Fantasy Friday Book Review: The Inquisitor’s Tale Review and Discussion questions
Book: The Inquisitor’s Tale or The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog
Author: Adam Gidwitz
Illustrations: Hatem Aly
Pages: 352 (363 with bibliography)
Published: 2016
Publisher: Dutton Children’s Book (Penguin Random House)
Rating: 4 stars
Age Suggestion: 10+
Trigger Warnings: Loss of parents/bullying
Brief Summary:
Historically accurate and engrossing, this is the story of three medieval children (and a dog) facing a number of challenges in finding and walking the path they have been given by God.
Why your kid should read this book:
This is an excellent way to introduce Medieval history. If your kid shows an interest in history, they will be hooked. It has beautiful illustrations (done as an illuminated manuscript from thirteenth century France would have been done. The chapters are all relatively short (6 to 20 pages with the average being about 15). If your kid is a history buff, the problem will be them saying “Can I read one more chapter tonight?” It will also give you an opportunity to discuss some important religious issues with your child (see discussion questions below).
The book has received numerous awards, including being a 2017 Newbery Honor Book, a New York Times Notable Children’s Book , a People Magazine Kid Pick, a Washington Post Best Children’s Book, and a Wall Street Journal Best Children’s Book.
The Inquisitor’s Tale Review
The book takes place in France in 1242. It begins, and most of it is framed by, discussions in a small inn. The crowd is anxious to hear stories about three remarkable children: Jeanne, a peasant girl who is said to have visions; William, a young monk who tales say has incredible strength; and Jacob, a Jewish boy who is rumored to be able to heal miraculously. And their dog – who has been venerated by local townspeople as a saint……
The story is carried on by various people at the inn, so you have multiple narrative viewpoints. Although some of the narrators get multiple chapters, the story is freshened by the use of these multiple viewpoints, and it will keep the story moving, especially for younger readers. The book becomes gradually more intricate, and this is addictive, as it slowly draws you deeper and deeper into the story. It is a wonderful exploration of how friendship can develop and flourish, and is well written.
The Inquisitor’s Tale has an Author’s Note that explains the historical background of the characters and some of the elements of the story (for instance, Jeanne is based on Joan of Arc) and a nice Annotated Bibliography for kids who want to do further research (or parents who want their kids to do deeper).
When we get to the discussion questions you will see that the book really does not have villains. With a few exceptions all of the characters turn out to be at least somewhat good. I think I might have liked a little harder villain/villains, but this is a personal preference.
Favorite lines/scenes
-Etienne’s brief history of himself in Chapter 24
-“There are some people in the world who have magic in them. Whose very presence makes you happier. Some of those people, it turns out, are children.”
One brief note: The author is Jewish and the book is written from a Jewish perspective. Since this blog is written from a Christian perspective, there are places where I would not agree with some of the ideas. I think that this provides you with an opportunity to have your kids look at the world through a slightly different lens. You just want to explain this up front and be prepared to answer any questions that may come along.
Discussion questions:
- Which of the main characters did you like the best? Why? Which narrator did you think was the most interesting? Have you and a group of friends ever narrated a story together?
- What did you like about life in 1242? What did you not like?
- Have you ever had adventures with people that made you closer friends? What were they?
- Why do you think God created the world the way He did?
- The book has people acting badly toward Jacob and his family. Why are we tempted to treat people who are different badly? (note to parents – Jacob’s family is killed early on).
- The children did some amazing things. Which one did you think was most amazing?
- This book takes place long before superheroes. Yet, the three children have some pretty incredible powers. If you could have one of them – visions of the future, incredible strength, or miraculous healing – which would you choose and why?
Thanks for reading our Inquisitor’s Tale review!
Check out some of our other children’s book/graphic novel reviews:
–Dog Man: For whom the Ball Rolls
–Ghostopolis
–Alls Faire in Middle School
–Awkward
–Space Boy Vol. 1 and Space Boy Vol. 2
–Cardboard
–Gear
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