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.