Find out what Mumsnetters thought of The Mice of the Round Table by Julie Leung

It took DD a while to start reading this book as she felt it looked a bit young for her (she's 11) and she had a pile of books for her birthday to work through. So she hasn't got too far yet but she's actually really enjoying it! She loves fantasy and adventure books. The themes covered in the book are lovely and relevant and she loves the idea of these little creatures helping us without us knowing in a secret world. I think she'll definitely want the next book in the series-she does love a series! From my quick look it looked very written with lots of lovely vocabulary to expand theirs and I'm glad she gave it a try and is enjoying it! Thank you for the book!

I've always loved reading but unfortunately my dc (9 & 10) lack my enthusiasm. However, they where engrossed in this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. Although they would have liked more pictures.
I particularly liked the history aspect of it and found that it added to the DC's intrigue.

Our copy arrived later than most and as a result we are nearly half way through the book. From the first page my two daughters and I were gripped. Lovely flow to the story and well written. I'm reading it bit by bit with my eldest practising her reading. We love the characters and only criticism is we'd like more drawings. I'm definitely going to get the sequel for Christmas. I wouldn't have looked into this type if book and I'm thrilled it's expanded our reading horizon. Thank you

An interesting story, as I've only just got back from holiday I can't wait to read this new book.

I gave this to my 10 year old niece to read and she loved it, she is already looking to get the next installment when it comes out!
She loved that the book still had some pictures, and the idea of the little animals of Camelot having their own adventures under the feet of the human inhabitants.

My 10 year old ds really enjoyed this book. He took it with us on holiday and it kept him quiet for the whole flight! He couldn't wait to tell us all about it once he'd finished.

My son has been reading this over the holidays. He has always liked the King Arthur stories so this was perfect for him. He wasn't bothered about the illustrations but I quite liked them. He said he is looking forward to the next book

Although the eight year old started it and said he enjoyed it, I think it would be more enjoyable for him to read a little later. Perhaps when he knows a bit more about King Arthur and the story of the legends. A great idea for a children's book though

DD1 (10) is about a quarter of the way through it and isn't really getting on with it. She says she's struggling with the way the mice are very human-like. She is finding it interesting but I think maybe it being related via the mouse characters is getting in the way of her enjoyment. Shame as I thought she'd really like it. I might read it next to see what I think.

I read this to my kids as they are only 4 and 6. I was worried they wouldn't enjoy it due to lack of pictures and language being too complex, however, I was mistaken! We read a chapter a night and broke it up with explanations of what is going on. The themes of being brave and dealing with teasing were of interest to them as well the legend of King Arthur. I must say that this is beautifully written, very elegant use of language and syntax so a perfect example to show kids what good writing looks like. What I found slightly at odds was whether a child old enough to appreciate the language and description would still care about battles between woodland creatures. The book had a cinematic quality however the real charm is in how it is written. For it to be a cartoon, it would need to have less of the long asides i.e. Contemplating a tapestry etc and be a bit more dynamic. Thanks for sending this to me to review!

Thank you very much for our copy of The Mice of the Round Table. I read this with Gracie (8) and we both loved it. It has a beautiful cover with such vibrant colours and Gracie loved all the illustrations throughout the book. We were reminded of The Rats Of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien while reading this book. Small animals, but with courage and heroism far outweighing their size. Starting with two stories set at Camelot, of Galahad above and Calib below the floorboards, both young, bullied and unappreciated, yet living in different worlds. They both need to prove themselves in the perilous times ahead. An action-packed warm-hearted adventure for children good enough to be enjoyed by adults as well.

The book has still not arrived. Are we the only ones still waiting for a copy?!

We have been reading this book as a bedtime story. My children are 6 , 8 and 12 years old and they loved the story.
Camelot has always been magical and with the story of the mice woven into the plot, it makes for a very good read. It's about good versus evil and Calib is a great hero.
I won't give the story away but if you like adventures and castles and battles, you're going to love this one. As an adult, I quite enjoyed it too.

Delphi aged 8 is a voracious reader (read the WHOLE Harry Potter series in 7 weeks!) and I struggle to maintain supply!

She really enjoyed this book because she loves adventures with lots of action and exciting twists and turns. She's looking forward to reading the next book!

My twin boys are age ten and we have been reading the book each night before bed each night begging for just one more chapter.
The chapters on the main are short which is great for this age group and the story follows in the main easily although it can sometimes confuse when changing between animal and human characters without warning. The language brought a couple of questions about words/language that my boys have not come across previously that I have had to explain before continuing with the story so I feel around age 10 is a good age for this book.
The story gains strength and pace pulling you into the lives and adventures of the characters of Camelot leaving you wanting more.
This is an action and adventure book that any child boy or girl would live to read especially if they like the ledge do of King Arthur but even if they have no idea who Arthur is it's a fantastic book that our family will definitely be recommending to family and friends.

Thank you, Mumsnet and Piccadilly Press for our copy of this book - we were delighted to receive it. DS is 11 and has always been into history so this seemed a perfect read for him and I gave it to him before we went away for a couple of days as his holiday book. Here's his review...

''The book is amazing. From the first page to the last I enjoyed it. I would probably recommend it for 10+ just because of some of the language, younger children may need some help understanding it. My favourite characters were Leftie the Lynx and Howell. I liked Leftie as he was a bit different - he was a bit magical and a survivor. I liked Howell as he was also known as Merlin the Wizard - Howell just had a magical warmth to him. The book starts off with Calib training as a page - he magically gets picked for the Harvest Festival. Part way through the Festival, Commander Yvers is murdered, then Calib sets off on a great adventure to find out who he is and warn the Darklings of Camelot that war is being prepared on them. There are battles between The Darklings & Camelot against the Saxons. The sword of the stone reappears and a boy named Galahad, with the help of Calib, pulls the sword from the stone. King Arthur returns and the Saxons are beaten. Calib had finally lived up to his family name!

The next book comes out in October - I am really looking forward to it coming out and will definitely buy it with some of my pocket money. Well done Julie Leung!''

So, it's been a winner with him and I'm happy with anything that gets him reading - and he really did want to read this book and was doing so any chance he got. The fact he's already talking about the next book has got to be a real positive for this story. Hurrah! I'm going to let my DD read it next, she's only 8 but a very confident reader so I'll see how she gets on with it...

I have always been a book monger. It's no news it got transferred to my son. He had always wanted to watch King Arthur. Imagine the joy on his face when I gave him the book to read every night he tells his siblings the tale like a folklore. This has turned to a great nightly ritual.
Once he got to chapter two, he shouted Harry porter; I think that was when calibs name was called for the harvest tournament. He loves the fact that animals get to tell their own stories about bravery, friendship and of course magic.

He says; this book is engrossing, u can't seem to drop it till you are done. It's really really good. He has not finished the book though but i can tell he loves the book

I have just finished reading this to my 9 year old and we both loved it. He found it fun and exciting. It was well written and the characters were interesting and we enjoyed getting to know them. A fantastic story for me to read to him and we are looking forward to the next adventure.

When the book arrived it has an amazing cover and I really liked the illustrations. I always knew I would have to read it to DS as he has dyslexia. We have started but it is actually too long for us to get through in a reasonable time. (An impact of the dyslexia is an inability to remember plot lines unless repeated ad nauseum). I think it looks great but sadly not for this family. I will be passing my copy onto another family and hope their children enjoy it.

We've been reading this together and I have to say that I really enjoyed this book as an adult! The legend of King Arthur and Camelot is a classic and this book cleverly intertwines the story of the animals' battle with that of the "Two-Legger" inhabits of Camelot.
The animals are full of personality and it is a classic tale of good versus evil.
The front cover is fabulously striking and we enjoyed the detailed illustrations inside (though it would have been nice if there were a few more)
We thought Calib Christopher was a fun and engaging lead character but were sad that the bear died in the final battle.
We'll definitely look out for the next book in the series when it's released in October!

Due to us being away on holiday when the book arrived, we haven't read as much as we'd have liked! We have really enjoyed the first 12 chapters though, as they have proven to be action packed. The characters we've met so far have been engaging, such as Calib and Galahad with their proud family tradition of knights, and strong female characters like Macie, Devrin and Sir Kensington. The story is fast paced but easy to understand. Based on the first few chapters, I think it's suitable for children aged about 8-10 who like adventure stories. My 9 year old is certainly liking it, but I think in a couple of years he'll consider it too young for him.

We are about half way through our copy of The Mice of the Round Table, DS (11) was interested from the synopsis however DD (12) declared it to young for her and has missed out

I am reading a chapter or so a night out loud for DS and he has been captivated by the story.

It is a gentle adventure story and is appropriate for the age group it is aimed at. The language is is simple but engaging and the characters well written. The story flows well and we are both looking forward to finding out what happens next.

Would happily recommend this to a friend looking for either a read out loud story or to give to a child to read themselves - asked DS what he thought and he gave me the straight forward answer of "it's good"

I'm reading this aloud to my children and they are both (aged 8 and 11) enjoying it and asking for more! So far it's very exciting and the charaters are really engaging. It's a fun twist on the usual Arthurian legend with a whole new set of mouse characters living in Camelot. We are all looking foward to finding out what happens next.