince and get married. Belinda has a conversation with Princess Grace that makes Princess Grace rethink her life options.
- Tim has some quick thinking moments that save him from being eaten by a serpent in a river. His quick thinking also save the stubborn Prince Ruprecht from drowning himself in his armor.
- Many mentions of image are made. For example, Prince Ruprecht has the image of being brave, but really is not. So he is working to maintain his image throughout the kingdoms.
- Some humor seems like it would apply more for adults than kids is sprinkled throughout the book. For example, there is a discussion about why even have a village idiot? Every village has them and they are even in your time, they are now just called television show hosts. There was also a mention of lawyer being a word that leaves someone groaning, there were other words too, but that one seemed more adult humor style.
Other Books in Series (At Time of Posting):
- Book 2 – The Labyrinth of Doom – Different illustrator, we didn’t like the style as much for the story style
- Book 3 – The Sea of Terror – Same illustrator as first book, hooray!
- Book 4 – The Quest of Danger – Same illustrator as second book
Notes on Book 4 – The Quest of Danger:
- Overall, this one follows the humor, adventure, and suspense of the other books in the series. Although it has two items of parental interest.
- One is the mention of politically correct terms.
- “The term mermaid is sexist…I prefer merperson.”
- You don’t look or sound like a pirate. “That is an offensive stereotype…There are many, many pirates who avoid injury, dislike parrots, and speak in an erudite manner.”
- The other item of interest is that Princess Grace becomes smitten with Bull aka Belinda. When Tim reluctantly tells Princess Grace that Bull is a girl, Princess Grace says she has known that for a long time and is okay with that. Belinda is seemingly unaware of Princess Grace’s feelings.