The Knight Who Took All Day by James Mayhew is a bright colored, silly picture book that would have been a perfect addition to our summer reading program on dragons. There once was a knight who wanted to impress the princess, but she didn’t pay much attention to him. So he headed out to find a dragon. He couldn’t find any sign of a dragon anywhere, but children will be able to spot the dragons hiding all over. Finally, a dragon appears at the castle. The knight is thrilled! This is his opportunity to show the princess how brave he is. So he sends his squire to get armor, but it has to be his shining armor, then he needs a plume for his helmet, and much more to make him even more dashing. Meanwhile, readers will notice that the princess is quietly getting herself ready and heading out to meet the dragon. At the end, the princess proves that she did not need the knight’s help after all and flies off on the dragon with the knight’s squire.
The bright-colored pictures are done in a cartoon style that minimizes the scariness of the dragon’s attack. Plus, the twist at the end is wonderful. The amount of text on each page is inviting to small children and the book doesn’t hesitate to offer wonderful long words for kids to add to their vocabulary, like marvelous and tangled and trusty. This is a great addition to a storytime or unit on knights and dragons. Great fun.

A Good Night Walk by Elisha Cooper is a wonderful new picture book. As the reader you get to walk down the block, watching all of the houses, yards and people. Then you return back to the beginning, seeing that as evening falls things in each home are changing. With faceless people on a street, Cooper has created a neighborhood that could be anywhere. Filled with animals, activity and people of many colors, the street is welcoming and invites the reader to explore.
This one is perfect for smaller storytimes and lap reading, because some of the details may be lost with larger groups. The pictures will inspire discussion about neighborhoods and could lead to a project of map drawing of the children’s own block. I enjoyed that the walk is described with other senses beyond just sight, so the reader is invited to imagine smelling and hearing things. This would also make the book a good addition to a unit on the senses, and talking about what they would hear and smell at their home.