School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-5-This book is part of a series designed to draw video-saturated youngsters into reading through cinematic artwork. The action begins abruptly, as a group of time-traveling kids prepare for their next adventure. Throughout the story, they are observed by mysterious men in black suits whose presence is never clearly explained. After passing through a portal, the children journey to the past, where they meet the young Arthur, have numerous adventures with him, and watch as he pulls the sword from the stone. Readers unfamiliar with the series will be confused, as the premise is never clearly established. The writing is crisp, but merely adequate to convey the action and there is absolutely no characterization. The full-color photographic images are supposed to carry the plot, but many of them, such as the first appearance of Merlin, end up looking overwrought and ridiculous. There is a cut-and-paste feel to the art. Also, the "acting" of the cast is more silly than anything else. This book partially succeeds in giving the feeling of a movie on the printed page, but readers wanting to know the story of King Arthur would do better elsewhere.-Tim Wadham, Maricopa County Library District, Phoenix, AZ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
In this series, originally published in picture book format, six kids discover a time portal that vaults them into different historical eras. Digitally manipulated photographs attempt to blend reality with fantasy but instead create stilted tableaux. Some historical inaccuracies and unbelievable dialogue also undermine the stale serialized scenarios. [Review covers these Time Soldiers titles: Arthur, Mummy, Patch, Rex, Rex 2, and Samurai.] (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
