Knights of the Kitchen Table by Jon Scieszka

Jon, Scieszka. (1991). Knights of the Kitchen Table. New York: Scholastic, Inc.

Plot Summary: Joe is having his friends Sam and Fred over for a birthday party. Joe opens his his last present, from his Uncle the Magician, to find “The Book.” As they open the book Sam wishes he were able to see a real live knight, and the three are transported to the time of King Arthur. After defeating the evil Black Knight the boys are invited to King Arthur’s castle where Merlin asks them to help them get rid of a giant and dragon. Through trial and error, and many ridiculous jokes they are able to prove themselves as magicians. Merlin gets tired of the boys after they play baseball and break one of his tower windows, and he therefore sends the boys back to their own time.

Genre: Humorous-fiction

Suggested Age Range: 8-11 years

Subjects/themes: Adventure; Humor; Knights; Time Travel

Series: Time Warp Trio
• Knights of the Kitchen Table
• The Not-So-Jolly Roger
• The Good, the Bad, and the Goofy
• Your Mother Was a Neanderthal
• 2095
• Tut Tut
• Summer Reading Is Killing Me
• It's All Greek to Me
• See You Later Gladiator
• Sam Samurai
• Hey Kid, Want to Buy a Bridge?
• Viking It and Liking It
• Me Oh Maya
• Da Wild, Da Crazy, Da Vinci
• Oh Say, I Can't See
• Marco? Polo!

Awards:
• Florida Sunshine State Young Reader's Award, 1995
• New Mexico Land of Enchantment Award, 1996

Reviews:
• Entertainment Weekly, 1991
• ReadKidDoRead.com, 2010

Character List:.
• Joe, unofficial leader of The Time Warp Trio, who receives a book from his magician uncle that allows them to time travel
• Sam, friend who loves to read and learn
• Fred, friend how loves sports

High-interest Annotation: Sure it’s short, but it’s funny and even inspired a hit tv series on the Discovery Channel. Kids can learn, or rather will want to learn more, about a variety of history topics, starting with this first book that delves in King Arthur. This book shows funny kids with a snarky attitude for those who rain on their parade. This book is geared towards 8-11 year olds who are in a lower reading group. It’s a fun, easy read and you learn a tiny bit about famous heroes in the middle ages: King Arthur, Guinevere, Merlin…

Some memorable lines: “We are not from around here. And we would just as soon get out of here. So if you would just point that long sharp stick of yours—“ “Silence, infidels, or mayhap enchanters, in thy weird robes and boots.” … “Weird robes and boots? Look who’s talking – the Tin Man with feathers. He even dresses his horse funny.”