Great characters! Barge Library has copies of books illustrated by this author, Howard Pyle. ( )

Otto of the Silver Hand has been classified as a milestone in children's literature being one of the first historical novels written for children by an American. As such it has been influential. It's also very well done, striking a balance between readability and invoking the period accurately. As an adult with some background in Medieval history, I found it a lot of fun and as a kid probably would have even more so. ( )

A Medieval story about a young boy caught up in a murderous feud after being raised in a monastery. It all about the pictures really. They are something, the knights and men at arms in particular. The older women seem to mix later 14th &15th cent style elements and the final young maid looks to be wearing an artistic reform tea gown. ( )

Summary:
Otto's mother died during childbirth, and his father, a warlord, left him in a monastery for a safe upbringing. As an older boy Otto's father returns for him, at which time Otto discovers the truth about his father's past, particularly about his part in the murder of Baron Frederick. As a result of the feud his father had a part in, Otto is ultimately is the subject of revenge.

Personal Reaction:
An easy book to read that teaches a lot of life lessons that are helpful in today's world. The story teaches about right against wrong, love, forgiveness, to have a positive outlook on life, and to pay attention to the good and bad in the world around us. A very powerful book full of morals.

Classroom Ideas:
1. Talk with the children about what life lesson stood out the most to them and why.
2. Talk about the history of Medieval times.
3. Draw pictures that relate to the book and Medieval times.

In the movie Rosemary's Baby (one of my favorite movies of all time), the character Hutch is described as being an author of "boys' adventure stories." I never knew what that meant, but it's possible that Otto of the Silver Hand might be a boys' adventure story.

There's honor and revenge and violence (thankfully without gore). It reminded me of the old movies made under the "Code" back in the day in its fairly simple presentation of good and evil. Even the dude who's finally trying to do right can't have a happy ending because he's done so much bad in the past. Not that I wanted things to be hunky-dory for him, but I would prefer a little more of a reward for having a nuanced emotional life and an evolving sense of morality. Good comes only to the unambiguously and consistently good, which doesn't give much hope to the rest of us. Of course, the good have some pretty nasty things happen to them, too, so there's not a lot of hope for anyone in this book, really. Which now that I think of it, is a little odd for a children's story. I might have to bump my rating up a star just for that. ( )