The Storybook Knight

by Helen Docherty

[Berls]

Loved this one and so did my class. We read it along with a lesson on characters - identifying them only - and after they had to draw me a picture of characters from the story. I wish I could share the pictures I got of dragons, trolls, and mice in armor!

What I really liked about this book, though, is that it has two really positive messages. One - that violence is not the answer. This little mouse solved all these typical fairy tale scenarios that usually are solved with violence with a story to the "bad guy." Yeah, reading a story won't usually work, but your parents also aren't likely to send you off to slay a dragon as a kid mouse. It's the message, not the practicality. Two - that it's okay to be who you are. This little mouse didn't want to be a knight, he wanted to read. And he did just that and everyone still ended up loving him and seeing him as a hero.