Knights of the Kitchen Table

“‘Thy tongue and garb art passing strange. Methinks thy band hails not from this shore.’

‘What did he say?’ asked Fred.

‘He said we look funny, and we’re probably not from around here,’ I said.”

This exchange between Fred and Joe begins the “what did he say” joke that persists throughout the book and shows the dynamics between the boys. As the joker with more physical than mental prowess, Fred struggles to understand what the people of King Arthur’s world are saying. This opens up an opportunity for Joe to be a leader and translate, ensuring all his teammates are on the same page and understand what’s happening. This moment also illustrates how Scieszka navigates having characters who speak in a way his readers may not be familiar with. By having Joe translate, Scieszka makes the story accessible.

“‘Do something,’ said Fred.

‘Like what?’ I said.

‘Like…like…like, say some magic words!’

The Black Knight spurred his horse into a trot.

‘Please? Thank you?’”

In this conversation between Joe and Fred, Scieszka sets up how the boys will react to new and threatening situations. At first, Fred panics and looks to Joe (the leader) to solve the problem. However, Joe is as out of his element as Fred and doesn’t know how to deal with a charging knight. Fred’s insistence for Joe to say “magic words” foreshadows how Joe will use stage magic to ingratiate the group to King Arthur’s court, and Joe’s misunderstanding of “magic words” here shows that he has a lot to learn. His first thought when Fred says “magic words” is “please” and “thank you,” which is meant to be comic—these words are often referred to as magic by parents because of their politeness.

“Uncle Joe was the best uncle anybody could have. He was a magician for a traveling circus. And his presents were always the best. Uncle Joe’s stage name was ‘Joe the Magnificent.’ I was named after him. ‘Before he went off the deep end,’ my mother always added.”

These lines establish Joe’s uncle as a large influence throughout the book and on Joe’s adventures. From Joe’s description, it is clear he admires and respects his uncle. This passage foreshadows that Joe will take his uncle’s name as his knight name in King Arthur’s court. The different opinions between Joe and his mom touch on The Nuances of Greatness and how greatness is subjective. Joe loves his uncle’s presents and profession; to Joe, these things make his uncle great. By contrast, Joe’s mom thinks Uncle Joe’s presents are inappropriate and that he is unstable, which means she doesn’t see him as great at all.

“‘Maybe it’s a magic cape that can make things disappear.’

‘That would have come in handy last year. You could have used it to make all of those rabbits disappear.’ Mom still had her sour face on.

‘Well, that wasn’t really Uncle Joe’s fault,’ I said. ‘I gave the hat the wrong command.’”

Knights of the Kitchen Table was published shortly after the first installment of the Harry Potter series, in which the titular character receives a cloak as an anonymous gift that makes things disappear. The above instance refers to that gift as an example of the presents kids might receive from their magic-using relatives. The discussion about the hat and rabbits implies that magic truly exists in Joe’s world, which foreshadows the book taking the boys back in time. It is implied that the rabbits came from the hat in large numbers, as with the “pull a rabbit out of a hat” trick. It illustrates that Joe doesn’t understand how to use magic and foreshadows his decision to learn about the book before using it again.

“‘One…’”

The Black Knight was so close I could see the straps on his armor.

‘Two…’

I could see the buckles on the straps.

‘Three!’

We jumped. The Black Knight clanked by like a runaway train.”

This passage occurs during the boys’ confrontation with the black knight and is a prime example of The Power of Teamwork. Fred has the idea to tire out the knight by forcing him to charge over and over again. Fred is committed to the plan, as shown by how he counts without hesitation. Joe’s thoughts make it clear he is skeptical and nervous. The increasing detail Joe sees of the knight shows how much danger the boys are in and that Joe recognizes this danger. After the boys jump apart, the knight speeds by, a symbol of their team’s success. The narrative uses a simile, where something is compared to something else using “like” or “as.” In this case, the speed and force of the knight’s passing is compared with “a runaway train.”

“‘One…’

He aimed his lance at us once more.

‘Two…’

His horse stumbled and wheezed.

‘Three!’

We jumped. The horse clomped slowly past us.”

These lines illustrate The Power of Teamwork. In the previous passage, Joe was afraid, and the knight was ready to attack. In contrast, these lines show that Joe has overcome his fear. He no longer notices the details of the armor and how close the knight is getting. Instead, he notes that the knight is preparing to attack, but that his attack is nowhere near as threatening now that he’s exhausted. The differences in the knight’s attack show that Fred’s plan has worked. The knight has little strength, and even if he did, his horse no longer has the stamina to make an attack effective.

“‘Read? Thou reads the written word as Merlin does?’

‘Well mostly Daredevil, Superman, and X-Men,’ said Sam.

‘X-Men?’ asked the white knight’s pal.

‘Books of spells or fellow wizards, no doubt,’ said the white knight.”

This conversation between the boys and King Arthur’s knights illustrates the differences between the boys’ world and the medieval one. Joe thinks nothing of mentioning that he reads, and this instantly helps him appear great to the knights because reading is such a rare ability in King Arthur’s court. Sam’s explanation— that they primarily read comic books about superheroes—reminds the reader that the boys are just typical, modern-day kids. Since the knights have no frame of reference for superheroes, they comically assume the books are about spells and wizards. Ironically, this is not far off the mark; it implies a relationship between the mystical understanding of medieval times and the fantasy stories that have emerged today.

“‘Welcome, enchanters. But we have not a moment to lose,’ said Lancelot. ‘Camelot is being sieged by Smaug the Dragon from the West and by Bleob the Giant from the East. Mount behind us. We ride at once.’” 

This excerpt of Lancelot’s dialogue evokes The Nuances of Greatness. Though Lancelot is—as Joe later points out—supposed to be the greatest warrior in history, this does not mean that Lancelot is egotistical or beyond accepting aid. The narrative also shows that greatness does not have to equate to stubbornness. Lancelot is a true knight in that he puts the safety of his kingdom and people ahead of his reputation.

This excerpt is also another example of how other stories influence us. Smog is the name of the dragon in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, and readers familiar with that story will recognize what kind of threat the dragon is here.

“Fred, Sam, and I stood in the middle of the Great Hall of Camelot. Torches sputtered on stone walls that disappeared high in the darkness above. Knights and ladies dressed in robes and cloaks of all colors surrounded us. Dogs and little kids ran in and out of the crowd.

‘Welcome, enchanters,’ said a tall, serious-looking fellow. It had to be King Arthur. Who else would be wearing a crown and sitting on a throne in the middle of Camelot?”

The boys arrive at King Arthur’s court, where the narrative shows the differences and similarities between this world and the one the boys know. The description of the castle reveals that it is nothing like anything the boys have ever seen. The people dress and talk differently than the boys, but their behavior is not so different. Like people of the boys’ time, the adults are serious while children and pets play, showing how human behavior is universal. The final paragraph offers a glimpse into Joe’s humor and problem-solving abilities. He surmises that the man wearing the crown and sitting on the throne is King Arthur, and while this is a good deduction to make, it is also an amusingly obvious one.

“‘Nasty old coot,’ whispered Fred. ‘Who asked him to butt in? Maybe I should just give him a whack with my stick before he gives us any more trouble.’

‘Another great idea from the mind of Sir Fred,’ whispered Sam. ‘Hit the King’s magician. I’m sure he won’t mind. He’d probably reward us with a place to stay for the rest of our lives. A place like a dungeon, maybe.’”

This exchange between Fred and Sam highlights each boy’s personality and strengths, as well as the dynamic between them. Fred’s impulsive, emotional nature shines through in his reaction to Merlin, showing how he is the group’s joker who acts first and thinks later. Sam’s rebuttal shows he is the brains of the group; he thinks things through to their conclusion before taking action. This passage also shows how Sam and Fred keep one another in check. Sam makes sure Fred doesn’t do something that will get the group in trouble while Fred establishes himself as willing to do whatever is necessary to get them out of a sticky situation.

“‘Would you show us some small spell of enchantment for our amusement, Sir Joe the Magnificent?’ asked Merlin. And then he stood there, giving us one of those looks teachers give when they ask you a question they know you could never answer in a million years.”

Here, Merlin delivers his challenge for the boys, specifically Joe, to prove they are magicians capable of wielding powerful magic and thus capable of bringing the kingdom through the crises it is facing. Joe’s description of Merlin reveals the similarities between King Arthur’s world and Joe’s. It also hints that Joe understands Merlin’s personality and motives. Though Joe is hundreds of years from his own time, he sees similarities between Merlin and his teachers at school. The way Joe notes these differences aims to make the situation relatable for young readers. Kids may recognize the type of look Joe describes and sympathize with him at Merlin’s unfairness. In addition, Joe realizes that Merlin is out to embarrass and discredit him, which ensures that Joe does his best with the trick to protect himself and his friends.

“Guenevere picked. ‘Show everyone the card, please.’ And while everyone looked at the Queen’s card, I snuck a peek at the card I would put right in front of hers. It was a guy hanging upside down.

‘Now place it back in the deck. And I will have the cards speak to me, and tell me which one of them you picked.’”

This passage gives insight into how Joe performs his magic trick and shows his understanding of performance. Joe is careful not to reveal his secrets to the onlookers while also using mystical language—such as having the cards speak to him—to increase wonder and suspense. The hangman card is symbolic of the boys’ journey. If they are not careful, they could wind up in a bad situation, though perhaps not hanged like the man on the card. Keeping the hanged man in front of the card Guenevere picked represents how it is necessary for Joe and his friends to stay a step ahead of the people in King Arthur’s court.

“Now, you’ve probably read about giants in fairy tales. And you’ve probably seen giants in comic books and cartoons. But you haven’t really experienced giants until you’ve met one up close. And once you’ve done that, believe me, you would be perfectly happy to never, ever meet another one.

I knew giants were big.

I had no idea they were so disgusting.”

Joe, Sam, and Fred encounter Bleob the giant for the first time. Joe uses short, declarative sentences and childlike language—“I had no idea they were so disgusting”—the way a boy his age might speak in actual life. He calls on things the reader will recognize, like a giant’s size, to begin evoking Bleob.

“‘Heddo, Misduh Giant,’ I said, talking through my plugged nose. ‘How can we hep you?’

And do you know what he answered? Of course you don’t, because you weren’t there. Well, I’ll tell you the truth. He belched. A long, loud, wet, noisy, and totally disgusting burp.

Sir Percival and the three knights closest to him raised their shields. They were too late, and took the full force of that awful blast. All four fainted dead away.”

This passage shows off Joe, Sam, and Fred’s ingenuity and speaks to The Nuances of Greatness. By plugging their noses with makeshift clothespins to protect themselves against Bleob’s stink, the boys show how their modern-day knowledge helps them on their adventure. The passage is a humorous take on how the boys become heroes and prove themselves to be as strong and competent as any of King Arthur’s knights. Bleob takes out the more experienced knights, showing how the kingdom desperately needs help. Combined with the clothespins, this illustrates how sometimes an outside perspective is required to solve a problem. The knights falling to Bleob’s assault is humorous because they are supposed to be seasoned fighters who can conquer anything, yet they are literally taken out by a burp.

“‘Because he…uh…because…duh…because red was giant’s favorite color!’

‘Bzzz. Wrong,’ said Sam. ‘He wore red suspenders to hold his pants up. You lose. Good-bye.’” 

This exchange between Bleob and Sam showcases Sam in his role as the brains of the group. Sam’s riddle asks why the giant wore red suspenders, and there is no right or wrong answer. Using this logic, Sam can decide whatever answer Bleob gives is wrong while his own provided answer is right, ensuring he emerges victorious against the giant. Bleob’s stuttering in an attempt to come up with an answer shows that thinking is not his strong suit, foreshadowing how Sam ultimately wins against the giant.

“Sam winked at us and jerked his head toward the other side of the castle.

‘Why is he twitching?’ asked Fred.

‘Show Bleob dragon. Bleob show you how giant fight.’

‘Show you a dragon, eh?’ said Sam, jerking his head again.

Then I got what Sam wanted us to do.

‘The dragon, Sir Sam!’ I yelled. ‘The dragon is approaching from the West!’”

These lines exemplify The Power of Teamwork and how trust is key to making sure plans go smoothly. Sam’s head-jerk is his signal for Joe and Fred to back him up, which initially goes over Fred and Joe’s heads; this shows how trust isn’t always enough for a plan to be accomplished. Joe figures out Sam’s cue before Fred does. This shows how Joe is more fit to lead and how any small piece of information can be useful in a pinch. The boys hear that the dragon is approaching from the west only briefly, but when it counts, this information becomes very relevant and allows Sam’s plan to be successful.

“‘Huzzah!’ cried King Arthur and his sitting knights.

‘What did they say?’ asked Sam with a smile.

‘That’s hooray, Sir Sam. Nice magic work.’”

This passage plays off the “what did he say” motif. Here, Sam is well aware of what “huzzah” means. Instead of how Fred asks for clarification because he’s clueless, Sam asks what the knights said ironically, evidenced by his grin. Taken with other examples of the “what did he say” joke, this moment shows how different people and tones can bring unique meaning to words and situations. In addition, Joe notes that King Arthur and his knights are all seated. This illustrates how they have completely given up on involving themselves in the confrontation and trust whatever Joe, Sam, and Fred will come up with to save the kingdom.

“I caught the ball and Sam yelled, ‘Strike three! Yer out!’ All of the boys cheered and began racing around the bases and yelling.

‘One home run.’

‘Babe Ruth.’

‘Detroit Tigers.’

‘Bo knows.’

Fred walked off the mound and met us at home plate. ‘Do you think I didn’t explain enough?’

‘Methinks maybe you explained too much, Sir Fred,’ said Sam.”

This passage occurs after Joe, Sam, and Fred defeat Bleob and Smog. Since they have no way to return home, the boys decide to try making King Arthur’s court as much like their own time as they can. The first thing they do is teach the stable boys to play baseball, which, as seen here, doesn’t quite work. Instead of grasping how the game is played, the stable boys simply learn different terms and names associated with the game and run around the bases in a way that doesn’t align with how the game is played. This situation exemplifies the difficulties that can arise when communicating across cultures or languages. Everything Fred explained is somehow lost in translation, resulting in a vague knowledge of baseball that doesn’t give the stable boys enough knowledge to play the game.

“No TV. No cheeseburgers. We are three 20th century guys time-warped into the Middle Ages. Score: Squires of the Round Table, 28; Time Warp Trio, 0.”

This passage shows off Fred’s humor. The boys aren’t yet aware of it, but this moment foreshadows the future adventures the boys will have with time travel. This is also a clever way of Scieszka inserting the series title—Time Warp Trio—into the story so that readers are familiar with it for future books. The points Fred assigns to themselves and the “Squires of the Round Table” show how he views the world through the lens of sports, which symbolizes his physical approach toward problem-solving.

“‘Oh, magic book, shmagic book,’ said Fred. ‘I barely touched your stupid book. And don’t tell me we got here by magic. That only happens in dorky books.’”

Here, Scieszka comments on the fantasy genre and how other books handle magic. Fred mentions how kids are transported to places by magic books; this references works such as The NeverEnding Story, a tale about a boy being transported away from his troubled life and into the pages of a book. The rest of Fred’s dialogue above reveals more about his character. Rather than take responsibility for opening the book (the event that triggered the boys being sent back in time), he shrugs off his role, which tracks with Fred’s carefree nature. This passage also shows that Fred isn’t much for reading, which again is consistent with how he’d rather play sports and do physical activities.

“‘Ere since you enchanters arrived,’ he said, ‘I couldn’t but think you were of a time or place I had not seen before.’

‘Nope. We never heard of baseball before, either,’ said Fred.

Sam groaned. ‘You dimwit. Why don’t you just throw us in the dungeon yourself?’” 

The events in this passage take place before Merlin reveals The Book and the picture of the boys at Joe’s birthday party within it. The boys think Merlin is there to punish them for hitting a baseball through his tower window. Shortly before this exchange, Joe smartly cautions the others to pretend they’ve never heard of baseball, which supports that Joe should be the group’s leader. Fred again shows that he acts and speaks before he thinks, insisting he’s never heard of baseball before anyone even accuses them of anything. Sam’s response nods to the earlier exchange where he talked Fred out of hitting Merlin with a stick. This illustrates that the boys’ roles in the group and their central qualities have not changed as a result of their adventures.

“And with that, Merlin produced from his robe a thin blue book; a book such a dark, dark blue that it looked black, like the sky at night. It had gold stars and moons along the back edge, and twisting silver designs on the front and back that looked like writing from a long time ago.

Before any of us could say a word, Merlin opened the book to a picture of three guys sitting around a kitchen table, looking at a baseball.”

Merlin produces The Book, though he has been vague about how he got it or where it came from. He claims it is an old text. This—coupled with how the picture on the first page of the book has changed since the boys saw it in Chapter 2—sets up The Book as an object of mystery for the rest of the series. The description of the book adds to its allure and suggests that the boys will have much to learn about it as the series progresses.

“Mom scooped up an armful of wrapping paper and stormed out of the room muttering, ‘Joe the Magnificent, my foot. Hmmph. Joe the Brainless is more like it. Joe the Totally Irresponsible. A fog machine disguised as a book. Why, there ought to be a law. What kind of gift is that to give to a young boy?’”

Joe, Sam, and Fred have been returned to the exact moment they were initially transported from—Joe’s birthday party. This shows how The Book’s magic works: Those who are transported experience events in real-time, but they return to their own time having lost no time there. In addition, the people they left behind have no idea they left and will likely rationalize any strangeness away, as Joe’s mom does here. Instead of comprehending what happened, she gets irritated about the book being a fog machine. This calls to the tradition within fantasy literature that only children can truly experience magic because adults are too jaded by the world.