Tuesday Storytime: Knights and Dragons

Yay!  I finally have enough good knights and dragons books to do a storytime!

The Bravest Knight
Mercer Mayer
ISBN: 9780803732063
Mayer's signature art style populates a young boy's vivid imagination of knights and battles.

If we're going for straight favorites, There's an Alligator Under My Bed is my absolute favorite.  However, for the knights and dragons angle, The Bravest Knight is so cute.  We start with a trash can lid-toting boy, as he elucidates the many reasons he would love to live "a thousand years ago" (exaggeration starts early) when there were knights and castles and dragons and trolls.  Until of course his imagination (and the fearsome troll) gets to be a leeeetle bit too much for him, and he's quite happy to be back in the safety of the present day.

King Jack and the Dragon
Peter Bently, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury
ISBN: 9780803736986
New Arrival, reviewed here.

Short and sweet, and full of imaginative play and cooperation and all the knights and dragons and beasts any kid could wish for.  Perfect for storytime.

Me and My Dragon
David Biedrzycki
ISBN: 9781580892780
Technically no knights, but a sweet story about the logistics of pet dragons.

I've used this one before in pet-oriented storytimes, and it's so cute.  We walk through a boy's fond imaginings of how life would be with a pet dragon, from adoption and vet visits to obedience school and seasonal activities (kite flying probably not a hit, melting snow from neighbors' sidewalks super easy).  The dragon is bright red and expressive, with big eyes and a floppy rounded body, while everything else is drawn in a realistic style.  I also have to say that I'm really happy to see that our narrator is an indeterminate brownish color instead of being white.  A small touch, and never even mentioned, but it's gratifying to see.