The Knight and the Dragon

In the Knight and the Dragon, the knight practices with a wooden dragon and the dragon practices with dummies. At first they're not good at it. The knight misses the wooden dragon and runs into a tree, and the dragon misses the dummies. But the next time the knight kills the wooden dragon and the dragon gets a hundred of the dummies. They give each other invitations and set a time for the fight... I liked this book. I'm six years old. I know you don't know why I like it, but I'll tell you. I like it because at the end the librarian gives them books to make a barbecue!

This is one of my favorite children's books. A knight and a dragon, both perfectly content on their own, realize that they are not living up to society's expectations of them and begin preparing for THE FIGHT. They're terrible at it, though, and fare much better as restauranteurs. What a great lesson, and what a great way to tell it. The book itself contains very few words, but lots of diPaola's detailed, engaging pictures, making it appropriate for a variety of ages. We've read this to our two-year old, discussing how fighting isn't very helpful. I imagine we'll be reading it to her when she's four or six, discussing how you shouldn't do things you don't like just because others say you should. An added bonus is that the princess, who is never mentioned in the text, provides the solution for "the boys", who initially appear to be the main characters in the story. It's a neat twist on a classic theme.

This funny lighthearted book encourages kids to discard traditional rivalries and consider creative opportunities for cooperation. Let your child interpret the amusing illustrations and open the door to two-way discussions of these issues.

My almost-4-year-old son loves this book. He's interested in knights and fighting, like many little boys. We laugh and laugh at the silly things that happen to the knight and dragon as they try to fight and fail. As a parent I appreciate a book that doesn't glorify fighting, but still acknowledges that children are facinated by the knights of old who fought with swords and lances, and plays with that interest. Don't look for lectures on fighting, or serious displays of sword technique. This one is just for giggles.

Despite the book is written in English,I've been using it in Central America for Spanish language young readers. My children love the book, because of its message of solidarity and friendship. We enjoy Sr. De Paola's books, but we still prefer this one. Enrique G.Dubon