What children's book has monks and the plague?
December 7, 2011 3:32 PM Subscribe
My wife is looking for a children's book from her childhood about monks, specific details are inside.
We don't know what year it came out, but it was before 1990. It was a hardcover book, approximately 8 1/2 x 11" and about monks in a monastery. She remembers it involving the black plague. There were possibly drawings in the margins of the pages, and bold colors (possibly stained-glass-like pictures). There may have been two books rather than one.
We don't know what year it came out, but it was before 1990. It was a hardcover book, approximately 8 1/2 x 11" and about monks in a monastery. She remembers it involving the black plague. There were possibly drawings in the margins of the pages, and bold colors (possibly stained-glass-like pictures). There may have been two books rather than one.
This isn't entirely about monks, but your description reminded me of this Usborne book from my own childhood. Maybe it'll ring some bells.
posted by Earl the Polliwog at 5:29 PM on December 7, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Earl the Polliwog at 5:29 PM on December 7, 2011 [1 favorite]
Probably not it, but the description of the illustrations made me think of Tomie dePaola's picture books. Here's one about St. Francis, and another about Sts. Benedict and Scholastica.
Or maybe The Everyday Life of A Medieval Monk?
posted by Cortes at 6:30 PM on December 7, 2011
Or maybe The Everyday Life of A Medieval Monk?
posted by Cortes at 6:30 PM on December 7, 2011
Books that people have tagged with all of the following: plague, historical fiction, young adult.
If it wasn't for the illustrations she mentions I would suggest The Door in the Wall.
posted by MsMolly at 6:33 PM on December 7, 2011
If it wasn't for the illustrations she mentions I would suggest The Door in the Wall.
posted by MsMolly at 6:33 PM on December 7, 2011
Response by poster: According to her it was a story book. Thanks for the help, if nothing else I've found a couple of interesting books to check out for our kids.
posted by Gygesringtone at 7:54 AM on December 8, 2011
posted by Gygesringtone at 7:54 AM on December 8, 2011
Picture book possibilities:
Run Far, Run Fast
Anno's Medieval World
posted by MsMolly at 6:24 AM on December 9, 2011
Run Far, Run Fast
Anno's Medieval World
posted by MsMolly at 6:24 AM on December 9, 2011
Response by poster: The story she remembers features a young boy. The cover may have been predominantly blue. The two images she remembers from the book were the boy plucking a chicken and another one of him laying on a bed that (as a child) she perceived as being a bench or something hard with a weird hard pillow.
posted by Gygesringtone at 4:56 PM on December 9, 2011
posted by Gygesringtone at 4:56 PM on December 9, 2011
This book? The Door in the Wall. It's a chapter book, not a picture book, but per the pages covered by the Google Books page, and IIRC, there are some full page pictures. It's a young adult novel I think, I certainly read it in elementary school, and it's about a boy who gets ill during the plague, is rescued by a monk, is left sickly, moves to a castle with the monk, I think his bed was a bench (i.e. in a monastery) and some of the versions of the cover are largely blue. I don't specifically remember the chicken, but otherwise it seems like a good fit.
posted by sarahkeebs at 8:34 PM on December 9, 2011
posted by sarahkeebs at 8:34 PM on December 9, 2011
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posted by jenny76 at 4:32 PM on December 7, 2011