The Knight and the Dragon (Paperstar Book)

by Tomie DePaola

Paperback, 1998

Status

Available

Call number

741.642

Genres

Children's Books

Collection

Your library

Publication

Puffin Books (1998), Edition: Illustrated, 32 pages

Description

A knight who has never fought a dragon and an equally inexperienced dragon prepare to meet each other in battle.

User reviews

LibraryThing member kljoh

When a knight who has never fought a dragon and a dragon who has never fought a knight decide it is time to battle, they both turn to books to help them prepare. While the knight makes his armor and weapons, the dragon practices face making and tail swishing. On the day of the fight, however,

nothing goes as planned. It is up to the librarian to save the day with a friendly and surprising alternative to fighting. Tomie dePaola’s book is told almost completely through pictures, with just enough words to hold it together. The illustrations are simple, yet detailed enough to tell the story. Both children and parents will be amused by the preparations of the knight and the dragon, and the ending will surprise everyone. Children eight and under will enjoy The Knight and the Dragon, especially if they have enjoyed dePaola’s other books. This book is highly recommended for elementary school libraries and the children’s section of public libraries.

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LibraryThing member mcivalleri

This story had several deeper meanings beyond a story about a knight fighting a dragon. The fact that they both found that it was better to get along with each other and use their strengths toward a common purpose of good, is important. And maybe it's because I'm a librarian, but it seems to me

that the librarian is the heroine of the story, since it is she who gives them the books on barbeque at just the right time.

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LibraryThing member michelleknudsen

This was fun, but I felt like the climax was missing. The knight and dragon prepare and prepare and prepare, then finally show up to fight, but they are too evenly matched (or just both too unskilled) and keep missing each other. Then a passing princess hands them books on BBQ and in the next

spread they are running their joint BBQ restaurant. It felt like there should have been one more beat before the resolution.

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LibraryThing member arewald

Tomie dePaola was one of my favorite authors as a child. This book doesn't disappoint. A knight and a dragon study up on how to fight one another in this book that is more illustration than text. A good book to get children thinking about story progression and what we can learn to do when we read

books.

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LibraryThing member dcrider

the dragon and the knight read books about how to fight one another....in the end they decide its better to work together than against one another.

LibraryThing member conuly

This is a semi-classic book about a knight and a dragon who decide to fight each other for no real reason other than, I don't know, because that's how it's always been done.

They're not very good at it, but in a very modern twist they find a way to work together to their mutual benefit. They're not

even fighting off a bigger baddy!

There are largely wordless sections in the middle, which would be a great place for your kid to pick up the story and tell it to you.

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LibraryThing member justkaye

Tomie dePaola does it again with his dragon and knight book. This story is set in medieval times so there are castles, knights, and dragons. This particular knight has never fought a dragon before and must prove to the people that he is brave. The story shows people of the community as it was

during those times. Children can get an understand of what it looked like based in the illustrations in the book. This book is great for children in nursery school through third grade. This story would be great in a classroom to:
-talk to the children about medieval times
-talk about bravery
-compare and contrast two different worlds
-examine the artwork
-make up their own story based on the pictures alone

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LibraryThing member Thach

Characters:
Knight
Dragon

Setting: Fantasy lands of dragons

Theme: One must work with the enemy to conquer.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Summary: The quest of the knight going into battle with a dragon eventually turns into a twist. The knight goes into business with the dragon and they establish a good

friendship. The story continues as the knight and the dragon solve problems together and leave their differences behind.

Audience: young readers

Curriculum ties: History, learning about differences, and teamwork,

Personal response: While growing up, I liked reading stories about dragons and I also like reading stories about knights. This book really does a super job at combining both of those ideas together without making it look cheesy. The art is visually engaging and really describe how these two do the things they do to cooperate. I also enjoyed the humor. Put both of these genres in ways where they crack jokes, really make people lighten on the idea that knights kill dragons and it ends there. In addition, the writing was simple to read children would love it.

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LibraryThing member dukefan86

Another clever story by dePaola! I like how the dragon and the knight end up working together in the end. Cute illustrations too.

LibraryThing member fgcre

His books are always in print and easy to find. Also in paper back and affordable.
In this tale we meet a knight and dragon who are trying to find themselves. They first try to research what common belief can tell them is about who they should be. They try, and fail miserably to be foes on the

battle field! Just in the nick of time, the mobile library drives past and the librarian gives them each a book that helps them to open a barbeque restaurant together. They are very happy.

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LibraryThing member drhode3

This kind of book is perfect for children that are very young. The book is one of few words and other very simple aspects of storytelling like easily understood ‘beginning, middle and ending’, conflict detection, character development. They are important aspects of reading and are necessary to

become literate. The story also has a total of ten lines throughout the entirety of the book and yet it is clear to understand what happened throughout it. This is the kind of story that allows the students to make up what is happening when nothing is being said. This allows students to decipher the story by describing what they are doing on the wordless pages or what they think they would say aiding in developing story understanding and creativity.

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LibraryThing member mollybeaver

Both the knight and the dragon had never encountered the other before. The knight practiced slaying a dragon and the dragon practiced blowing fire on a knight. When the day comes to fight the other, the two are awful fighters, they just end up hurting themselves. Instead they open up a BBQ business

together.

Cute story of friendship.
2nd-3rd grade reading level

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LibraryThing member ccampeaux

A knight and a dragon go to fight one another but come to realize that neither one of them have done it before so they don't know how to fight. Both of them have to go study up on how to fight and what to use. A librarian comes in and shows them how to do well. A major theme in this book is

friendship. The setting does play a small part only because there wouldn't be and knights fighting dragons in today's world.

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LibraryThing member jmistret

The Knight and the Dragon features two characters who know little about fighting, do not really like fighting, yet are determined to fight each other. In the end they realize that being allies is far more superior.

LibraryThing member hfetty1

I thought this book was a better modern fantasy than an historical fiction, but very cute! For a young audience I believe it is a great way to introduce this point in time in history. The illustrations absolutely enhance the story and almost fully tell the story at some points. For example, on

nearly every page after the second half of the book, there wasn't much written text throughout the text, but it worked. The language was brief, which was beneficial. The illustrations also enhanced the story. On the pages that it said, "The dragon practiced swishing it's tail" and the visual of the dragon doing this, I thought was adorable. The characters act and speak in appropriate ways for the time period, at many points. Although there are a some points where this story could be categorized as "modern fantasy", it depicts a historical setting and allows readers to understand different perspectives/ attitudes during the time. Nonetheless, I believe the writing was engaging and appropriate for the targeted age in seeing different perspectives of the story during this time period. The big idea or message that I believe the story is trying to get across is that, sometimes fighting isn't the answer. Even though somebody may tell you that is what you should be doing, sometimes that isn't necessarily whats right for you!

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LibraryThing member Cheryl_in_CC_NV

Oh gosh. I can't believe I've never read this before - my sons and I loved this author. In this I especially loved the bookmobile librarian.

LibraryThing member jessotto

I thought this was such a pleasant read with the ending showing a great message to young students. The illustrations are fun and engaging to capture a young audience while the underlying message is about friendship and cooperation. It shows that underlying message in getting along with others and

building friendships- a great read

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LibraryThing member Breton07

This book, about a knight and dragon who go into battle, explains in a fanciful way how to find a resolution after a disagreement.

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