Don Quixote and Me

Book excerpt: As a 12-year old boy, Sandy Preston loves reading books about the great knights of the Middle Ages. One day in the public library, a kindly librarian shows him a book about the famous knight, Don Quixote, written by Miguel Cervantes more than 400 years ago. While reading this book, Sandy is sent through a time warp to 17th century Spain, where he meets the very same Don Quixote who is in the book. Sandy gets to accompany Quixote on a series of adventures. Quixote explains to Sandy that it is the duty of a true knight errant to hold to his own beliefs and values, no matter what other people think or say. As they go through many of the adventures originally described by Cervantes, Sandy begins to see Quixote’s nobility. Sandy adopts the principles of knight errantry as his own. Quixote shares with his friends the story of how “Sir Sandy” has now come to represent a new generation of knight errantry. Thus ennobled, Sandy finds the time warp has re-opened, allowing him to get home just before his Mom returns from work. Over dinner, Sandy explains to his Mom what it is about knights that is so important to believe in. It’s about setting a moral standard to live by, even if others can’t see its value. Sandy’s Mom offers Sandy the opportunity to demonstrate this new standard through his schoolwork, and through helping those in need.