Sleepless Knight

February 2, 2015
The creators of the Adventures in Cartooning books look to a younger audience with this first title in a picture-book series. Their romp stars the exuberantly self-centered knight and her long-suffering horse, Edward, and it’s bursting with exclamation points, silly jokes, and slapstick humor. The knight is planning a camping trip, as knights do, and she loads up her trusty steed with the essentials: her rock collection, her scooter, and her teddy bear, packing everything into a massive gray sack on Edward’s back. Despite his heavy load, she’s the one who collapses with fatigue within sight of the castle walls. “That’s it for today, Edward, I can’t go any farther. Let’s make camp here!” she exclaims, taking out the marshmallows. “I only brought 30 bags. I hope that’s enough.” After she discovers that her teddy is missing, sleep is out of the question for everyone until he’s found. The story bubbles with an inexhaustible energy, never snarky or overreaching, while the endpapers and their directions for drawing the story’s characters invite readers to create episodes of their own. Ages 3–5.

February 1, 2015
How is a Knight supposed to fall asleep without his beloved teddy bear? The Knight decides to take his trusty steed, Edward, on an overnight camping trip. The nutty Knight loads Edward with everything but the kitchen sink (but does make sure to include a ukulele, a scooter and a box of rocks). Finally, the pair sets up camp-complete with a cozy-looking pink tent-and after feasting on delicious marshmallows, calls it a night. But while Edward promptly falls asleep, the Knight cannot! Upon discovering that his favorite teddy is missing, the Knight determines to find him. Seeking help from a rabbit, the Knight is led to a bear-but not the soft, cuddly one he was expecting! Eventually, all are reunited, and a forest frolic follows. This simply drawn charmer features illustrations with smooth, rounded edges, cleanly boxed into a clearly delineated panel structure. The small cast (just four characters) and economy of words make for an engaging and easy flow for beginning readers. Those interested in taking the experience one step further can follow the endpaper instructions for drawing the four main characters and making up their own stories about the Knight and his friends. This Knight may be sleepless, but he certainly does shine. (Graphic early reader. 4-7)

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March 1, 2015

Gr 1-3-"This will be the BEST camping trip EVER!" declares the Knight, setting off for a night of adventure along with trusty horse Edward. After pitching the tent and feasting on marshmallows, the Knight crawls into a cozy sleeping bag only to discover that his teddy bear is missing. Deep in a marshmallow-induced coma, Edward cannot help search for the favorite stuffed animal. The Knight accidentally awakens a grumpy rabbit, who points to the location of a teddy bear-only this bear turns out to be real. Running back to camp, the Knight eventually finds the right Teddy and falls asleep, leaving the horse, rabbit, and bear wide awake. This simple graphic novel with three to four frames per page is colorful and hilarious. The Knight, an androgynous character wearing a face-covering helmet, has emotions superbly expressed through body language and text formatting. The endpapers add to the fun by providing instructions for drawing all four characters in a variety of poses. VERDICT This funny tale is sure to be popular with young readers and cartoonists.-Gaye Hinchliff, King County Library System, WA

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2015
Preschool-G The Knight is ready for her camping trip! She has loaded up her trusty horse, Edward, with her teddy bear and several dozen other overnight essentials, and after a long day of journeying, they reach her castle's backyard. They eat their marshmallows and set up their tent . . . but where's Teddy? The Knight can't sleep without him, and soon her caterwauling catches the attention of a nearby rabbit who offers to help find the bear. It turns out he has seen someone just like him: round, brown, and furry with a black nose at the end of his snout, and he is sleeping nearby in a cave (!). Laid out with large, colorful, easy-to-follow panels; doodlelike figures engaged in all kinds of appealing slapstick situations; and big, bold speech bubbles, this is a solid introduction to graphic novels for a young audience. The endpapers also include step-by-step instructions for drawing the Knight, Edward, and several other characters, an inclusion that is sure to please budding artists.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

March 1, 2015
In this first Adventures in Cartooning Jr. title, a brave (if scatterbrained) knight and his trusty horse, Edward, ready themselves for an overnight camping trip. The small, portly horse teeters under the weight of everything the knight has packed ("Rock collection: CHECK! Scooter: CHECK! Edward's ukulele: CHECK!"). After building a fire and eating too many marshmallows -- "I only brought 30 bags. I hope that's enough!" -- the knight misplaces his teddy, leading to an unfortunate case of mistaken identity in which he stumbles into a real bear's lair; sight gags and silliness abound. The knight has a pretty remarkable range of emotion for someone wearing a helmet, and the eggplant-shaped Edward is a great straight man (or horse). The bear is fierce but not too scary (he even takes part in the suitably goofy campfire sing-along on the last spread). Happily, the knight eventually finds his teddy -- it was under Edward the whole time -- and settles into slumber. Endpapers offer amusing how-to drawing tutorials, such as the knight playing a tuba and Edward's "sweet dance moves." sam bloom

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)