Starred Review ALA Booklist (Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 CST 2014)

Starred Review Shortly before the London Blitz, 12-year-old Cecily and 14-year-old Jeremy are sent to live in the countryside with their uncle, Peregrine. They take in an evacuee, 10-year-old May, who comes from a less privileged background but is very much her own person. Jeremy longs to return to London and prove himself by contributing to the war effort. Immature Cecily tags along after May to the nearby ruins of a castle, where two strangely dressed boys (fifteenth century ghosts) sometimes appear. From time to time, Peregrine entrances Jeremy, Cecily, and May with his episodic telling of an intense, occasionally violent tale from English history, a narrative that informs each child's experiences. The novel rewards careful reading with well-turned phrases and apt metaphors. At the book's heart are the many believable characters who gradually reveal aspects of themselves as they act, react, and subtly change throughout the novel. Though the story-within-a-story format makes the book's structure somewhat more complex, it also enriches the narrative in many ways. The writing is accessible, the story flows well, and the plot moves at a good pace. Like her character Uncle Peregrine, Hartnett is a fiercely truthful, accomplished storyteller whose stories have real staying power.

Horn Book (Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

Twelve-year-old Cecily, her older brother Jeremy, and their mother flee WWII London for the safety of Uncle Peregrine's country manor. Once there, Cecily discovers two boys hiding in some nearby ruins. Hartnett's gift for language deftly conveys both the sublime and the mundane in life. She grounds the book's fantasy elements with a heartfelt examination of the hardships endured by civilians in wartime.

School Library Journal (Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2014)

Gr 5-8 This book takes place in England during World War II, when the possibility of air raids was ever-present. Siblings Cecily and Jeremy, along with their mother Heloise, are sent to the northern countryside to live with Heloise's brother, Peregrine Lockwood, in mysterious Heron Hall. Cecily notices many children evacuees being taken in by local townspeople and asks her mother if they can adopt a child. The family winds up taking in May Bright, a 10-year-old refugee from London. The two girls become fast friends and begin exploring Heron Hall and the surrounding areas. On one of their daily adventures, the girls come across two boys in the ruins of a nearby castle. Cecily finds the boys creepy and annoying, but there is more to them than meets the eye. Though slow-moving, this story could work as a complementary text for students learning about World War II history, as it gives a glimpse into what everyday life was like and the conflicting feelings that people had about war. Jesten Ray, Seattle Public Library, WA

Voice of Youth Advocates

When an attack on London during World War II seems imminent, fourteen-year-old Jeremy and twelve-year-old Cecily are forced to evacuate with their cold mother and leave their playful but important father behind. The children travel to an uncle's house in the country but not before picking up an "evacuee" who has also been sent to safety, but without her parents. The self-absorbed Cecily sees May as someone she can protect by bossing her around and begs her mother to take May to Uncle Peregrine's house as well. Once there, the girls find themselves wrapped up in a peculiar mystery when they discover two odd boys hiding in a nearby castle.The Children of the King is a satisfying, deeply layered, historical fiction novel. On the surface, the novel is about World War II and the bombings on London. Within the novel, Uncle Peregrine tells the children a story about two young princes and the horrible things that happen to them because of their uncle, the Duke. The princes (not named in the novel) are Edward and Richard, sons of King Edward IV, locked in the Tower of London and assumed murdered, and their uncle is Duke of Gloucester who becomes King Richard III. Peregrine's story is closely related to the girls' adventures and adds a thrilling element to the novel. Students can successfully fulfill historical fiction requirements based on the WWII backdrop. Historical fiction fans' curiosity about the two princes may prompt further research.Jen McIntosh.á