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Endymion Spring by Matthew Skelton

Summary

Having reluctantly accompanied his academic mother and pesky younger sister to Oxford, twelve-year-old Blake Winters is at loose ends until he stumbles across an ancient and magical book, secretly brought to England in 1453 to save it from evil forces, and which now draws Blake into a dangerous and life-threatening quest.

Booktalk

Blake is having a bad, bad year. He’s been dragged to England by his mom because he’s not doing well in school. He’s got an obnoxious little sister with her own problems, and he’s always getting in trouble. Then one day, when he has to hang out at the Bodleian Library while his mother does research, a book bites him! At least it feels like a bite. And then, when he picks it up from the floor where it’s fallen, it molds itself to fit perfectly in his hand. How could a book do that?

Well, of course, Blake takes a close look at the cover and sees the words “Endymion Spring” printed on it. He opens the book but it has no writing! Why would a library have a book with no words in it? As Blake puts the book away, suddenly words begin to appear on the translucent pages! It turns out to be a riddle that will set Blake on a quest to find who or what is Endymion Spring? And as he proceeds, Blake comes to realize that this ancient book possesses a powerful magic, a magic which men have cheated and killed for, a magic which it has chosen Blake to protect. Does Blake have what it takes? And can he do it alone?

392 pages, 6th grade and up

Discussion questions

Warning! Some of the questions contain key elements of the plot. Do not read if you don't want to know what happens!

  1. How are Blake and Endymion alike? How are they different?
  2. Which of the adults at Oxford in the Ex Libris society reminds you of Johann Fust in Gutenberg’s day? Which of them reminds you of Gutenberg?
  3. Who did you suspect was after Endymion Spring’s book? Why do people want it so badly?
  4. Compare the way people felt about Gutenberg’s printing process to the way Giles Bentley feels about digitalization. Why would people today object to books being digitalized?
  5. Consider the saying that Blake finds in a manuscript in the library’s display case: “Wisdom speaks with a silent tongue.” What does that mean to you?
  6. In this story children are wiser than adults. Can you think of instances in your own life when you thought that children were wiser than the adults around them?
  7. Why are Endymion and Blake the only ones able to read the book’s writing?
  8. Find information about the Faust legend. Do you believe that Johann Fust could, indeed, have been the original Faust?
  9. How does Duck assist Blake in his quest? Would he be able to unravel the entire mystery without her? Who is braver—Blake or Duck?
  10. Who is Psalmanazar? Why doesn’t he speak to the children when they first meet him? What part does he play in helping Blake solve the mystery of the book? Why doesn’t he meet with the others in the Ex Libris society?
  11. In Chapter 15, Blake says, “Sometimes it’s harder to know the question than to find an answer.” What questions does he need to know as the story unfolds? What questions are hardest to know? Can you think of a time in your own life when you couldn’t find an answer because you didn’t know the right question to ask?

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Portions of this guide are credited to the Random House Teacher's Guide to Endymion Spring (pdf).

Created in part with funds granted by the Oregon State Library under the Library Services and Technology Act, administered by the Oregon State Library. Send feedback to Katie O'Dell, Reading Promotions Coordinator