The Storybook Knight

September 5, 2016
The duo behind The Snatchabook takes readers back to medieval times to meet Leo the mouse, “a gentle knight/ in thought and word and deed.” Leo would rather read than fight, and readers first see him contentedly perched on a tree branch with his nose in a book while a melee unfolds in the valley below—a scene that brings to mind another happy pacifist, Ferdinand. Sent packing to fight a local dragon (“One morning Leo’s parents said/ they’d like to have a chat./ There was nothing wrong with reading,/ but he couldn’t just do that!”), Leo encounters three belligerent beasts—a pugilistic griffin, a ravenous bridge troll, and finally the fiery red dragon—and persuades them to become peace-loving bibliophiles by showing them that they are stars in the storybooks he’s brought along. (With such a gift for handselling, Leo could easily make it work as a bookseller if the knight thing doesn’t work out.) Helen Docherty’s breezy rhyming and Thomas Docherty’s lighthearted, imaginative cartooning make this a sweet, fresh take on the typical reading-is-fun tale, while also slyly nodding to our culture of personal celebrity. Ages 4–up.

June 15, 2016
In an homage to reading that also recalls The Story of Ferdinand, the power of words is extolled in rhyme."Leo was a gentle knight / in thought and word and deed. / While other knights liked fighting, / Leo liked to sit and read." So when an ad for a dragon tamer appears in a magazine, the young mouse knight's parents insist he take up the charge. Reluctantly, he sets off and encounters in succession a griffin, a troll, and a dragon. In each case, he saves his hide and avoids fighting by reading the creature a story featuring it. The coup de grace? He lets each monster keep the book he reads to it. When he reaches home, his parents hug him and declare him a hero. Now Leo "doesn't have to fight at all. / He's left in peace--to read." The sprightly, brightly colored illustrations fill the scenes with medieval details and exaggerate the action. In addition to the anthropomorphic mice, such common English woodland creatures as hedgehogs, badgers, and rabbits populate the quaint, half-timbered village and castle, and by the end of each encounter the not-very-scary monsters are all smiling genially. The rhymes easily move the story forward. A sweet tale about the power of story, just right for nascent fans of Redwall. (Picture book. 4-8)

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October 1, 2016

PreS-Gr 2-A small knight learns to fight his foes with a good story rather than a sword. Leo is a small knight who is fond of adventures-at least the ones found in books. His parents hope that the challenge of fighting a dragon with his new shield and sword will turn him into a brave, dragon-fighting knight. Leo sets off on his quest with a supply of good books, but along the way, he meets foes looking for fights. Thankfully, Leo is quick with a story to calm the angry beasts-even a dangerous dragon likes a good tale. There are delightful spreads done in acrylic ink and watercolor that pair beautifully with the rhyming stanzas. The characters' voices are distinct and beg to be read aloud. VERDICT A recommended purchase for all collections and perfect for storytime, bedtime, or anytime.-Karen Ginman, BookOps: The New York Public Library and Brooklyn Public Library

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2017
Mouse Leo, a "gentle knight," is a bookworm. His parents, wanting him to be more traditionally knightly, encourage him to go off and tame a dragon. He sets out with the most unknightly of weapons: books. The rhymes canter along, and the plucky acrylic-ink and watercolor art subverts expectations of classic knight tales: no character herein could hurt a fly.

(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)