Discovering Castle Days

Brenda Reed is a public services librarian in the Education Library at
Queen’s University.

This excellent introduction to life in the Middle Ages covers a broad
range of topics including “The Feudal System,” “Castles,”
“Knights,” “Women in the Middle Ages,” “The Manor,” “The
Abbey,” “Guilds,” “Islam,” “The Crusades,” and “Trade
with the East.” These topics are in accordance with the recently
released Ontario Grade 4 Social Studies curriculum, and the book has
clearly been designed to support elementary curriculum units on medieval
times.

The carefully planned connections between the text and the
illustrations make the book particularly useful, because so many words
and concepts from the Middle Ages will be new to young readers. It is
very helpful, for example, to see an illustration of chain mail armour
next to a discussion of it. The drawings combine a high level of detail
with subdued colors. Among the book’s many features are sidebar
illustrations with accompanying texts.

Each of the 29 short chapters also includes a “Something to Do”
box. Several of these activities offer possibilities for
cross-curricular connections, particularly between geography, history,
religion, and literature. Teachers will certainly find the activities
helpful for planning curriculum units on the Middle Ages.

There is a glossary of the words that appear boldface in the text.
Despite the unfortunate lack of

a list of supplementary resources, Discovering

Castle Days is a superb resource. Highly recommended.