Robin Hood and Little John

By Barbara Cohen

Illustrations by David Ray

Reading Level 4 and up

Interest level K-3

Genre: Folklore/traditional literature

 

Most readers have heard about the tale of Robin Hood the man who stole from the rich and gave to the poor.  However, are you familiar with Robin Hood’s best friend and right hand man, Little John?  Then this picture book Robin Hood and Little John written by Barbara Cohen is the book for you. Within the book, there is a lot of energy and great rhythm accompanied by some great illustrations that allow readers to see the perspective of the characters.

   One day, while in search of adventure, brave bowman Robin Hood wandered alone in the Sherwood Forest.   Not finding any adventure Robin Hood decided that he would turn back and go back to his friends.  Suddenly he came upon a bridge made out of a single log in which he comes face to face with a huge man who challenges him to prove who is the "better man". After an evenly matched duel Robin Hood finds not only a worthy opponent in this stranger, but more importantly a true friend known as Little John.

This retelling of the classic tale of Robin Hood is one that I believe is well written and can provide students a great message about friendship and allows students to learn about different perspective through the illustrations.  The language presented may be a tad challenging for some students, as there are sayings and words that students may be unfamiliar with. Including, “thrashing”, “swaggered”, or “I’m going to give in to you as I’ve never given in another.”  There are some more phrases, thus it would be important for this book to be read to the entire class, so the students would feel more comfortable when reading it own their own.

The full-page illustrations are done in rich, shades of forest green, gold, and brown. The characters and scenery have an attractive, 3-D effect. The title appears on the back cover while a full-page cover image of Robin Hood drawing his bow pulls readers into the story. Another great aspect of the illustrations is that they are shown through the eyes of the characters, giving readers a sense of perspective when looking at the pictures.

The story has all the aspects of traditional literature and folklore as, the characters represent traits of bravery, and courage.  The conflict in the story is presented in a clear way, and the acceptance of Little John into Robin Hood’s band is told clearly and more importantly makes sense.  Additionally a source note in the beginning of the story written by Barbara Cohen tells a little history of the stories of Robin Hood along with the influences that Cohen had for her retelling of this story as well.  This is a great resource as well because it can provide teacher’s additional stories to share with their students and can allow the students to compare and contrast the stories.

This is a great book for the classroom as it allows for teachers to work with their students on different perspectives, the ethics of what is right from wrong, as well as a way to introduce readers into different retellings of famous folktales/folklores.   One thing that any teacher should take into account when working or reading this story with their class is the violence in the story.  You do not want the students copying the actions taking part in the story, in class or at recess.  Nevertheless, other than that, the story is well written and filled with colorful illustrations, that the student will enjoy reading.

ELA Standards

Grade 2 RL Craft and Structure 5

Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action.

Grade 1 RI Integration of Knowledge and Ideas 7

Use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas.

Grade 1 RI Key Ideas and Details 1

Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.