Kristin Guay, former Librarian at Youth Services Book Reviews, has picked up this exciting ARC of Lou Treleaven’s upcoming picture book, The Knight Who Might, illustrated by Kyle Beckett;
When I was reading this story I kept thinking it would be such a great book to read for a library storytime–both because it has a positive message and it has some funny repetitive phrases that young children will enjoy repeating. In this story, a knight is trying his best to become the best knight ever. First, he tries to ride a horse but then falls off. Next he tries to put on his helmet and use his sword, but neither of those attempts are successful. Each time he fails, he says the same thing “One day, I might be a knight” and each time he says this someone (or something, in this case talking horse, helmet, and sword) says “You might not”. This knight is not one to be discouraged, so he decides to enter a sword fighting tournament to prove his worthiness. He does not have the support of his horse, sword or helmet–they are magical and they can talk and perform various actions. Once the knight is at the tournament, his fighting items realize they made a mistake and run off to help him and to encourage him. Unfortunately, he does not win the tournament, but he does win a prize for bravery (no one else would fight “The Lord With The Scary Looking Sword”). This makes the knight feel very good, however, it does not seem to improve his knight skills and he continues fumbling-with humorous results.
I think what I really enjoyed about this book is the positive message for young children about trying something and working through something, even if it is a challenge. Children will love seeing his silly mistakes and joining in the reading with some of the repetitive phrases. The artwork provided by Kyle Beckett is colorful and humorous with expressive faces on the horse and inanimate objects. There are a lot of comedic moments captured in the illustrations such as the knight falling into mud puddles, getting startled by a scarecrow, riding a horse backwards, and the objects (sword and helmet) hiding from the knight.
To whom would you recommend this book? This book is perfect for children between the ages of four and seven years old. It is a great message wrapped in a humorous package and is a perfect book for children who love a silly story.
Who should buy this book? Public and elementary school libraries, preschools, anyone who works with children between the ages of four and seven years old.
Thank you!
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