This is what a smart middle-grade novel looks like: Newbery Honor winner that doesn't sacrifice fun for worthiness. Gidwitz nails the balance between absurdist medieval romp (zombie greyhound! farting dragon!) and genuinely important themes about religious tolerance and persecution.

The Canterbury Tales structure is brilliant—multiple narrators at an inn telling stories about three magical kids—and teaches narrative framing without feeling like homework. The historical research is deep (there's a bibliography), but it never bogs down the adventure.

The intensity is real though. A dog gets killed, a Jewish village burns, knights are set on fire. It's significantly less gory than Gidwitz's Grimm series, but sensitive kids might struggle. One Catholic parent found the irreverent treatment of relics off-putting, so if your family takes miracles very seriously, heads up.

But for kids ready for it? This is the rare book that's both genuinely entertaining and enriching. It'll spark conversations about prejudice, what makes someone holy, and why people fear what they don't understand. At 350+ pages with complex storytelling, it's for confident readers—but they'll actually finish it, which is more than you can say for most award winners.