Boogie Knights

I was thrilled to see Boogie Knights as an Editor's Pick for 2008. My son is 2 1/2, and this is his favorite book - read each and every night. He loves the complexity of the language, the way the sounds fit together. He loves the knights, with their silly names ("Sir Round" "Sir Render") and he loves filling in the details of the unworded sub-story involving the Boy Prince (and his bear!) and the ethereal Girl Prince (his phrase) who slips out of a painting to show the Boy Prince that the party is fun, not scary. Is she a ghost? An imaginary friend? A "real" Girl Prince - it changes with his every retelling. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. The illustrations are spot-on for toddlers - Werewolves, Vampires, assorted Monster-types all drawn with a quick, sure line and nary a fright to be found. The text provides great opportunities to talk about language play with your child. The puns ("Sir Round" is the name of a knight, but I can also surround the house with snow - and see how the knight is round?), the way the sounds of the words fit together ("Werewolves Hussle, Zombies bustle" "Serpents samba, Mummies mamba") is a great introduction to phonetics, and the word choices have led to my son learning new words and incorporating them into his daily vocabulary. All in all, a worthy Editor's choice.

Deep down in the collective soul of The Three Silly Chicks there are three disco divas just waiting for the right song. When we saw Boogie Knights on the shelves by one of our favorite author-illustrator teams, we busted into The Hustle right smack dab in the middle of our local indie. And oh, how this book boogies! It grooves, it moves, it shimmies and shakes! It is all you want from a Lisa Wheeler/Mark Siegel book and then some! We love the perfect rhythm and rhyme, which we've come to expect from all of Lisa Wheeler's books. We also love the names of the Boogie Knights who sleep upstairs in the castle--Sir Veillance, Sir Prize, Sir Loin, Sir Round, Sir Cumference, Sir Ender and Sir Vivor (who is the last one to join the party). It's clear Wheeler has had a lot of fun with her word play, and we, the readers, have fun right along with her. Mark Siegel has added his own clever touches. He mixes things up stylistically by including both simple line drawings and full color drawings. The result is spunky and fresh with plenty of details to study up close. Observant readers will enjoy following the small, nervous prince and the off-the-wall ghost princess who haunt the pages. So don your puca shells, platforms, puzzle rings and peasant skirts and boogie down with Boogie Knights! It's Dyno-mite!

I received this book and read it to my 3 years old little boy on the very first Knight (sorry, I couldn't resist). He absolutely loved it and was more interested in counting the knights on each page than he was in the actual story. He loved the illustrations on each and every page. Keep in mind that this review is written in Sept. and although Halloween is far off it seems to be the only thing he has on his mind as of late. This book definately fed his desire for the "spooky" even if from the perspective of the 3 years old. I've always been fascinated with the subject of "What's lurking in the dark?" myself so it comes as no suprise that my offspring would follow in my footsteps. This book is great for children under 5 years of age. I wouldn't recommend going any older than that. You as parents know your children better than I do developmentally so the choice lies with you.

This is a beautiful hardcover book with wonderful illustrations and a fun story. I enjoyed reading it and I will share this with my nieces now that I know it's 'ok'. This book is like many of the stories that my nieces have. It's fun, interesting, and it has great pictures. It's a story about knights coming out to dance at the yearly Madcap Monster Ball. Slightly spooky, it's perfect for a cozy evening read in the cool weather with my nieces and some hot chocolate.

Fun and clever tail that mixes fun drawings, fun text, and fun typesetting to create an experience that goes beyond most kid's books. I like the drawing style and the B story that goes on in the background of the main action. Keep an eye on the little prince and the girl from the painting.