Hawksmaid : the untold story of Robin Hood and Maid Marian

Title:

Author:

Summary:

In twelfth-century England, Matty grows up to be a master falconer, able to communicate with the devoted birds who later help her and Fynn, also known as Robin Hood, to foil Prince John's plot to steal the crown.

Audience:

6.9 Follett Library Resources

5-8 Follett Library Resources

Edition:

1st ed.

Physical Description:

292 p. ; 22 cm.

Genre:

Historical fiction.

Personal Subject:

Robin Hood (Legendary character)-Juvenile fiction.

Subject Term:

Maid Marian (Legendary character) -- Juvenile fiction.

Falconry -- Juvenile fiction.

Birds of prey -- Juvenile fiction.

Human-animal relationships -- Juvenile fiction.

Middle Ages -- Juvenile fiction.

Geographic Term:

Great Britain -- History -- John, 1199-1216 -- Juvenile fiction.

Publisher:

Harper,

Publication Date:

2010

ISBN:

9780060000714

Publication Information:

New York : Harper, c2010.

Call Number:

M LASKY

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607002790932	Middle Fiction	LASKY	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

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Summary

Before she was Maid Marian, she was Matty. . . .

Matty has been raised to dance well, embroider exquisitely, and marry nobly. But when Matty's mother is murdered before her very eyes and her father, a nobleman, is reduced to poverty, Matty's life changes.

As the daughter of Nottingham's most famous falconer, she finds a new destiny in the hawks her father keeps. She begins to understand their thoughts and even speak their language. The beautiful merlin Marigold becomes Matty's closest winged companion and her fiercest ally.

It is a treacherous time in England. The sheriff of Nottingham is rising to power, and a true king has been kidnapped. Determined to fight, Matty's friend Fynn becomes Robin Hood. As Maid Marian, Matty joins Fynn and his Merry Men, famously robbing from the rich to give to the poor.

You thought that you knew the legend, but this is the untold story. Bestselling author Kathryn Lasky soars to magnificent new heights here, giving us a bold tale of bravery and romance.

Author Notes

Kathryn Lasky was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on June 24, 1944, and knew she wanted to be a writer from the time she was ten. She majored in English in college and after graduation wrote for various magazines and taught. Her first book, I Have Four Names for My Grandfather, was published while she was teaching.

She has written more than seventy books for children and young adults on everything from historical fiction to picture books and nonfiction books including the Dear America books and the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series. Many of her books are illustrated with photographs by her husband, Christopher Knight. She has received many awards for her titles including Sugaring Time which was a Newberry Honor Book; The Night Journey which won the National Jewish Book Award for Children; Pageant which was an ALA Notable Children's book; and Beyond the Burning Time which was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. She has also received the Washington Post's Children's Book Guild Award for her contribution to children's nonfiction. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (2)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 5-9-After her mother is murdered and the family's castle is looted by followers of Prince John, Matty takes over the management of her father's hawks, learning their language and coming to share their consciousness. Half-orphaned and often hungry, she grows to be Maid Marian, friend and coconspirator with her childhood companion Fynn, renamed Robin Hood. In Lasky's reimagining of this legend, Marian is chief strategist of the band of boys who rob the rich, harass Prince John's evil supporters, and hope to ransom captive King Richard. There is a gentle but thoroughly modern love story, too. Matty may have been her father's jewel, but her growing affection for Robin does not turn her back into a decorative object; she is the heroine of her successful quest, leading both birds and boys. Her five hawks are distinctive, and for them, the author of the owl fantasy series "Guardians of Ga'hoole," has created a language and a convincing, if anachronistic, falconer. Lasky nicely weaves details of 12th-century life into this suspenseful adventure whose fantasy ending may surprise but will certainly please readers.-Kathleen Isaacs, Children's Literature Specialist, Pasadena, MD (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publisher's Weekly Review

In this lively Robin Hood and Maid Marian origin story, tragedy strikes the family of young Matty Fitzwalter when her mother is murdered and her father refuses to ally with the corrupt Prince John. In the wake of this loss, Matty's father trains her as a master falconer, an art for which she demonstrates a natural talent. As political corruption in the region worsens, Matty goes to live with her rebellious friends in the forest to enact civil disobedience and takes a new name, Maid Marian, as does her friend Fynn, who becomes Robin Hood. In the forest, Matty struggles with being a girl in a boys' world, even as she develops romantic feelings for Fynn. But personal transcendence comes through her mystical ability to experience her hawks' senses of sight and sound, as well as communicate with them in their own language. Written in lovely, fluid prose, Lasky (the Guardians of Ga'hoole series) offers an action-filled adventure that has both brains and heart. Ages 10-up. (May) Copyright 2010 Reed Business Information.