The Adventures of Robin Hood

A retelling of 11 Robin Hood stories, from his fight with Little John to the firing of his last arrow. Marcia Williams’s brilliant wheeze of depicting classic myths and legends in humorous comic-strip format has introduced some of the most famous stories to very young readers, in an accessible and amusing way.

The tales are told in the simplest way possible, in bite-size chunks, but the way in which the accompanying drawings not only illustrate the words, but also embellish the story, is a particularly effective touch. This is especially apparent when Williams uses speech bubbles, adding an additional layer of entertainment and humour to the books. It also allows her to include as much of the story as she can without putting off her young audience. In addition, the illustrations are wonderfully lively, colourful and packed with little details.

A great idea, handsomely executed.