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Robin Hood

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Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

6 people are currently reading
139 people want to read

About the author

Rosemary Sutcliff

107 books678 followers
Rosemary Sutcliff, CBE (1920-1992) was a British novelist, best known as a writer of highly acclaimed historical fiction. Although primarily a children's author, the quality and depth of her writing also appeals to adults. She once commented that she wrote "for children of all ages, from nine to ninety."

Born in West Clandon, Surrey, Sutcliff spent her early youth in Malta and other naval bases where her father was stationed as a naval officer. She contracted Still's Disease when she was very young and was confined to a wheelchair for most of her life. Due to her chronic sickness, she spent the majority of her time with her mother, a tireless storyteller, from whom she learned many of the Celtic and Saxon legends that she would later expand into works of historical fiction. Her early schooling being continually interrupted by moving house and her disabling condition, Sutcliff didn't learn to read until she was nine, and left school at fourteen to enter the Bideford Art School, which she attended for three years, graduating from the General Art Course. She then worked as a painter of miniatures.

Rosemary Sutcliff began her career as a writer in 1950 with The Chronicles of Robin Hood. She found her voice when she wrote The Eagle of the Ninth in 1954. In 1959, she won the Carnegie Medal for The Lantern Bearers and was runner-up in 1972 with Tristan and Iseult. In 1974 she was highly commended for the Hans Christian Andersen Award. Her The Mark of the Horse Lord won the first Phoenix Award in 1985.

Sutcliff lived for many years in Walberton near Arundel, Sussex. In 1975 she was appointed OBE for services to Children's Literature and promoted to CBE in 1992. She wrote incessantly throughout her life, and was still writing on the morning of her death. She never married.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/rosema...

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5 stars
59 (25%)
4 stars
74 (32%)
3 stars
66 (28%)
2 stars
23 (10%)
1 star
6 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
Profile Image for Sara Darr.
27 reviews3 followers
February 8, 2012
During my schooling I don't recall ever reading a graphic novel as I don't remember seeing them in the book corners at all. When I was scouring my local library, I came across a really interesting range of topic based graphic novels and picked up a few to review.

'Robin Hood' deals with the story of a young archer named Robin and his 'Merry men' who live in Sherwood Forest who cause havoc amongst the rich and the poor.

I really liked reading this novel, the illustrations are the main focal point whereby they are accompanied by speech bubbles. The book is easy to follow as it is of a reasonable length and divided into four chapters. Personally I think it is a great book for those children who show less of an interest in reading as this may ignite their interest in reading. Towards the end of the book, there are a few pages which give some information on the background to Robin Hood, discussion points and writing prompts too which are quite useful. There are also recommendations of other books to read which may be helpful to the reader too.

It would be a good resource to use in literacy and art because of the visual stimuli which may support children with understanding the story better.
I would recommend this to Y3/4 upwards.
Profile Image for R. G. Nairam.
696 reviews48 followers
March 19, 2015
This was great. Short and simple, but has some interesting twists/combined elements that made it fun for me. Some great dialogue and pictures. I actually laughed at loud, which doesn't happen often, so it immediately won me over.

note: there's an incorrect statement in the back that Lyttle Gest included Maid Marian. Some interesting discussion questions and explanation of some of the issues of medieval people in this time period.
Profile Image for Reah N..
503 reviews19 followers
February 23, 2024
This felt like a summary of Robin Hood. Quick, short, jumping from one scene to the next.
In this retelling, Robin is a very bad role model. He's shown as an angry, violent, impulsive man. Despite his desire for revenge, and to prove himself best, people around him see him as just and courageous.
And, somehow, as in all fairytales, they all live happily ever after, though I don't think it's historically accurate that nor did I feel that Robin Hood deserved a happy ending.

Alternatives:
Red Riding Hood, Superhero A Graphic Novel (Far Out Fairy Tales) by Otis Frampton Rapunzel's Revenge (Rapunzel's Revenge, #1) by Shannon Hale The Wizard's Tale by Kurt Busiek Black Beauty by L.L. Owens The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz

Content:
Robin is a very bad role model. He kills a man out of anger (though it's excused as Robin having no choice but to defend himself), and uses anger as a reason to best his opponents. They steal (and threaten and cheat) the rich, to give to the poor, and somehow everyone looks up to him and his ways.
There are priests wearing crosses and they're painted as (mostly) bad men who hoard money instead of helping the poor.
Profile Image for Janet Gaspar.
418 reviews5 followers
November 11, 2017
Reseña completa en mi blog http://janetgaspar.blogspot.mx/2017/0...

Quién no conoce a Robin Hood?, de él tenemos tantas representaciones y se da la vuelta por tantos libros que es imposible no tenerlo como referente. Si se piensa en arqueros viene a la mente con su traje verde y su sonrisa fácil; la mayoría de nosotros lo recuerda de aquellas películas en dibujos animados donde andaba por ahí quitándole a los ricos para dárselo a los pobres.

¿Pero el libro?, ¡dios Santo!, a lo largo del libro vemos a Robin actuar siempre con caballerosidad, perdonando la vida de sus enemigos y siendo un pícaro que gusta de divertirse y gastarle bromas a los demás; por lo mismo resulta bastante impactante que en los últimos capítulos todo se vaya cuesta abajo, Robin cambia su actitud y aunque sigue siendo bueno se vuelve repentinamente duro con sus enemigos.

Para colmo el final es una tragedia de las feas, te quedas con la boca abierta y pensando, ¿es en serio?. Eso sí, no tenía idea de que la historia de Robin Hood encerrara un amor como el que tuve la oportunidad de leer, fue melancólico, sí, pero también bonito.

En definitiva una novela que se desarrollo de una manera inesperada, con un tragico final pero que aun así recomiendo ampliamente.
Profile Image for Al Burke.
Author 2 books168 followers
February 27, 2021
This review has my son's (already a Robin Hood fan) approval. This is a fun retelling of the tale, including the key points, and purposefully overlooking some of the darker moments. The artwork is simple but appealing, and the text is humorous, painting Robin as a good-natured charlatan. If you're a grown-up, there are far more appropriate retellings, but this is a nice introduction for the little people.
Profile Image for Anna.
2,440 reviews15 followers
December 3, 2017
Fast read, interesting story, and awesome illustrations.

[SPOILER AHEAD]

The story kind of summarizes the basic story of Robin Hood up until he gets the golden arrow for being the best archer at the archer contest. There is a lot more to the Robin Hood story, but this graphic novel is still nice to read if you're a fan of Robin Hood or graphic novels.
Profile Image for Beth (Romantic_murder).
365 reviews4 followers
October 30, 2023
This was a cute little graphic novel that summarizes the classic Robin Hood story with a few changes.

It was so short that it kind of felt like bullet points of the story.
But it was enjoyable to red.
The art was really nice.

Generally enjoyable read for graphic novel fans, Robin hood fans or people with short attention spans.

-> 3.5 stars
6 reviews
August 14, 2021
robin hood and his people take from the rich and give to the poor. him and his people take down the cruel sheriff of Nottingham. I think that this book was a good book because it had a twist to it witch made it entertaining and exciting.
Profile Image for Sebastian Jose.
51 reviews
January 13, 2026
uno de los primeros libros que leí y que sigue dejando un gran impacto en mi corazón
999 reviews2 followers
May 7, 2016
This graphic novel retelling of the legend of Robin Hood is unlike any I've ever encountered. These stories are similar to those retold in numerous films and TV shows I seen over the years. But since this book is retold and researched by historians, professors, and librarians I am inclined to believe that these adventures are the true stories behind the legend of the famous British outlaw.

In this graphic novel, learn why Robin Hood had to flee to Sherwood Forest and came to form his band of Merry Men. Then marvel as he outwits wealthy noblemen, corrupt clergy, and the dastardly Sheriff of Nottingham. Along with the tried and true stories of how Robin came to befriend Little John and become entranced by the beautiful Maid Marian, there are adventures in this book that I had never heard of before such as how Robin Hood tricked a bishop into marrying a duchess to a commoner and Robin's feast with the Sheriff as guest of honor!

Plus, there's a certain episode involving an archery tournament with more twists than ever before! Oddly enough, while I felt like I was getting the real story of England's most famous outlaw, Robin's main protagonist, Prince John is nowhere to be found in this book. Was he just overlooked? Or maybe he really didn't play a role in any of the original legends of Robin Hood!

This book was written by the husband and wife team of Aaron Shepard and Anne L. Watson. These folklorists made Robin Hood seem a lot more animated than Disney's take and it was far superior to that dud starring Kevin Costner! The art's pretty good too.

This book is just one of several graphic novels published by Stone Arch Books based on famous legends and classic novels. If they are anything like this volume, I would be happy to add them to my collection. Each book comes with additions in the back of the book such as study questions, history lesson about life in medieval England during the times of when Robin Hood may have lived in real life, as well as writing exercises and a glossary of terms.

Teachers and homeschooling parents, I highly recommend this book as a way to get kids reading and learning about history. Kids these days are turning away from books in droves and you've got to start making reading fun again somewhere.

A great educational read that was thrilling and tons of fun.

Profile Image for Shannon.
82 reviews
November 2, 2011
-I decided to read this book because I have read the chapter book and I enjoyed it immensely.
-The category on the bingo board that this book completes is a graphic novel.
-What I liked about this book was the way the the author wrote it so Robin kept tricking rich people who were cruel to poor people into giving them money. I also liked the way that some parts of the book were upbeat and exciting.
-What I didn't like about this book was the part where Robin killed a person accidently because it was sad.
-I would recommend this book to anyone aged 3-15 because anyone older or younger might find it a bit boring. Even if you couldn't read the speech bubbles etc you could still look at the pictures and understand what is happening in the story. It is a lot like a picture book, there is just less text.
Profile Image for Indah Threez Lestari.
13.5k reviews270 followers
July 11, 2010
Membaca pertemuan pertama Robin Hood dan Little John dengan versi pertarungan di atas jembatan di buku ini jadi teringat pertemuan dan pertarungan pertama Minamoto Yoshitsune dan Benkei di atas jembatan juga... Little John dan Benkei sama-sama raksasa... Setelah pertarungan Little John jadi tangan kanan Robin dan Benkei jadi tangan kanan Yoshitsune... Perbedaannya, dalam pertarungan itu Robin kalah, sedangkan Yoshitsune menang...

Hm... ternyata ada persamaan antara dua legenda dari dua benua yang berbeda. Kebetulan saja, mungkin...

Profile Image for Doodles McC.
1,044 reviews3 followers
November 15, 2025
Good history book for young girls. I loved Sutcliff's historical novels as a child and young teenager, she was one of my favourite authors. I am not going review them all individually because all her books are good. If your looking for children's historical novels, just start at the beginning of her books and read them all. This is how I learned British history.
Profile Image for Maya Poedji.
434 reviews7 followers
October 9, 2015
Sebetulnya aq ngga bener2 baca buku yg ini tapi yg aq baca terbitan Narasi dan ngga muncul disini (atau aq terlalu malas nyari?hehehe)
But i like this one dan bisa ngikutin...seingat q memang begini-lah kisahnya, meskipun aq lupa2 ingat. Ngga kaya di film yg versi-nya beda2. I liked it!
Profile Image for Nec.
136 reviews2 followers
January 10, 2017
Uno de mis primeros héroes, "Robin Hood", el justiciero hábil, astuto, hombre libre salvador de su pueblo, protector de los débiles pero, ante todo, camarada fiel y devoto a su bandera. ¡Viva el Rey de Sherwood!
289 reviews
May 3, 2009
Robin Hood is a warrior. He gave money to the poor from the rich. He was an outlaw. Robin Hood made a group. He entered a contest and won.










pages read:72
By: Danny Nhim
62 reviews3 followers
October 2, 2013
A decent introduction to Robin perhaps, but it does very little to catch the true spirit of the stories.
Profile Image for Sandy Blue.
316 reviews2 followers
September 11, 2014
Es cierto, Robin es demasiado perfecto, bueno, moral... siento que recibí una lección de valores y buenas costumbres.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews

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