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

42 replies

SorchaMumsnet · 28/06/2017 16:28

Are your kids looking for their next adventure series? The Mice of the Round Table is an epic tail of daring, legend and legacy beneath the floorboards of Camelot.

When the leader of Camelot's creatures - a peace-keeping mouse & guarder of the Holy Grail - disappears, his grandson Calib must follow in his footpaw-steps in order to keep the whole castle out of danger. But does young Calib have what it takes to lead his people and team up with the Darklings against the evil threatening Camelot?

The Mice of the Round Table is the first title in a new series from Julie Leung, brought to life with intricate black and white illustrations and perfect for fans of Arthurian legends and a good swashbuckling story. Recommended for readers aged 9-12.

We ask all winners to share their child's thoughts about the book on this discussion thread. Everyone who gives detailed feedback on The Mice of the Round Table by midday, Wednesday 6 September will be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 Love2shop voucher:

This giveaway is sponsored by Piccadilly Press

Book giveaways T&Cs apply

Find out what Mumsnetters thought of The Mice of the Round Table by Julie Leung
OP posts:
Lariflete · 28/06/2017 21:18

I hope we win a copy of this, DD would love it (even though she's a bit younger than the guide age). She adored the talking animals in the Chronicles of Narnia and this looks similar!

kwal · 29/06/2017 03:15

Two girls here who would love this book as very much interested in King Arthur and associated legend.

AGrinWithoutACat · 30/06/2017 18:26

Have an 11 and a 12 year old - would be lovely to be selected :)

Cagliostro · 30/06/2017 19:12

Sounds great!

MicrowaveSpy · 30/06/2017 20:03

DS (10) is excellent at reviewing books! He is a school librarian and very proud of his badge Grin

Butteredparsnip1ps · 30/06/2017 21:34

This book sounds like s goody! DD likes her history and would love this

RestingBitchFaceKeepsYouYoung · 30/06/2017 22:06

Dd would love this! She fell in love with the Arthurian legends on our recent holiday in Cornwall & we've been looking for appropriate reading material on this theme.

diamantegal · 30/06/2017 22:41

Entered. DS is only 7 so a bit younger than the guide age but a good reader and we struggle to find books which are age appropriate - this sounds ideal!

MNHQ
SorchaMumsnet · 31/07/2017 16:59

Hi folks - apologies, it seems we've had a bit of a delay on some of these books being sent out. The publisher is aware and will be sending the rest out shortly. We've amended the feedback deadline date to Friday 1 September to allow your children time to read & review!

OP posts:
AGrinWithoutACat · 01/08/2017 06:36

Thanks Sorcha :) was wondering when it would arrive

MNHQ
SorchaMumsnet · 01/08/2017 11:00

Hi - just to let you know that the remaining books are being sent out today, so you should have your copy by the end of the week. Happy reading!

OP posts:
wallers5 · 07/08/2017 16:29

the Mice of the Round Table arrived & was devoured chapter by chapter. Having just had a mini break in Cornwall, the book has special appeal. A lovely adventure story with illustrations for the slightly older child who can read with great excitement.

The mice of the round table strive to ensure the safety of all who live within the Castle, humans & animals but of course not all goes to plan when a Knight is assinated.

The Darkling Woods always excite my kids. So thank you for a much more grown up book for my 8 year old.

pennwood · 08/08/2017 09:11

After a longer wait than anticipated the Mice Of The Round Table, by Julie leung arrived. It sports a colourful cover, which made a nine year old eager to open & get started with the book. She was disappointed that the book illustrations were black & white, & not plentiful. It is an adventure story suitable for boys or girls, told through animals. Evil threatens them all, (good basis,) lots of legend & knights, set around Camelot. The owls proved popular, due to a love of Harry Potter I think! A good adventure book for older children.

Babbletalk · 11/08/2017 20:04

I still haven't received my copy. But hoping it'll be here next week. Dd looking forward to reading it.

Whitelisbon · 14/08/2017 22:22

WE recieved our copy of The Mice Of The Round Table last week, and ds (11) has had his nose stuck in it until he finished it tonight.
It's very eye catching, with a lovely illustration on the front cover. It's an exciting adventure story, set around the story of King Arthur and Camelot, but told by the animals.
Ds says it is "awesome, really exciting, a little bit worrying sometimes, and I'm sad that I've finished it".
He has now passed it to his big sister (14) to read.

Holidayenthusiast · 15/08/2017 15:27

I read this book to my children at bedtime and they loved it!
It is a clever idea to write a story based on the Arthurian legend but where the mice in Camelot take centre stage. Without giving too much of the plot away, this is a story of good against evil. Animal characters from the surrounding woods include squirrels, foxes, hares and owls. The baddies in the tale are played by weasels!
The story is truly magical and the characters are so well written that you find yourself really rooting for them. The black and white pictures are just enough to fill the imagination. Highly recommended!

MNHQ
SorchaMumsnet · 15/08/2017 17:52

Hi @Babbletalk - sorry to hear you haven't received your copy yet. We're just chasing it for you now. Do post here if it turns up! Brew

OP posts:
GrouchingTiggerHiddenSomething · 15/08/2017 22:37

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.

AGrinWithoutACat · 20/08/2017 06:53

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"

user1495997773 · 20/08/2017 14:38

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.

1969angep · 20/08/2017 19:02

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!

childmaintenanceserviceinquiry · 21/08/2017 11:40

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.

elablue · 21/08/2017 23:52

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.

Ogochukwu27 · 22/08/2017 11:49

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

SuzCG · 22/08/2017 12:36

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...

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