View source for Sir Bigwart: Knight of the Wonky Table (History of Warts) by Alan MacDonald

{{infobox1
|title=Sir Bigwart: Knight of the Wonky Table
|author=Alan MacDonald
|reviewer=Keith Dudhnath
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=
|rating=3.5
|buy=Maybe
|borrow=Yes
|pages=128
|publisher=Bloomsbury
|date=September 2008
|isbn=978-0747594680
|cover=0747594686
|aznuk=0747594686
|aznus=0747594686
}}

King Eggnog is looking for a suitable husband for his stroppy daughter, Marigold. Only someone who can slay the ogres of Ghostly Fell would be worthy of her hand in marriage, so he sends his bravest knight, Sir Bigwart, on a quest to conquer them. Bigwart is a coward, who has boasted of past adventures, when in reality he was tucked up in a warm bed. He's not looking forward to facing ogres for real.

''Sir Bigwart'' is a light book that's high on adventure. It's an easy but enjoyable read, made all the more fun by Mark Beech's illustrations, which are reminiscent of Quentin Blake's work. The ensemble cast of quirky characters will be lapped up by everyone.

It's Sir Bigwart's squire, Crispin, who is the real hero of the piece. Bigwart features prominently, but is very much a supporting character. Whether this is only true of this particular book, or if it's a feature of all the books in the ''History of Warts'' series, I'm afraid I don't know. It would have been nice if there was more about Bigwart, as he's the funniest of all the characters, especially when he's hiding under the bed, only popping out to snaffle the crumbs from a honey cake.

For all the setting of the scene and adventure along the way, the actual encounter with the ogres is a little unsatisfying. Although the book goes out with a whimper instad of a bang, it's still worth a read. It will be enjoyed by anyone who loves stories about knights with a humourous twist.

Other books in the ''History of Warts'' series include [[Custardly Wart: Pirate (Third Class)]], [[Ditherus Wart: Accidental Gladiator]] and ''Honesty Wart: Witch Hunter''.

Thanks to the publishers for sending it to Bookbag.
 
If you like ''Sir Bigwart'', you'll also like [[The Sword in the Stone by T H White|The Sword in the Stone]] by [[:Category:T H White|T H White]] (but make sure you rhyme that Wart with 'art' please), or [[Abbot Dagger's Academy and the Quest for the Holy Grail by Sam Llewellyn|Abbot Dagger's Academy and the Quest for the Holy Grail]] by [[:Category:Sam Llewellyn|Sam Llewellyn]].
 
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[[Category:Mark Beech]]