The Seeing Stone (28 page)

“Few historical novels achieve such a convincing sense of the medieval ages, and few first-person novels can boast such a convincing and sympathetic young narrator. The ending will leave readers eager for the next in this trilogy.”

—
Booklist,
starred review

“When people despair that young people don't read, one must reflect on the success of Harry Potter and the intricate delights offered by Philip Pullman's
The Golden Compass
and
The Subtle Knife.
For young readers who relished these imaginative delights, consider Crossley-Holland's
The Seeing Stone
…an outstanding novel…the book brings alive the world of the Middle Ages.”

—
USA Today

“Richly imagined.”

—
The New York Times Book Review

“Many will revel in Crossley-Holland's portrait of the period and the humorous observations conveyed…A clever, ethical and passionate hero will have readers itching for the sequel.”

—
Publishers Weekly,
starred review

“The many parallels make a Merlin of the reader…The continuing resonance of Arthurian legend, the inspired dual plot, and elegantly lucid narrative style plus a gift for lively dialogue - all add up to a compelling story.”

—
The Horn Book,
starred review

“This compelling novel is a quick read thanks to completely real characters and plenty of action…young adults interested in King Arthur or the Middle Ages will find this novel a marvelous read.”

—
VOYA

“Every age needs its hero slumbering under the hill until that need awakes him. All thanks to Kevin Crossley-Holland for this timely and wholly wonderful awakening.”

—
The Times Educational Supplement

“Superb…mysterious, unsettling, fascinating, and absorbing.”

—
The Bookseller

“As bright and vivid as the pictures in a book of hours. Deep scholarship, high imagination, and great gifts of storytelling have gone into this; I was spellbound.”

—Philip Pullman, author of
The Amber Spyglass

“The wonderfully complex characters are distinct and engaging, but most of all I feel in love with a big-eared boy in a rabbitskin cap who could see what might be the future, what might be the past, or what might be both, in a seeing stone.”

—Karen Cushman, author of
Catherine, Called Birdy

Shortlisted for the Whitbread Award
Bronze Medal, Smarties Prize
Winner, the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize

An ALA Notable Book
Horn Book Fanfare Honor List A New York Public
Library Title for Reading and Sharing
Parent's Guide Children's Media Award
A Children's Book Sense 76 selection

Text copyright © 2000 by Kevin Crossley-Holland
Cover woodcut copyright © 2001 by David Klein
Maps copyright © 2000 by Hemesh Alles
Cover design by Marc Adams and Marijka Kostiw

All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc. by arrangement with Orion Children's Books, London, England.
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Arthur A. Levine Books hardcover edition designed by Marijka Kostiw, published by Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Press, October 2001

First Scholastic paperback printing, September 2002

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E-ISBN: 978-0-545-23208-1