DIY Homeschooler

Sir Malcolm and the Missing Prince is a timeless story of pride, self-interest, and the inevitable fall. But it is also the story of redemption.

The prince is a disagreeable lad with no motive higher than his own self-interest. He’d rather play than learn at his father’s side. He is disrespectful, insolent, and shuns all authority.

The king is concerned, that as the one to inherit his throne, the prince’s sense of self far exceeds any sense of justice. But what to do? He has been without mother; his nurse only helps to indulge his every whim.

Malcolm, the King’s councilor, proposes a course of action. With the King’s assent, he sends the young prince on a journey — a journey of growth. Finding himself in the position of others whom he had previously disregarded, the prince finds friendship, loyalty, humility, diligence, and a willingness to serve.

But when he again comes before his father, will it be as a selfless and just man prepared to be king?

Sir Malcolm and the Missing Prince by Sidney Baldwin is geared for a younger audience; however, this age-old story of redemption will appeal to all ages.

One moment more, sire…to tell you of the gratitude a boy owes to a man he once called ‘father,’ a man who showed naught but kindness to an impertinent child, who then thought himself above all others, who failed the man when put to the test. Oh, sire! That child has wished through many long hours that he might just once say, as now I say to you, ‘I did not understand. Your love for me was too great for me to understand, but now I see what then I was too young to know.’ In gratitude I give you the love of that boy for whom you did so much.

Sir Malcolm and the Missing Prince

Available directly from Lamplighter Publishing.

Suggestions

Read the book aloud, one chapter each day. Then have your students do one or more of the following:

• Describe the setting.
• Provide an oral or written narration (depending on age).
• Draw a scene from the reading, then provide a caption.
• Choose one of the characters to use in a character study. (Older students can write a character sketch.)
• There are several illustrations in the book. Choose one to copy/illustrate.
• Compare and contrast Hugh at the beginning of the book vs. at the end of the book.
• Tell the whole story to someone else.
• Read another book about a prince (see resources below).
• The following activities can be used to create your own activities for other chapters:
  • Before reading Chapter Four, read the title aloud. Then have your student complete the story.
  • Copy the following passage after reading Chapter Four:
    • “The field lay along the roadway and a hedge grew between. The gap in the hedge where the two had entered was easily found, but once in the road the way grew darker. There was no sign of any living thing. No line of roofs broke the spangled heavens, and as Hugh stopped to listen, he heard only the wind in the trees.”
  • Illustrate the passage.
  • Stop to listen. What do you hear? Write.
  • What is a hedge? Why do we have them? Take a side trip.
  • Define spangled. Where have you likely heard that word before?
  • Older students can rewrite the passage as poetry.
  • Try some windy day experiments.
  • Older students can write the passage from dictation.
    

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Additional Resources

Cedric the Forester {Free eBook} or Knights & Castles Unit Study
Learn more about feudal times.

The Little Lame Prince by Mulock
“A delightful fairy tale that lauds goodness and kindness in a most appealing manner.” ~ Books Children Love

100 Best Books for Children ~ Scott
Ivanhoe for older students.