Book Review of Mice of the Round Table: A Tail of Camelot By Julie Leung

I have been looking for a bit of light relief lately in terms of my reading material. I saw this book Mice of the Round Table: A Tail of Camelot, whilst purchasing some gifts at Christmas for children of some friends of mine. This book tells the story of mouse, Calib Christopher, as he trains to become a knight of Camelot. The idea of an animal tale on the similar lines of the BBC series of Merlin really appealed to me.

As much as I love tales of Camelot and King Arthur, sometimes the theme can be a little over done. Instead, this was a very refreshing take on Camelot. The story of the animals living underneath the castle of Camelot is told in conjunction with the humans of the castle. In fact, their fates are very much intertwined, even more so when Calib befriends the young Galahad, a recent arrival at Camelot. The book does flit between both Calib’s and Galahad’s perspectives, but whilst this may confuse some readers, I feel this does give a rounded view of how animal and human Camelot have a connected fate.

I loved this book almost from the very minute I started reading it. The characters and storylines are just so engrossing. I felt as though I was reading a high pact children’s story, which would appeal to young people and adults like me just as much. The best bit was that, in general, it appeared to keep true to the Arthurian legends we have all heard bits of before, whilst making them easily accessible through the animal characters. I haven’t read books where the animals are the main characters since I was young, so that made it all the more refreshing to read.

For me, as someone who suffered much bullying during my own childhood and teenage years, I really connected emotionally with the idea that small animals, and young people alike, who had been bullied earlier in the story came together, putting aside their differences, to make a formidable group to confront their joint enemies. Just as told throughout most chivalry tales, this is the author’s way of standing up for truth and justice. How apt those themes seem to be in the current world at the moment.

The writing style was very easy to read and I often found myself being utterly engrossed, often reading multiple chapters at once. In fact, it was very much written like an old Hollywood movie on Arthur or Robin Hood or such like. It made the story very vivid to the reader’s imagination, almost like they were imagining a family film right in front of them. For this very reason, I hope someone out there would turn this into a film or TV series of some kind. It certainly feels like it could easily translate into such a medium.

The only word of caution I may have would be for any parent considering this book is that there are descriptions of battle scenes and wounds. For this reason, please be aware of how your child might feel about this. Whilst nothing is too graphic, it is something to consider depending on your child’s own preference.

I read this book quite quickly and was sad when I had finished it, which is always a sign of a book well enjoyed. In fact, before I had finished reading this, I ordered the two following books in the trilogy. I have since read these following this review and also recommend them just as much. I will miss the world of the animals of Camelot, but look forward to returning to it whenever I want in the future.