Once Upon a Tim
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-03-03 01:22:48
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Stuart Gibbs
- ISBN：1534499253
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Join New York Times bestselling author Stuart Gibbs in this first book in a hilarious， highly illustrated new middle grade series about a peasant boy who wants to be a knight， perfect for fans of Max & the Midknights。
Tim is just a peasant， but he dreams big。 He wants more out of life than to grow up to be a woodsman like his father。 Unfortunately， the only route to success in the kingdom of Wyld is to be born a prince。 Still， Tim is determined。 He is brave and clever and always tries to do the right thing—even though he rarely gets the credit for it。
Then news spreads that Princess Grace of the neighboring kingdom has been abducted by the evil Stinx and Prince Ruprecht needs a legion of knights to join him on his quest to rescue her。 Tim finally has the lucky break he’s been waiting for， the opportunity to change his station in life。 And even though he doesn’t know how to ride a horse or wield anything more deadly than a water bucket， he’s going to do whatever it takes to make sure his dream becomes a reality。
Tim is just a peasant， but he dreams big。 He wants more out of life than to grow up to be a woodsman like his father。 Unfortunately， the only route to success in the kingdom of Wyld is to be born a prince。 Still， Tim is determined。 He is brave and clever and always tries to do the right thing—even though he rarely gets the credit for it。
Then news spreads that Princess Grace of the neighboring kingdom has been abducted by the evil Stinx and Prince Ruprecht needs a legion of knights to join him on his quest to rescue her。 Tim finally has the lucky break he’s been waiting for， the opportunity to change his station in life。 And even though he doesn’t know how to ride a horse or wield anything more deadly than a water bucket， he’s going to do whatever it takes to make sure his dream becomes a reality。
Reviews
Tonja Drecker
，
Saving a princess takes on an entirely new meaning with tons of humor packed in along the way as well as more than a few surprises。Tim is a peasant and has generations of peasants to back up his line。 While the rest of his family and ancestors are quite satisfied with their position in life， Tim is frustrated。 The only way out is for him to become a knight。 When the opportunity arises， he takes it without any questions asked。 And that is exactly the problem。This one is written in first person wi Saving a princess takes on an entirely new meaning with tons of humor packed in along the way as well as more than a few surprises。Tim is a peasant and has generations of peasants to back up his line。 While the rest of his family and ancestors are quite satisfied with their position in life， Tim is frustrated。 The only way out is for him to become a knight。 When the opportunity arises， he takes it without any questions asked。 And that is exactly the problem。This one is written in first person with Tim as the star， which even he admits is odd since the Prince and Princess should be taking over the tale。 It immediately sets him up as the perfect underdog， and one with a touch of sarcasm as well as tons of heart and determination。 Tim doesn't have any super talents， nor are his decisions always spot on， but that's what makes him so easy to connect with。 He's a normal person， while those around him。。。even the world。。。is not。 Humor mixes with adventure before adding even more humor。 There are so many silly quirks and not-quite-right situations that it's impossible not to smile and even snort a giggle or two。 The traditional views of kingdoms and knights in a fairytale setting are presented before being flipped upside down。 The silliness then mixes with fantastical creatures and unique characters， and all of that without forgetting some more serious themes， too。Several truths about peasantry and life at that time do come to light。 Also， the author presents more difficult words purposefully along with their definitions。 To round it off， there are a couple meaningful messages concerning life， how to see past facades， and more。 All of this still remains neatly padded within the humor。 Oh， and not to forget the illustrations。 Without these， the book definitely wouldn't be the same。So， yes， I do recommend this one to readers who want tons of laughs but also enjoy a little fantasy and adventure along the way。 I received an ARC and really enjoyed this one a lot。 。。。more
Lonna Pierce
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This is Gibb’s glib entry into the Dogman/Captain Underpants genre of cartoonish illustrated silly books for 1st-4th graders。 Tim is a peasant from long ago stuck for life in a crappy job of subsistence labor with no hope of improvement， as did his forebears。 Yet， he and his friend， Belinda （dressed as a boy） try out to be knights for their egotistical， useless Prince Ruprecht， as Princess Grace needs rescue & they want to better their lots。 There are Vocabulary Booster arrows➡️ which point to e This is Gibb’s glib entry into the Dogman/Captain Underpants genre of cartoonish illustrated silly books for 1st-4th graders。 Tim is a peasant from long ago stuck for life in a crappy job of subsistence labor with no hope of improvement， as did his forebears。 Yet， he and his friend， Belinda （dressed as a boy） try out to be knights for their egotistical， useless Prince Ruprecht， as Princess Grace needs rescue & they want to better their lots。 There are Vocabulary Booster arrows➡️ which point to elevated language throughout， such as malodorous， gargantuan， hircine， and arduous， in an attempt to impress parents who just think you’re just reading a goofy book full of pictures。 Of course， that’s exactly the point， and even the village idiot improves his future at book’s end。 -Probably first in a series。 。。。more
Michele Knott
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Everything you expect in a Gibbs story - humor， adventure， great story - but this time in a hybrid novel！
Zoë
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This book was adorable。 It was such a quick read since it's a children's book but I loved every page！！ The illustrations we're so cute and of course Stuart Gibbs writing style was so great。 This book was adorable。 It was such a quick read since it's a children's book but I loved every page！！ The illustrations we're so cute and of course Stuart Gibbs writing style was so great。 。。。more
Abigail
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I received this book as an ARC from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers in exchange for my honest review。 Once Upon a Tim follows a ragtag group of heros on a quest to save a princess， but things are never what they seem。 This middle grade adventure story written by Stuart Gibbs and Illustrated by Stacy Curtis combines humor with vocabulary words and a challenging of gender norms and societal expectations。 I am not the target audience， but I did laugh and I think my elementary students woul I received this book as an ARC from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers in exchange for my honest review。 Once Upon a Tim follows a ragtag group of heros on a quest to save a princess， but things are never what they seem。 This middle grade adventure story written by Stuart Gibbs and Illustrated by Stacy Curtis combines humor with vocabulary words and a challenging of gender norms and societal expectations。 I am not the target audience， but I did laugh and I think my elementary students would enjoy this book （which might be a series？？ Foreshadowing） Overall， fun for the kids with enough educational value and humor for teachers， parents， and guardians to enjoy too。 。。。more
Lyra
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Promising start to a new series from the always funny Stuart Gibbs。 This one skews younger then the JungleFun and Spy School books， probably best for grades 2-4 or as a read-aloud。 Gibbs expands young readers vocabulary in a way similar to “A Series of Unfortunate Events。” I would recommend it to young readers who enjoyed Lemony Snicket and/or the Bruel’s Bad Kitty series。
Kami
，
My Thoughts:- I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review。 - Tim is a peasant， but he doesn't want to be a peasant， and his only other option is to become a knight。 His best friend， Belinda， isn't happy with her position in life either， so they both decide to go to the knight tryouts for Prince Ruprecht。 He is going on a quest to save a princess from a horrible monster， and he needs knights to accompany him。- Tim is the narrator of the story， and he breaks the 4th wall My Thoughts:- I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review。 - Tim is a peasant， but he doesn't want to be a peasant， and his only other option is to become a knight。 His best friend， Belinda， isn't happy with her position in life either， so they both decide to go to the knight tryouts for Prince Ruprecht。 He is going on a quest to save a princess from a horrible monster， and he needs knights to accompany him。- Tim is the narrator of the story， and he breaks the 4th wall all the time。 It is hilarious。 He also refers to modern things throughout the story。 It is like he knows he is in a book， but he also understands the world outside and likes to refer to it， so he can relate to the reader。- Tim likes to educate the readers by giving them "IQ Boosters。" These are large words that Tim will define for the reader。 He even uses them in sentences， and he is quite clever with his examples。 - The book is so much fun， and it is a riot。 I read this out loud to Gnome， and we stopped and laughed every time we sat down to read together。 Gnome will still quote little pieces of the book to me， and we have a good laugh。 。。。more
Sarah
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Entertaining middle grade book that teaches critical thinking
Candice
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Once upon a time， there was a peasant named Tim who didn’t want to be a peasant。 He and his best friend were presented the opportunity to become knights for Prince Ruprecht as he saved Princess Grace from the stinx。 Tim is quite intelligent and loves to use brain boosting words while his best friend is quite good at thinking on her feet。 While on his quest her learns many valuable lessons， and there are plenty of laughs along the way。Coming out March 1！ Pre-order & read it！！
Ms。 Yingling
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ARC provided by the publisherI adore Gibbs' FunJungle， Spy School， Space Case， and Charlie Thorne series， but this book seemed a bit young for my readers。 Thematically， it was more like Gibbs' The Last Musketeer （2012）， but set in a medieval time。 The blurb says this will be good for readers who liked Peirce's Max and the Midnights， which I can see， since the setting is similar and there are delightful line illustrations throughout。 I was a bit confused as to how Tim， the medieval peasant who is ARC provided by the publisherI adore Gibbs' FunJungle， Spy School， Space Case， and Charlie Thorne series， but this book seemed a bit young for my readers。 Thematically， it was more like Gibbs' The Last Musketeer （2012）， but set in a medieval time。 The blurb says this will be good for readers who liked Peirce's Max and the Midnights， which I can see， since the setting is similar and there are delightful line illustrations throughout。 I was a bit confused as to how Tim， the medieval peasant who is narrating， knew about air-conditioning， internet and televisions， which he mentions when complaining about how difficult his life is。 Interesting， but not quite right for my library。 。。。more
Emma
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This book is a contemporary take on the traditional idea of a fairy tale。 Gibbs tells a humorous story of a pheasant's journey to becoming a knight， with some fun twists and turns。 This early chapter book is perfect for fans of Grimm's fairy tales and THE SISTERS GRIMM series。 Gibbs also breaks the barrier idea of how girls are not supposed to be knights through the idea of dressing up as the opposite gender。 This is similar to Deborah Sampson。 There is an educational element of highlighting voc This book is a contemporary take on the traditional idea of a fairy tale。 Gibbs tells a humorous story of a pheasant's journey to becoming a knight， with some fun twists and turns。 This early chapter book is perfect for fans of Grimm's fairy tales and THE SISTERS GRIMM series。 Gibbs also breaks the barrier idea of how girls are not supposed to be knights through the idea of dressing up as the opposite gender。 This is similar to Deborah Sampson。 There is an educational element of highlighting vocabulary words; this element makes this chapter book a good recommendation for an up-and-coming reader in or out of a classroom setting。 。。。more
Colleen
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A cute fun chapter book for young readers。 The author does a great job of teaching vocabulary words without the readers realizing that they have learned something。
Lisa Yee Swope
，
I love a good Renaissance Faire。 My home faire is PARF and I now live near CRF， and among my faire-vorite things are all the oddities that you almost certainly wouldn't find in the Renaissance but which are all over the Renaissance Faire。 But there's never been a hero like Tim before。 And Tim， in whom I must mention， I can see elements of every Tim I've ever known， Tim lives in that Renaissance Faire world， where everything on the map is the whatever OF DOOM and it makes perfect sense for a peas I love a good Renaissance Faire。 My home faire is PARF and I now live near CRF， and among my faire-vorite things are all the oddities that you almost certainly wouldn't find in the Renaissance but which are all over the Renaissance Faire。 But there's never been a hero like Tim before。 And Tim， in whom I must mention， I can see elements of every Tim I've ever known， Tim lives in that Renaissance Faire world， where everything on the map is the whatever OF DOOM and it makes perfect sense for a peasant， who traditionally would be illiterate， here throws out Lemony Snicket-style SAT prep words and explanations。 This would be particularly fun as a readaloud， as long as you didn't expect the kids to quietly fall asleep after getting super revved up by the reader laughing in delight the whole way through。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Once Upon a Tim
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Once Upon a Tim&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Once Upon a Tim&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0