Ever since he can remember, Robin, son of Sir John de Bureford, has been told what is expected of him as the son of a nobleman. He must learn the w...
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Oct 23, 2008
Patti
rated it: 
This is a sweet and simple story of triumph over adversity in a time when answers to illness were rare, wars were plenty and commitment to duty often meant great sacrifice. Lots of hard lessons for a ten year old to learn in any time period and in any culture, but Robin learns his lessons well and in believable ways. The author is almost prosaic in her use of language as the story flows with a lovely rhythm and meter throughout Robin’s adventures. Her mastery of the medieval language structure a
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Aug 10, 2011
Michelle
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I love a story with a wealth of meaning behind its words. This one is exemplary. Within, young Robyn’s father has left for the Scottish wars, his mother has gone to wait on the ailing queen, and Robyn awaits John-the-Fletcher who will escort him to the manor of Sir Peter where Robyn will serve as squire. But Robyn takes ill and loses the use of his legs, John-the-Fletcher never arrives, and the servants flee for fear of the plague that rages through London.
A monk named Brother Luke More...
A monk named Brother Luke More...
Aug 06, 2011
Kara
rated it: 
HATE! HATE! HATE! HATE! HATE! To clarify...HATED IT! Ok so I was willing...totally willing to give this dumb book a chance, what do I get? THIS! The kid got sick and because in that time there were very little cures for anything, especially serious illnesses, the kid is now a cripple. He is a brat. The book clearly states that. I can't remember whether directly or indirectly. But ANYHOW he is such a brat that he scares away anybody and everybody willing to help him or care for him...Oh yha and h
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Jun 24, 2010
Ilona
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Sep 22, 2010
Jill
rated it: 
1950 Newbery Winner.
I liked this more than other Newberys set in the middle ages. I liked the writing more in Good Masters! but this was much more pleasant overall (for kids) and had less death and suffering...maybe it's not as true to the experience of living during that time but it's a good story to get kids interested in Medieval England. I'd have them read this before Good Masters!.
"The weather was neither rainy nor fair, neither hot nor cold, but somewhere in More...
I liked this more than other Newberys set in the middle ages. I liked the writing more in Good Masters! but this was much more pleasant overall (for kids) and had less death and suffering...maybe it's not as true to the experience of living during that time but it's a good story to get kids interested in Medieval England. I'd have them read this before Good Masters!.
"The weather was neither rainy nor fair, neither hot nor cold, but somewhere in More...
Feb 18, 2011
Linda
rated it:
This 1950 Newbery medal winner is charming and cute, but it lacks depth. Increasingly as I continue the quest to read all Newbery books, I'm finding that the earlier ones simply are not as engaging or powerful as those written in the last ten years.
This is a story set in the middle ages. Young ten year old Robin is the son of a knight who is destined to follow his father's footsteps until he looses the use of his limbs.
When Robin's mother leaves to serve the Queen and his fat More...
This is a story set in the middle ages. Young ten year old Robin is the son of a knight who is destined to follow his father's footsteps until he looses the use of his limbs.
When Robin's mother leaves to serve the Queen and his fat More...
Feb 17, 2011
DaNae
rated it:
Robin, at the age of ten, was well past the time of hanging about his mother’s skirts. Time was a wasting, best ship the kid off study in the art of knighthood. His father was off knighting it up against the Scots and his mother was needed to attend to the queen, and the plague was running rampant through England. Robin, left to wait for his transport to a brother knight’s castle, falls ill with some unknown disease the moment his mother leaves him on his own in London. The malady strikes hi
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Jun 30, 2011
Cathy
rated it:
Set in the fourteenth century, the classic story of one boy's personal heroism when he loses the use of his legs.
Sir John de Bureford has been called to fight for the King against the Scots. His wife, Lady Maud, has been summoned to wait on the Queen. Their son, Robin, is left in the care of the servants and then the plague breaks out. Though left alone he is finally rescued and taken in by the nearby monks. So begins the trials and adventures of a young boy in medieval England. Ove More...
Sir John de Bureford has been called to fight for the King against the Scots. His wife, Lady Maud, has been summoned to wait on the Queen. Their son, Robin, is left in the care of the servants and then the plague breaks out. Though left alone he is finally rescued and taken in by the nearby monks. So begins the trials and adventures of a young boy in medieval England. Ove More...
May 15, 2009
Rachelterry
rated it:
Spencer and I just read this together. It's set in England in the middle ages. The main character is a ten-year-old boy who is inadvertently left alone during a bout of the plague. His legs become paralyzed during his illness, and a monk finds him and takes him to a monastery to help him heal. This monk helps him find "a door in the wall" by teaching him to read, write, swim, and carve instruments out of wood. These skills help him to become a hero in the end, even though he doesn't co
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Aug 16, 2008
Wendy
rated it:
I wanted to like this more than I did, but found I just couldn't click the 3-star button. The characters were all right, but I didn't find the story very engaging, there were hardly any female characters, and it was a bit message-heavy. As far as boy-in-medieval-times-Newbery-winners go... I preferred ADAM OF THE ROAD.
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Sep 07, 2009
Ryan Patrick
rated it:
I think I understand why this won the Newbery, since the message of the book is a good one - with patience and hard work one can overcome great obstacles. However, for me, the book felt a bit flat. Not only were some of the characters a bit unrealistic (why does Brother Luke take such an interest in Robin?), but the historical background felt inauthentic (friars are not monks, for example) and often too generic (no date, the king is never named, etc.). The story itself plods along, and even the
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Jul 24, 2009
Debbie (Readerbuzz)
rated it:
Robin, the son of a knight, is all set to set off for the home of a noble lord where he is to begin training as a page. Then tragedy strikes. Robin is beset with an illness that leaves him unable to walk. His servants come down with the plague and he is left alone. Just in time he is rescued by a monk who carries him to safety at a monastery, a monk who helps him find the door in the wall Robin needs to leave his castle home and the doors in the wall Robin needs to find in order to make his life
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Aug 16, 2011
Anna
rated it:
Will I continue to kind of regret it if I continue to go back and read the early Newbery winners? It seems like I might.
This is too precious, with little conflict/interest to engage the reader, and none of the characters have much in the way of depth or likability. Everyone is so charitable all the time! Except for the bratty ingrate main character, the two thieves the travelers meet along the way, and the faceless referred-to-but-not-really-met Welsh and Scottish. Yes, all of them. More...
This is too precious, with little conflict/interest to engage the reader, and none of the characters have much in the way of depth or likability. Everyone is so charitable all the time! Except for the bratty ingrate main character, the two thieves the travelers meet along the way, and the faceless referred-to-but-not-really-met Welsh and Scottish. Yes, all of them. More...
Apr 10, 2008
Julie
rated it:
I had to read this and do a book report on it in 5th grade (approximately). I remember it being the most dry, torturous book I'd read up to that point. I wonder what I'd think of it now?
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Dec 04, 2008
Soccerfields
rated it:
DO NOT READ THIS BOOK! This is the worst book I've ever read in my whole entire life. If there was a zero star I would rate it a zero star. WARNING: DO NOT READ!
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Nov 12, 2011
Dayna
rated it:
This is a work of historical fiction set in the Middle Ages. The story is about a boy who finds there is more than one way to serve his king when he finds his own strength and saves the castle. Brother Luke, the friar in the book, is charming. This book is an excellent way to explore the primacy of the church in all aspects of life in this time period. It is not a religious book, but it treats Christianity respectfully - a novelty these days. There is some difficult vocabulary and an understandi
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May 30, 2008
Holyhoneybucket
rated it:
I took me six weeks to read what could have been finished in a night. I found it very slow and dull. Toward the end, I skimmed.
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Mar 14, 2008
Angela
rated it: 
This is a tail written in the time of knights. It is a classic and still remains one.
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Nov 18, 2010
Leslie
rated it:
This book is a relatively charming depiction of a young noble boy in England during the time of the plague. In some ways, it is a subtle teacher of some important customs and historical facts of the time; Robin, the protagonist, lives for a while at a monastery while recovering from an illness (polio?) that left him without the use of his legs. They travel at some peril to the castle of the knight for whom he is to serve as page, where they are attacked by the Welsh. The rituals of religion,
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Jun 22, 2010
Tara
rated it:
Robin is expected to become a knight, but when he gets sick and becomes crippled he fears he will only be a disappointment. Through the help of friends and mentors, Robin learns he can still do great things.
This book is about finding ways to overcome barriers to our goals, as is reflected in the title. It shows that although there may be some things we are incapable of doing, there are other things at which we can succeed and even do better than others. The story encourages courage t More...
This book is about finding ways to overcome barriers to our goals, as is reflected in the title. It shows that although there may be some things we are incapable of doing, there are other things at which we can succeed and even do better than others. The story encourages courage t More...
Jun 21, 2010
Ryan
rated it:
I probably would've finished this book (only three CDs total) if I hadn't happened to be at the library.
I thought to myself "I'm almost through the first CD and still bored, should I stick it out?"
I guess you know my decision. This not finishing books thing is relatively new to me and it's making me a very picky (and arrogant) reader. Part of me feels guilty, the other part says "Yeah, I've finally stopped wasting my time with mediocre books!"
Once again. More...
I thought to myself "I'm almost through the first CD and still bored, should I stick it out?"
I guess you know my decision. This not finishing books thing is relatively new to me and it's making me a very picky (and arrogant) reader. Part of me feels guilty, the other part says "Yeah, I've finally stopped wasting my time with mediocre books!"
Once again. More...
Feb 18, 2010
Martin
rated it:
There's a reasonably direct linkage between my appreciation of this book as a child (I blew through it again last year and think it still reads well) and my present longing for Horn and Born's "The Plan of St. Gall" as the one artifactual book I most long to possess. This book was part of that core, early, exposure that produced in me a life-long interest in Gothic ecclesiastical architecture, heraldry, peasant studies, calligraphy, plainsong and choral singing, military architecture,
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Jun 23, 2011
Alicia
rated it:
A great book, with an essential life-lesson. A boy, Robin, who becomes ill and loses the use of his legs has to re-think his life. A monk who come to his rescue teaches him that whenever you find a wall, follow it and there will be a door eventually. Robin struggles with impatience and frustration, but eventually he is a hero. The pace is slow and deliberate, and the author sets the scene beautifully.
I have three young boys and have been reading some boy-centric books to find some More...
I have three young boys and have been reading some boy-centric books to find some More...
Sep 24, 2011
Jean
rated it:
Re-reading (and reviewing for content) some children's classics before I give them to my kids for summer reading...this was my first. Great story about perseverance and being at peace in your circumstances when life hands you an obstacle. ""Fret not, my son. None of us is perfect. It is better to have crooked legs than a crooked spirit. We can only do the best we can with what we have. That, after all, is the measure of success: what we do with what we have."" We just
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Dec 09, 2011
Rebecca
rated it:
Needs a glossary: Son of a Knight, partially paralyzed by illness, overcomes his disability and saves the castle. Probably Edward III's reign but I'm not sure, the language is styled to emulate the period and still be readable. Lots of talk of the plague, the wars with Scotland, etc. Starts slow but towards the climax (which isn't until close to the end) the book actually gets exciting, and you find yourself cheering for him in the final pages. The only major problem I have with this book is th
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Sep 08, 2009
Auntjenny
rated it:
I think I read this book in third grade. And I liked it! Funny thing is though... no one else at my school did.
My dad gave me a check for my lunch money that year and I guess I accidentally left it inside this book when I returned it to the school library. I thought I'd lost the check! An ordeal ensued.
A few years later, I went to check out this book again...because..as I said, I liked it! And inside the book was the check my dad had written out years ago for lunch mo
My dad gave me a check for my lunch money that year and I guess I accidentally left it inside this book when I returned it to the school library. I thought I'd lost the check! An ordeal ensued.
A few years later, I went to check out this book again...because..as I said, I liked it! And inside the book was the check my dad had written out years ago for lunch mo
Aug 23, 2009
Newengland
rated it:
This tale of a lame lad (Robin) in medieval England plods along as does its protagonist. After a very slow start, it picks up a little movement as the boy moves to save his besieged castle. Alas, there's little if any suspense and author Marguerite de Angeli attended the "Tell" School of Writing. What's more, what should be momentous events (battles, for example) are summed up and done with in two or three sentences. One's left humming the song, "Is That All There Is?"
Mar 28, 2011
Maria
rated it:
This is an amazing story. The Door in the Wall is a wonderful introduction to life in Middle Ages. The main character, Robin, is a young boy who loses the use of his legs after contracting an illness. Since it was in a time when diseases were not diagnosed, it isn't given a name, but it could be polio. The book won the Newbery Award in 1949 when polio was a real threat.
This book is both an adventure story and an inspirational story which can be enjoyed by readers from grades 6 to adult.
This book is both an adventure story and an inspirational story which can be enjoyed by readers from grades 6 to adult.
Nov 13, 2008
Heather
rated it:
I almost feel like a traitor because I didn't rate this higher. Reading this to my kids was not very fun for anyone though.
It's a nice enough story but very slow. My kids groaned a few times when I pulled it out. We did learn a bit about the plague and wars and monks and how knights are trained, but we already knew a lot and could have found more in other more interesting books. Mostly this was a book about rising above your challenges and doing the best you can with what you've More...
It's a nice enough story but very slow. My kids groaned a few times when I pulled it out. We did learn a bit about the plague and wars and monks and how knights are trained, but we already knew a lot and could have found more in other more interesting books. Mostly this was a book about rising above your challenges and doing the best you can with what you've More...
Apr 02, 2009
Ellenkristi
rated it:
A good book, though not really of my taste. Its language feels a bit 'ancient', something which corresponds to its time setting (14th century?). Through the story we learn about what it feels to be processed from nobody to somebody - a long, painstaking journey. The moral is if we persevere in hardship and training, we will gain something in the end. "There is always a door in any wall, if we keep on walking".
