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Men of Iron by Howard Pyle

Men of Iron

By Howard Pyle
Level 11
Review:

In this classic book that takes place in 15th-century England, Myles Farworth leaves his wrongly exiled, blind father to train for knighthood and eventually restore his family’s honor. The vocabulary is rich and varied, and the writing is filled with wonderfully complex and varied sentence structures, descriptive language, and beautiful uses of literary devices. Readers learn much about castle life in Medieval times as well as some history of the time period. Myles has an indomitable spirit and grows into a man of honor, humility, and integrity, and who refers to his trust and reliance on God. This is not an easy book, and although it is filled with adventure, kids used to a diet of easy entertainment will most likely really struggle with this book. However, it is a book of the highest literary, moral, and educational merit. The librivox.org recording is not fantastic but may be acceptable.

This book is integrated with The Good and the Beautiful High School 2 Language Arts Course. This book is available for purchase as a PDF set at goodandbeautiful.com.

(Reviewed by Jenny Phillips)

Region Europe, England
Period 15th century, 1400s
Genre Historical Fiction
Digital Format Audiobook
The Good and the Beautiful Library No
  • E-Book
  • 3 Entertainment Value
  • 5 Moral Value
  • 5 Educational Value
  • 5 Literary Value
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Entertainment Value

All books on our list are chosen to be engaging, but books that rank high in entertainment value may be more appealing to reluctant readers and/or those who are new to good and beautiful books.

Moral Value

All books on The Good and the Beautiful Book List are deemed appropriate and wholesome, but some books have more emphasis on moral principles than others. A lower rating for moral value does not mean the book is inappropriate; it only means that moral values are not as highly emphasized.

Educational Value

Although all books on this list have educational value in the sense of increasing vocabulary and other important skills, the educational value scale is based on how well the book helps the reader gain knowledge about historical time periods, cultures, geography, science, etc.

Literary Value

Books that score high in literary value include exceptional writing, use of literary devices, and a rich vocabulary. All books on The Good and the Beautiful Book List are well-written, but some have a higher literary value than others.

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