The Storybook Knight by Helen Docherty

All he wants to do is read.  Yes, he's supposed to be a knight but he's not knightly.  He'd rather read!

Sourcebooks Jabberwocky and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published October 1st.

This is one of the cutest picture books I've read for some time.  I suppose the real reason I'm so taken with it is that I am avid reader.  This could have been my story but I don't think I would have been that brave!

The young knight is sent out on a quest assigned by his parents.  A local village is being besieged by a dragon and they need a knight to kill it.  He has no idea how to fight a dragon and he takes a supply of books with him so he won't run out of reading material.  But his parents want him to go so he does.

First he runs into a griffin. The griffin is going to eat him but he asks it knows it's featured in a mythology book?  It doesn't, so he gets out his book and reads him the chapter about griffins.  A few more readings and he's on his way again, leaving the book behind.

When he stops for lunch, he gets caught by the troll under the bridge.  He shares another book with him (Three Billy Goats Gruff) but he alters the ending.  Again, a few more reads and another book left behind and he's free to go.

Then he finds the village and the dragon.  The dragon is lot bigger and a lot meaner.  Can he charm him, too?

The illustrations are outstanding and the story is sweet.  I loved this fairy tale!