SOLVED. Possibly a children's book about the Knights of Camelot? [s]

[Katee]

I read this in elementary school -- between 2000 and 2004 -- and got it from the elementary school library, which is pretty much the only clue I have that points towards its being a book for kids. Each chapter was a different story/legend from the King Arthur era; lesser known knights (like Gawain) were involved. I think there might have been a story about an impenetrable fortress? Possibly? There was definitely not a continuous narrative. The prose felt old, too -- not archaic, but possibly from earlier in the 20th century, and the combination of old-ish prose and disjointed narrative made the whole book (at least to my young brain) feel kind of dreamy. The edition itself was a small hardcover, all yellow with black on the front, no dust jacket.

I don't know if that's enough detail for anyone to be able to help identify the book, but that's literally everything I can remember about it, and I've searched Google for every King Arthur/Camelot-related books that it knows of that might appear in a library for children (ages 8-12). Thanks in advance!

[Kris]

Howard Pyle's The Story of King Arthur and His Knights? It was originally published in 1903.

Here are links to previews:
http://www.amazon.com/Arthur-Knights-...
https://books.google.ca/books?id=gV84...

[Katee]

That book came up in my research before, and I'd dismissed it based on the fact that it contains illustrations that I don't remember coming across (plus the fact that it never seems to have been published as a small, bright yellow volume -- I know, judging a book by its cover, shame on me). Pyle's book is also around 300 pages long, much longer than I feel comfortable giving Little Kate credit for slogging through . . . But I skimmed the copy that you've linked (thanks for that, by the way!), and if this isn't the book I'm looking for, it's very, very close. Maybe I have the memory wrong, and it's another book that's little and yellow?

[Kris]

Here are more images of Howard Pyle's The Story of King Arthur and His Knights. Did your book look like this: ?

http://www.biblio.com/the-story-of-ki...

[Katee]

My book resembles this a little but, but unfortunately, it wasn't cloth-bound. I think it was buckram? The smooth half-shiny kind. It was a slim book, too. And the cover design/illustration was entirely in black (no red) and took up the whole front.

[Sorrel]

I immediately thought of The Seeing Stone when I saw the title of the thread but reading more, it doesn't really fit because it has got a bit of a continuing narrative, it was published in 2000 and is not solely stories of King Arthur. However, I have seen in it in practically every library I've ever been to so I thought I'd suggest it anyway

[Katee]

That's not it, you're right, but I also remember reading The Seeing Stone around the same time -- if not immediately before, then immediately after the book I'm looking for now. It was a phase ;) Thanks anyway!

[Katee]

I'm gonna go ahead and call this one solved -- the Howard Pyle book is similar enough in style to the book I'm looking for that I can let mine slide from memory. The storytelling style was the important thing. Thanks, Kris!

[Kris]

Sounds good. You're welcome. Glad we could help!