#43 in Children’s books
The Bronze Bow
- 255
- Pages
- about 4.5 h
- Reading time
- Newbery Medal
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Our view
“The Bronze Bow” is a thoughtful, stirring coming-of-age novel about hatred and what it costs. Elizabeth George Speare follows Daniel, a young man in Roman-occupied Israel who burns to drive out the legions. Faith runs through the story, and some readers who return to it as adults find new things in it. Awarded the Newbery Medal in 1962, it suits young readers ready for a serious story.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The Bronze Bow is a historical fiction book by Elizabeth George Speare that won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1962.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.5 across 59 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 29% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Children’s books average of 7.9. That is how 8.1 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 9.5 | 19 | 32% |
| Hardcover | 8.1 | 40 | 68% |
Frequently asked
What age is The Bronze Bow for?
The Bronze Bow sits on the Children shelf in the sources we use, which by convention means roughly ages 5–10. This is a guide from the book’s category, not a publisher’s age rating. It has 255 pages — longer than 64% of the ranked books in Children’s books.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Children’s books — with scores between 7.5 and 8.2, closest to this book.
