Cadnum, Michael. Forbidden forest; the story of Little John and Robin Hood.

Scholastic, Orchard. 224p. c2002. 0-439-31774-6. $17.95. JS

Cadnum returns to Sherwood Forest in this exciting, violent sequel to his tale about Robin Hood, In a Dark Wood (a National Book Award finalist). Here the focus is on Little John, an exceptionally tall, strong youth who flees to the forest when he inadvertently kills a man who threatened his master. At first an outlaw named Red Roger takes him in, but the man's coldness repels John, and eventually he leaves him for Robin Hood's merry band. Red Roger is out for revenge, however, and makes frequent forays into the forest trying to track Little John down. The nasty deputy to the Sheriff of Nottingham is a constant threat, too, especially when a young woman named Margaret flees Nottingham to hide in the forest after her bridegroom is killed and she is falsely accused of the murder. John hatches a clever but dangerous plan to do away with both his adversaries and save himself and Margaret.

Full of carefully researched details of life in medieval times, from clothing to food to customs, this dark tale also abounds with thrilling fight scenes and gory deaths. John, a loyal second-in-command to Robin, may lack his leader's cheerful dash and daring, but he proves himself just as brave and capable, and readers will cheer him on in this stirring story that imaginatively elaborates on the legend of the forest outlaws.