Future Knight

This uneven novel from Australia launches the Roland Wright series starring a nearly-10-year-old boy living in the Middle Ages. Roland dreams of becoming a knight, but his father is a blacksmith and only "the children of the rich and noble become knights." Then the king, protected by armor Roland's father made, survives a battle and announces he will take one of the blacksmith's two sons into his household to be trained for knighthood. When the smith sets his offspring to a string of tests to determine which of them will win this prized position, Roland seeks the advice of his favorite knight, who tells him that honor, loyalty, and chivalry are every bit as important as knowing how "to bash and crash and stab and slice and dice and pound." Despite a foregone conclusion and some gross-out humor (Roland resists the temptation to hit an annoying friend "over the head so hard that her brain shot out her earholes like lengths of gray rope"), kids will appreciate the ample silliness and pick up a few details about the era in the process. Ages 6%E2%80%9410. (Sept.)