The Saracen Steed

by Arthur Anthony Gladd

When a simple farm boy befriends a strange and beautiful horse that has wandered onto the lands of Abbey St. Simon, the boy cannot begin to imagine the adventures he will have upon its back. As all of Christendom hangs in the balance, young Hugh embarks on a mission with unfaltering bravery and a sense of duty that will leave even the most powerful leaders and hardened warriors awestruck. Against all odds, Hugh is determined to save his people from the Saracens, with help from one of their very own majestic steeds.

“Set in the tumultuous times of the Crusades, this beautifully written story is an example of how a book can portray a violent time period without graphic details and can powerfully contrast right and wrong while remaining completely uplifting and appropriate. This adventurous tale has everything that makes a book good and beautiful: high moral and educational value, exemplary writing, and an intriguing plot.” —Jenny Phillips

Genres: Historical Fiction, Childrens

247 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1960

Reviews

[Len · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know I received this book, and Mr Gladd's Galleys East!, as school prizes about 1964. It stayed in my mind because they were chosen for me by what I thought was my best friend. I missed the school day when the prizes were being selected and I thought he had deliberately picked the two crappiest books that were available. I didn't read them until about ten years later, when I'd grown up a bit, and was pleasantly surprised that they were quite good. Yes, boys' adventure stories with all the limitations that suggests but well written.

The Saracen Steed is set in medieval France around a monastery at a time when the Moors in Spain were sending raiding parties over the Pyrenees to expand their power. I don't recall the exact historical details but I know it leads to a decisive battle in which the story's young hero and his Arabian horse become successfully involved. All good old fashioned stuff and very enjoyable when you're in the right mood. There were no villains that I can remember, just hardened warriors and courageous priests slugging it out for survival. The wish fulfilment of childhood fantasies.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this to my kids in their history homeschool class. They loved it. It is a story of courage and love. It appealed to both the boys and girls and taught interesting lessons about life in the Middle Ages when kingdoms warred with each other for power.

[Emma Grace Blumer · Rating 5 out of 5]

We all really enjoyed this as a read aloud! It didn’t shy away from the horror of war for all involved, but wasn’t too heavy for my age range of listeners. I appreciated Hugh’s choice to stay on as a normie at his farmland home, too.

[Suzana · Rating 2 out of 5]

We read this along with our history course studying the Crusades and Middle Ages. The story was fun and exciting, but we lost track of it amidst the endless descriptions and characters. It barely held my attention, and I’m impressed that my kids stayed with me (mostly) as we read it aloud. Maybe it was too advanced for them, but even I didn’t enjoy it.

[April · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok. We finished it, but it just wasn't a story that any of us got in to.

[Daria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read aloud this book to go with our homeschool history curriculum. It's written about a unique time in history, in the 8th century when king Charles Martel aka Charles the Hammer defeated the Saracens who came close to taking over Europe. It made me want to find out more about this part of history.
The language is very rich and advanced. As such, my 8 year old boy enjoyed it, however he probably did not understand every word. However, that's okay because he definitely understood what the story was about and wanted to hear the next chapter. It kept us in suspense. My husband heard the story too because I read aloud at meal time when we all sat at the table. He enjoyed it. It was too advanced for my almost 6 year old. He is starting to enjoy children's chapter books, but this language was just over his head.
It has good values in it (courage, kindness, humility), and it is about a time in history that was very bloody, yet it shied away from getting too graphic. It also gave a good message of not glorifying war. There was a strong sense of how devastating it is. But at the same time, it wasn't completely anti-war, as sometimes it is necessary to defend one's nation.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a recommended book via our homeschooling curriculum during our Middle Ages unit and I really loved it! I loved learning more about Abbeys, which I don't remember learning about when I was in public school. I loved that it contained a horse since I am a fan of horses. I also love the moral characters of Hugh, the main character, and the lessons it continued within. I am so glad our curriculum reprinted this book and I am bummed I never read it or heard about it when I grew up.

What I loved Most:
The vocabulary! The richness it contained, full of words not heard of much anymore, words that even challenged my pronunciation because it had been a while since I read words like these. I love books that expand and enrich my vocabulary and even more so when I share it with my children.

What I Didn't Love as Much:
I would say the battle part and solution to the battle was too short. There was a lot of backdrop to the story, but the build up for the battle was more than the battle and conclusion was and I appreciate more of a balance.

Recommend for:
Ages 7+
Homeschool
Middle Ages/ Dark Ages study unit
Horse enthusiasts

[Marcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would make a really good movie, but it was a very slow book. In short a boy befriends an enemy horse and uses it to turn the tide in a battle between the Franks and the Saracens. There are a lot of great action sequences that would play out very well in a two hour movie. Unfortunately they read really slowly in a 200 page book. Good story, just reads a bit slow.

The Saracen Steed tells the account of a fictional boy in a very real battle that took place during the crusades. There is a lot of great historical context about life in medieval France and the style of warfare in that day. Not everything is completely accurate, but it is a good general picture of the times. Virtues like hard work, perseverance, and loyalty are exemplified, and we see characters learn to grow and forgive. Overall it's an interesting and informative story with solid morals.

[Tonya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this to my 11 and 13 year old sons as part of their homeschool curriculum. Personally, I thought this story started off a little too slowly for my liking. But by the end, we read through the last 4 chapters in one afternoon instead of our usual 1 chapter a night. So the action really picked up, and I ended up really enjoying it. My boys always requested a second chapter each night, because it always ended on a bit of a cliff hanger. It was nice that it kept the reader wanting a bit more. The vocabulary was challenging, which was a pleasant surprise for the age level. Overall, it was a good book. I'm glad we took the time to read it.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely incredible story! It held the attention of all my children from 3 to 12 and made for very interesting discussions together about the Crusades as well. Beautiful storytelling, beautiful characters.

[Jenae · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a recommended read aloud for the Middle Ages in our history curriculum. Although the storyline was good, the language was so flowery that it made for a very clunky read-aloud. My kids did not enjoy this book at all and couldn’t wait to be done with it.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read aloud to my 2nd ,4th and 7th graders and all were engaged and following the plot with interest. The book exciting with lots of rich vocabulary and description. If you are interested in war stories, horses, medieval times or historical fiction, this is a great choice.

[Stephanie VanAlmen · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story itself was good. However it was so long and so difficult to read aloud. We trudged through it and did learn about the Middle Ages. There were parts that were very interesting. But my girls cheered when I was done.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this to my daughter as part of our homeschool unit on the Middle Ages. The story was well done. Sometimes the archaic words and possible anachronisms gave it a "medieval mash-up" feel, but it was enjoyable for both my and Sabrina.

[Alexa Price · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good messages for kids. I learned about a historical event that I knew nothing about previously.

[Tawnda Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable book to read about the Crusades. Great characters, good adventures and beautiful story.

[Bridget · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting historical fiction book about the Crusades (Battle of Tours) that I read aloud to my kids for our history curriculum. We enjoyed it as it was in story form (not just a bunch of facts)!

[Joanna N · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this to my kids during our History Course. We really enjoyed it even though it's a lengthy read. The courage of a farm boy was inspiring.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read with the kids for school. Interesting and well written.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was suggested as a read aloud with our history curriculum. It was slightly slow to get started, but, overall, my 2nd and 3rd graders enjoyed it. It was a little over their heads and had a good bit of English from the time period, but they got the gist of what was going on and wanted to keep reading. I enjoyed learning some things about history with them and found the adventure entertaining.

[Christi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for homeschool history course.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

We read this for our read aloud in history while we studied the Middle Ages.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

We read this for school.

[Jess Lambert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read with my kids

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

We read this as a read aloud for our homeschool history curriculum in our middle ages unit. All three of us enjoyed it!