Good Night, Knight

Starred review from March 1, 2015
Knight and Horse follow their dreams- literally.Horse and Knight are exhausted when readers meet them, collapsing upon returning to their castle. But when Knight has a dream of golden cookies, he (or she-readers never see Knight with visor up) wakes the sleepy steed, and they go questing for the treasure. They look everywhere-hollow trees, the bushes, and a pond-only to find the cookies at home in a jar on the kitchen table. The loony plot and the spirited pen-and-ink-and-watercolor illustrations elevate this book above most for emerging readers. Knight's metal suit, astonishingly, betrays emotions and energy level, whether tired, curious, or energized. (Even the armored feet look tired.) Watching Knight sleep with tush in the air will certainly elicit giggles from the youngest readers. Horse, too, is metal-clad, but its armor does not cover its skeptical eyes, allowing readers to laugh along while the near-asleep rider falls out of the saddle. Clear, readable typeface and familiar sight words are the order of the day. Repeated words (especially "good," "night," "horse," "knight," and "sleep") punctuate the humorous story, making it easy to decode. When Horse has a dream of its own at the end, smiling readers will have no choice but to wonder where the pair are off to now. Clear text, amusing illustrations, and a captivating easy-to-read story make this a winner for horse-loving emerging readers. (Early reader. 4-6)

March 1, 2015

PreS-Gr 1-When Knight awakens from visions of golden cookies, he and his best friend, Horse, set out on a quest to locate the treasure. The two search their kingdom for the treats, but come up empty-handed. Returning to their castle, the exhausted Knight realizes that his cookies were on a table the whole time, and the two later set out for a new adventure. Like the rest of the books in the series, the large format serves as a perfect transition from picture books to easy readers. Lewin's artwork is sketch heavy and minimal with lots of negative space, which will help emerging readers focus. Her word choices include the difficult "KN" and "CL" phonic sounds, and there's a great repetition of words and concepts that will help reinforce what's learned. VERDICT An appealing addition to the series and to any library collection.-Peter Blenski, Greenfield Public Library, WI

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2015
Preschool-G Lewin's latest entry in the I Like to Read series (You Can Do It!, 2013) stars a sleepy knight whose dream instructs him to go and find the golden cookies. In folkloric fashion, Knight ( Clank! Clank! ) and Horse ( Clip-clop! ) set off, searching unsuccessfully in a tree, some bushes, and water before giving up and going home. There Knight has a eureka moment, realizing that there is a jar of cookies waiting for him in the kitchen. Lewin's marker-and-watercolor artwork depicts the main story elements, leaving plenty of white space in the background. Much of the art's humor derives from Horse's facial expressions and Knight's body posturereaders never see his face, as he wears full armor day and night. The simple, often repeating text is well placed on the page, allowing beginning readers to easily predict unfamiliar words from the context and the art. This should be popular with fans of Shelley Moore Thomas' Good Knight series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)