This is a slim but very informative and readable book, and it exposes a lot of the misconceptions most people have about the Middle Ages. (Mainly that children were horribly ill treated, forced to work twenty-five hours a day from the age of six, etc.) It provides real-life historical examples of the various aspects of Middle Ages childhood, and some of the stories it tells are puzzling and hilarious. (For instance, medieval universities had to issue repeated proclamations reminding students it was against the rules to keep animals such as wolves, bears and deer in their rooms. I don't even wanna know.)

I only wish there had been footnotes or endnotes. ( )