Everyone has a contribution to make just by being
themselves, yet at times we all feel like we should be good at something else,
something more traditional or socially acceptable. We feel that we should be
like everybody else. The Story Book
Knight (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, ISBN 9781492638148), a picture book written by Helen Docherty and illustrated by Thomas Docherty, is
an elegy to individuals who know who they are.
Leo is a knight in a world where knights are supposed to
fight, but fighting is not Leo’s style. He likes to make friends and read. His
parents, concerned that their son is not fulfilling his potential, find an ad
in their “favorite magazine” looking for a dragon tamer and immediately
voluntell Leo to embark on a quest to vanquish said dragon. Leo does, but his
method of conquest is non-traditional from the outset. Leo finds his own way to
navigate the trajectory of a knight and in the end settles into a life that
fits his personality.
Leo is a story book knight and the illustrations are straight
out of a story book. Leo lives in a castle that looks as if it was taken
straight out of the English countryside. His parents and the knights that
surround him, bear all of the trappings of medieval royalty and nobility. The
setting, with its bright green pastoral background, brings to mind a classic fairy tale.
The “monsters” Leo encounters are mythic creatures we are
all familiar with, but whom we have never seen conquered in quite this way
before. Leo is a reader, not a fighter. He defeats and befriends his enemies
with his brain, not with violence. Leo’s actions respect his own strengths
while illustrating a major theme in the story: that you don’t have to fight in
order to win.
The Story Book Knight
teaches kids to value their own personal strengths as well as the idea that
problems can sometimes be solved with intelligence and inventiveness rather
than hostility. It also promotes a love of reading by depicting books not
only as a means of unifying people, but as a great source enjoyment. My students loved this simple story about a knight in shining armor.
Teachers can use
this book to teach a number of reading skills, including sequence, author’s purpose, making predictions, and summary.
See you next Wednesday!
