Adam of the Road, Elizabeth Janet Gray
Adam of the Road, Elizabeth Janet Gray
1 Rating(s)
List: $18.00 | Sale: $12.60
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Adam of the Road

Author: Elizabeth Janet Gray

Narrator: Stuart Blinder

Unabridged: 6 hr 5 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/06/2018


Synopsis

A Newbery Medal Winner

Awarded the John Newbery Medal as "the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children" in the year of its publication. "A road's a kind of holy thing," said Roger the Minstrel to his son, Adam. "That's why it's a good work to keep a road in repair, like giving alms to the poor or tending the sick. It's open to the sun and wind and rain. It brings all kinds of people and all parts of England together. And it's home to a minstrel, even though he may happen to be sleeping in a castle." And Adam, though only eleven, was to remember his father's words when his beloved dog, Nick, was stolen and Roger had disappeared and he found himself traveling alone along these same great roads, searching the fairs and market towns for his father and his dog.Here is a story of thirteenth-century England, so absorbing and lively that for all its authenticity it scarcely seems "historical." Although crammed with odd facts and lore about that time when "longen folke to goon on pilgrimages," its scraps of song and hymn and jongleur's tale of the period seem as newminted and fresh as the day they were devised, and Adam is a real boy inside his gay striped surcoat.

"Engaging and beautifully written."—Children's Literature

About The Author

Elizabeth Janet Gray (1902–1999) was born and grew up in Philadelphia. She graduated from Bryn Mawr College, and in the years that followed, under the names Elizabeth Janet Gray and Elizabeth Gray Vining, she wrote many books for adults and children, including the Newbery Award winner Adam of the Road.   During and immediately after World War II, Elizabeth worked for the American Friends Service Committee. In 1946 she was appointed tutor to Crown Prince Akihito of Japan and later wrote the widely read Windows for the Crown Prince. She is the author of several novels and biographies and two autobiographical works.Robert Lawson (1892–1957) received his art training at the New York School of Fine and Applied Art. His favorite medium, pen and ink, is used expressively and with detail in his black and white illustrations in The Story of Ferdinand (by Munro Leaf). In addition to illustrating many children's books, including Mr. Popper's Penguins, Lawson also wrote and illustrated a number of his own books for children. In 1940, he was awarded the Caldecott Medal for his picture book illustrations in They Were Strong and Good; and in 1944, he was awarded the Newbery Medal for his middle-grade novel Rabbit Hill.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ on April 26, 2016

I picked up Adam of the Road at a library sale several months ago for a dollar. As a Newbery Award winner in 1943, it was one of those books that I remember seeing frequently during my childhood but had never read. And it fits into one of the squares in my 2016 Classics Bingo card, so here we are!......more

Goodreads review by Luisa on February 14, 2020

I was so surprised by this book. I wasn't planning on liking it so much! Adam is such a sweet, likable boy; you can't help rooting for him throughout the whole book as he tries to find his father. And the adventures he goes through along the way will keep you wondering how it will end. Cleanliness: Ch......more

Goodreads review by The Dusty Jacket on August 12, 2019

Three things gave Adam Quartermayne comfort: his harp, his friend Perkin, and his dog Nick. But for five months now, all Adam truly cared about was his father finally coming to take him out of school. “Today he’s coming. I know it!”, Adam would find himself saying over and over again. But his father......more

Goodreads review by Katie on May 26, 2017

This review also appears on my blog, Read-at-Home Mom. In 1294, Adam is the son of a traveling minstrel. He is thrilled when he is able to leave school and begin traveling the road with his father, Roger, and dog, Nick. He loves watching Roger entertain the family for whom he works, and Adam enjoys s......more

Goodreads review by Evan on September 27, 2011

A classic that I also read back in 3rd grade. All I really remembered was the excellent feel of the book, which makes sense now because that is the main takeaway. The plot is take it or leave it, and there are several characters who you would have liked the author to develop more, thus why it gets 4......more


Awards

  • Newbery Medal Winner