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Augie and the Green Knight
Augie and the Green Knight is an adventure story about a scientifically precocious young girl in a world of fantasy.
Augie and the Green Knight is a retelling of a famous medieval romance. The original story is about King Arthur's court encountering a strange giant Green Knight and the quest that follows. In this book, we get to hear the Green Knight's side of the story through the lens of a young nerdy girl named Augie.
Augie is an expert in biology, math, and a bunch of other subjects that adults find boring. She goes off one morning for adventure, only to find herself in a strange world of fantasy. There, she has to use all of her intelligence to save a brave knight from death.
Augie and the Green Knight is a retelling of a famous medieval romance. The original story is about King Arthur's court encountering a strange giant Green Knight and the quest that follows. In this book, we get to hear the Green Knight's side of the story through the lens of a young nerdy girl named Augie.
Augie is an expert in biology, math, and a bunch of other subjects that adults find boring. She goes off one morning for adventure, only to find herself in a strange world of fantasy. There, she has to use all of her intelligence to save a brave knight from death.
219 pages, Hardcover
First published December 2, 2014
19 people are currently reading
300 people want to read
About the author
Zach Weinersmith
27 books342 followersZachary Weinersmith (born Zachary Alexander Weiner) is an American cartoonist, who is best known for his webcomic Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal (SMBC). He is the author of two other webcomics, the completed Captain Stupendous with artist Chris Jones, and Snowflakes, co-written by James Ashby and also illustrated by Chris Jones. He also founded the sketch comedy group SMBC Theater with James Ashby and Marty Weiner in 2009.
Weinersmith has been involved in writing and drawing comics since his high school years, but he first published on the internet in the late 1990s. His early comics usually had three or more panels, but after 2002, he switched to drawing predominantly one panel comics. He stated in a 2009 interview that he was glad to have decided to draw one panel comics because he felt three panel webcomics had become a webcomic cliche by that time, and that there were almost no decent one panel comics on the internet. More recently, he has drawn a mixture of single and multi panel comics for SMBC.
Weinersmith's webcomic was recognized in 2006, and 2007 with the Web Cartoonists' Choice Award for Outstanding Single Panel Comic,[3] and received nominations in 2003,[4] and 2008.[5]
SMBC is at heart a geek comic, which nevertheless addresses a broad range of topics, such as love, relationships, economics, politics, religion, science, and philosophy. As shown by the diverse range of blogs listed above, it appeals to many different groups.
SMBC has around 250,000 daily readers, served over 300,000,000 comics in 2010, and is one of the fastest growing comics online (has sextupled in readership since 2008). The comics have been featured on many important blogs, including The Economist, Glamour, BoingBoing, Bad Astronomy, Blastr, Blues News, Joystiq, Washington Post, Freakonomics, and more.
Zach has a degree in Literature and 3/8ths of a degree in physics. He enjoys reading about math, logic, science, history, fiction, and philosophy. His hobbies are space travel, dinosaur riding, and wishful thinking. He currently lives in southern California with his beautiful and brilliant wife.
Note: Zach publishes SMBC and SMBC material under both "Zach Weiner" and "Zach Weinersmith".
Weinersmith has been involved in writing and drawing comics since his high school years, but he first published on the internet in the late 1990s. His early comics usually had three or more panels, but after 2002, he switched to drawing predominantly one panel comics. He stated in a 2009 interview that he was glad to have decided to draw one panel comics because he felt three panel webcomics had become a webcomic cliche by that time, and that there were almost no decent one panel comics on the internet. More recently, he has drawn a mixture of single and multi panel comics for SMBC.
Weinersmith's webcomic was recognized in 2006, and 2007 with the Web Cartoonists' Choice Award for Outstanding Single Panel Comic,[3] and received nominations in 2003,[4] and 2008.[5]
SMBC is at heart a geek comic, which nevertheless addresses a broad range of topics, such as love, relationships, economics, politics, religion, science, and philosophy. As shown by the diverse range of blogs listed above, it appeals to many different groups.
SMBC has around 250,000 daily readers, served over 300,000,000 comics in 2010, and is one of the fastest growing comics online (has sextupled in readership since 2008). The comics have been featured on many important blogs, including The Economist, Glamour, BoingBoing, Bad Astronomy, Blastr, Blues News, Joystiq, Washington Post, Freakonomics, and more.
Zach has a degree in Literature and 3/8ths of a degree in physics. He enjoys reading about math, logic, science, history, fiction, and philosophy. His hobbies are space travel, dinosaur riding, and wishful thinking. He currently lives in southern California with his beautiful and brilliant wife.
Note: Zach publishes SMBC and SMBC material under both "Zach Weiner" and "Zach Weinersmith".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
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August 13, 2024I just loved, was enthralled by, admired, and still remember the author's Bea Wolf. This one I'm not too sure of. It's got a little bit of a Phantom Tollbooth vibe, what with all the mildly snarky and sarcastic satire & word-play. And original world-building, a girl hero who is brave, smart, and kind, and plenty of heart. So I should love it, or at least imagine that young me would have loved it.
(I've been informed of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and a quick Google search points to lots of similarities between the two stories. Iow, this is a lot like Bea Wolf in that it honors the inspiration. And, then, the world-building is not original.)
But I just don't know. It seems, maybe, like a bit of a mess.... Did it need more editing, to pull it all together, and to help the author focus more on some things and less on others? Did it need more depth, or at least pages, so we'd have time to get to know the characters better? I still recommend the book if it's at your library and you're interested, but don't have the high expectations that I did.
(Maybe editing or whatever wouldn't have helped. To be faithful to the original, it has to honor whatever mess may have been in that.)
One thing that bothered me is the mix between fact and fiction. Paul Laurence Dunbar is a real, important, poet, and the lines quoted are his, from *Lyrics of a Lowly Life.* And it turns out that an amphisbaena is sort of real, too. But what else?
Surely not "The Hobbit: Edition for Amphibians, Lizards, and Snakes (from the dragon's point of view) (but I'd read it if this author wrote it). "One trick to trap them all, and in the darkness eat 'em!"
I do like the footnotes, especially "The brain may be versatile and the heart may be sensitive, but the stomach is where most decisions are made."
Beyond the story, I need to check something: "This is not a copyright page. This is a Creative Commons page."
(I've been informed of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and a quick Google search points to lots of similarities between the two stories. Iow, this is a lot like Bea Wolf in that it honors the inspiration. And, then, the world-building is not original.)
But I just don't know. It seems, maybe, like a bit of a mess.... Did it need more editing, to pull it all together, and to help the author focus more on some things and less on others? Did it need more depth, or at least pages, so we'd have time to get to know the characters better? I still recommend the book if it's at your library and you're interested, but don't have the high expectations that I did.
(Maybe editing or whatever wouldn't have helped. To be faithful to the original, it has to honor whatever mess may have been in that.)
One thing that bothered me is the mix between fact and fiction. Paul Laurence Dunbar is a real, important, poet, and the lines quoted are his, from *Lyrics of a Lowly Life.* And it turns out that an amphisbaena is sort of real, too. But what else?
Surely not "The Hobbit: Edition for Amphibians, Lizards, and Snakes (from the dragon's point of view) (but I'd read it if this author wrote it). "One trick to trap them all, and in the darkness eat 'em!"
I do like the footnotes, especially "The brain may be versatile and the heart may be sensitive, but the stomach is where most decisions are made."
Beyond the story, I need to check something: "This is not a copyright page. This is a Creative Commons page."
August 8, 2015
My daughter loved it and there's enough humor for an adult to enjoy it.
February 27, 2017
Disclaimer: I was a kickstarter backer on this book
I Kickstarted this book because I liked Weiner's work on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal and because the description sounded appealing to me - create a book that would appeal to a young, nerdy female. I've two daughters and the one who can talk (the other is only 15 months old) appears to be genuinely curious about the world around her and might relate to Augie in this book.
I think I would have reached peak enjoyment of this book around middle school age. I think it has a good plot for a kid's book and I like the logic, math, and ethical problems it asks the reader to consider. However, it has a certain level of absurdity that I've outgrown - I can appreciate it from a distance, but it doesn't tickle me as it once did. And that's OK, our tastes change as we grow older - I can still appreciate Dr. Suess, but a lot of it was also way more appealing to me when I was in elementary school.
Depending on your child's reading level and understanding of concepts like fractions and logic, I'd recommend somewhere around 7 years old and up as a good age to share this with a budding nerd in your life. Augie's a good role model and while the number of female protagonists continues to grow, it's nice to have one for girls (and guys) to read.
I Kickstarted this book because I liked Weiner's work on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal and because the description sounded appealing to me - create a book that would appeal to a young, nerdy female. I've two daughters and the one who can talk (the other is only 15 months old) appears to be genuinely curious about the world around her and might relate to Augie in this book.
I think I would have reached peak enjoyment of this book around middle school age. I think it has a good plot for a kid's book and I like the logic, math, and ethical problems it asks the reader to consider. However, it has a certain level of absurdity that I've outgrown - I can appreciate it from a distance, but it doesn't tickle me as it once did. And that's OK, our tastes change as we grow older - I can still appreciate Dr. Suess, but a lot of it was also way more appealing to me when I was in elementary school.
Depending on your child's reading level and understanding of concepts like fractions and logic, I'd recommend somewhere around 7 years old and up as a good age to share this with a budding nerd in your life. Augie's a good role model and while the number of female protagonists continues to grow, it's nice to have one for girls (and guys) to read.
January 30, 2021
Disclaimer: I kickstarted this.
I read this with my 6 year old and 4 year old. They loved it, especially some of the more absurd parts. That said, reading it also led to some great conversations on ethics, how we treat each other (and why beheading is bad), even how to use math and logic (mostly with my older child) to solve the mother-child problem.
The most interesting part to me is that was something in this book for each of two kids at different ages, as well as some jokes that made me laugh, too. It's not easy to make a book appeal to such a broad age range.
I read this with my 6 year old and 4 year old. They loved it, especially some of the more absurd parts. That said, reading it also led to some great conversations on ethics, how we treat each other (and why beheading is bad), even how to use math and logic (mostly with my older child) to solve the mother-child problem.
The most interesting part to me is that was something in this book for each of two kids at different ages, as well as some jokes that made me laugh, too. It's not easy to make a book appeal to such a broad age range.
February 20, 2022
Such a fun and interesting children's book that is also very enjoyable for the adult reader. Zach Weinersmith's humor is wry and delightful. If you are a fan of SMBC comics you'll love it. It's the perfect book to read aloud to your young kids on a snowy winter's day when the laws of humanity may make no claim upon you.
February 5, 2015
This is a book I kickstarted by the author of Saturday Morning Breakfast cereal. It's really cute, and I liked how Augie learned about ethics through unorthodox quests. But the writing felt a little unpolished--the pacing wasn't quite right. I guess I shouldn't have expected a masterpiece from someone who hasn't written children's chapter books before. I like it, but I don't love it.
December 7, 2015
Sometimes it felt a little all ocer the place, but given that I've had to fight with the 9yo over our copy to finish reading it, it's definitely working for the target audience. The 9yo will be happy that Mum wont be taking over the bookmarking any more.
July 20, 2017
FANTASTIC. I WISH I READ THIS WHEN I WAS A KID. GET THIS BOOK.
August 20, 2021
While I’m slowly getting into the deep and thorough lore of the Arthurian legend, one story that seems to be popular in the cultural zeitgeist is the one about the Green Knight. I haven’t seen the recent The Green Knight (2021) movie adaptation yet, but I’m definitely aware of its overarching story due to the middle-grade book Augie and the Green Knight. It’s clear from some of the review snippets I’ve seen for the movie that the logic of the tale doesn’t hold up to today’s standards, an issue that Augie and the Green Knight thoroughly explores.
This book follows Augie, a precocious girl who is definitely smarter than her years—even at the cost of the credulity of the story. When she finds herself transported into the mythical world of the Green Knight, she is unfazed by the peculiar world. The plot unfolds as it always does in this story, except that Augie tries to use logic to help save Sir Gawain. The progression of the “rules” that Augie puts in place to create a civilized society gets some pushback from the Green Knight, who has a logic all his own, often to comedic effect.
As a middle-grade book, Augie and the Green Knight is a fairly easy read. However, it still contains a few extremely complicated logic puzzles that even adults might have trouble comprehending. The illustrations contained in this book are top-notch and definitely capture the essence of these characters. Still, the common failings of this genre are present in this book, including bathroom humor and a few too many self-aware winks at the parents who are likely reading this to their children. Overall, though, Augie and the Green Knight is a cute take on an inherently violent legend.
An attempt to fix the logic of the Green Knight legend, I give Augie and the Green Knight 3.5 stars out of 5.
1/2
February 14, 2018
I backed Augie and the Green Knight by Zach Weinersmith on Kickstarter. It looked like an interesting project and I like SMBC, and I’m obviously rolling in extra money, so why not?
It took a while to get created, but it was worth the wait. It’s a great final product, good paper, good cover, gold leaf edges, green cloth bookmark, and amazing art by Goulet.
I liked it quite a bit, but it didn’t quite feel finished to me. I feel like it could’ve used another few rounds of revisions and a little better structuring. It definitely felt like a fifth or sixth draft when nine would’ve made it perfect.
That being said, it was still very good. Cutesy science references that would’ve been annoying had they not been in character for Augie. A neat fairy tale. Overall I would recommend this to friends. And I have!
It took a while to get created, but it was worth the wait. It’s a great final product, good paper, good cover, gold leaf edges, green cloth bookmark, and amazing art by Goulet.
I liked it quite a bit, but it didn’t quite feel finished to me. I feel like it could’ve used another few rounds of revisions and a little better structuring. It definitely felt like a fifth or sixth draft when nine would’ve made it perfect.
That being said, it was still very good. Cutesy science references that would’ve been annoying had they not been in character for Augie. A neat fairy tale. Overall I would recommend this to friends. And I have!
April 24, 2019
I was tempted to give this 5 stars, but agree with others that it could have used another round of edits. If I had a child, especially a daughter, I would love to read them this story about the adventures of a plucky girl in a strange land. It has jokes for people of all ages, especially nerds and geeks. (It seems like that distinction matters to some people, so I'll play it safe and include both.) It reminded me of The Phantom Tollbooth because it explores a fantastical world in a clever way that incorporates (mostly) subtle lessons about how to be a better human. I loved all of the little splashes of absurdity, like the description of greenfish as "like goldfish, but purple". I'm glad that I backed this Kickstarter campaign and look forward to reading it to a kiddo in the future.
October 1, 2020
Who’s the smartest of them all?
A fun novel nicely illustrated, that loosely retells the Sir Gawain and the Green Knight story with a YA point of view. Set in a witty, stingy style, the narrative drags the reader from cover to cover, following a charming pre-adolescent protagonist. On the downside, the author tries too hard being witty and, as a consequence, quite a few jokes fall flat ruining part of the reading pleasure. Maybe, with a more humble approach, the same ideas could have been better harnessed in a much more homogeneous book. That said, all in all a simple relaxing read: thumbs up!
A fun novel nicely illustrated, that loosely retells the Sir Gawain and the Green Knight story with a YA point of view. Set in a witty, stingy style, the narrative drags the reader from cover to cover, following a charming pre-adolescent protagonist. On the downside, the author tries too hard being witty and, as a consequence, quite a few jokes fall flat ruining part of the reading pleasure. Maybe, with a more humble approach, the same ideas could have been better harnessed in a much more homogeneous book. That said, all in all a simple relaxing read: thumbs up!
April 24, 2019
Around the middle and until the climax, I felt a lot less interested in the story. It seemed too lacking in depth, especially since I was reading The Secret Garden at the same time. It was like reading Sunday comics one after another, and I’m not always in the mood for goofy, superficial stuff.
I don’t blame this writer in particular for not blending good prose and emotional depth into this comedic fantasy, because I have the exact same feeling with famous comedic story writers like Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams. If a book isn’t literally laugh-out-loud funny regularly, I need it to do something other than crack jokes.
Outside of that, I think the story is amusing and clever (despite sometimes trying too hard to be clever), and a lot of fun. It even managed to work some of that lacking depth in at the end. I agree with the quote on the back: I wish I could give this to my childhood self. Right when I was super into Wayside School. (Or in high school, after we read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.)
I don’t blame this writer in particular for not blending good prose and emotional depth into this comedic fantasy, because I have the exact same feeling with famous comedic story writers like Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams. If a book isn’t literally laugh-out-loud funny regularly, I need it to do something other than crack jokes.
Outside of that, I think the story is amusing and clever (despite sometimes trying too hard to be clever), and a lot of fun. It even managed to work some of that lacking depth in at the end. I agree with the quote on the back: I wish I could give this to my childhood self. Right when I was super into Wayside School. (Or in high school, after we read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.)
November 1, 2019
It was very inconvenient of the author to not say upfront that he was a man because if he had I wouldn't have bothered to read this. The illustrations are absolutely fantastic but the author was so full of his own cleverness he couldn't be bothered to do any character development whatsoever and the whole thing felt like a dream you couldn't get out of until you'd solved ten logic puzzles in a row.
June 25, 2021
3.5 “It is sometimes your duty to understand that what makes another person happy is not what makes you happy…”
“This is a terrible idea…. I’ll help.”
This is such a cute story! I love how ethics are interwoven into the story and the quests. Newt was most definitely my favorite character and the art was awesome.
I found that the over inclusion of science terms bogged down the reading and made it hard to follow at times.
“This is a terrible idea…. I’ll help.”
This is such a cute story! I love how ethics are interwoven into the story and the quests. Newt was most definitely my favorite character and the art was awesome.
I found that the over inclusion of science terms bogged down the reading and made it hard to follow at times.
October 23, 2017
Disclaimer: I was a kickstarter backer for this book.
This is a quite amusing quick read for an adult, but I don't actually think it would work very well as a child's book. The jokes and big-picture themes are actually fairly sophisticated reading, so a very young child would not understand them, but the plotting is targeted at a fairly young child, so a young adult might be put off by it.
This is a quite amusing quick read for an adult, but I don't actually think it would work very well as a child's book. The jokes and big-picture themes are actually fairly sophisticated reading, so a very young child would not understand them, but the plotting is targeted at a fairly young child, so a young adult might be put off by it.
November 7, 2017
To be clear: this is a children's book.
Featuring a smart young (and slightly rebellious) girl, axe-wielding giants, mathematical solutions to philosophical issues, Baba Yaga and a lot of humour.
While I didn't guffaw, my children did.
I did chuckle, though. Nothing wrong with a genuine chuckle.
Featuring a smart young (and slightly rebellious) girl, axe-wielding giants, mathematical solutions to philosophical issues, Baba Yaga and a lot of humour.
While I didn't guffaw, my children did.
I did chuckle, though. Nothing wrong with a genuine chuckle.
November 18, 2019
My kids LOVED this book. It seemed a little wordy at first. I wanted to stop reading it half a dozen times, but by the middle i was hooked and I love how engaged my kids got. my daughter picked the book up and brought it home with her, she begged me to read it every night. My son, who is 6 also fell in love with the book.
September 23, 2020
This book was so much fun to read! It really reminded me of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, but a bit more geeky. It has quite the vocabulary, as well, with a few I wanted to grab the dictionary for!
I read it with my 7 year old and for the most part she was able to understand the concepts. As soon as we finished she asked for more books by this author! A glowing endorsement!
I read it with my 7 year old and for the most part she was able to understand the concepts. As soon as we finished she asked for more books by this author! A glowing endorsement!
January 30, 2020
This is a sweet story I read to my daughters. They thought it was interesting and funny. It had fantasy, magic, happiness, and adventure. Nothing like a little girl finding friends in unlikely places.
January 25, 2018
Wow. Where was this when I was 10?
April 5, 2020
Humourously educational
June 12, 2021
Fantastic!
September 14, 2021
Imaginative, beautiful, funny, smart, and thoroughly enjoyable.
May 5, 2024
It’s so amazing how this book is so crazy and has loads of adventure in it! Goodbye! -C, age 5
April 29, 2025
Very funny retelling of Gawain and the Green Knight. If you enjoy a smart, humorous fantasy, this is a good one to try. The artwork is fun and unique. Highly recommend.
December 13, 2025
Delightfully silly and light-hearted. See their book Bea Wolfe
Good illustrations too.
Good illustrations too.
December 20, 2020
Intelligent and engaging story, beautifully written, funny and poetic in the right measure.
October 12, 2020
I have bought copies of this for multiple friends. It is, as the other reviews say, fun for girls with some geeky humor for adults.
The thing is though that the humor for adults is REALLY geeky. I'm not sure that a general audience would get most of the geeky humor (especially the math proof at the end -- which is both overly silly and a 100% correct use of mathematics).
If you're a fan of Weinersmith's webcomic, or XKCD, or you can quote from the Hacker Humor Jargonfile, or are otherwise deeply steeped in geek culture, you'll love this. I had to stop reading three or four times just to howl with laughter.
As an aside, the humor is also improved a bit if you're at least passingly familiar with the traditional tale "Gawaine and The Green Knight", of which this is a retelling.
The thing is though that the humor for adults is REALLY geeky. I'm not sure that a general audience would get most of the geeky humor (especially the math proof at the end -- which is both overly silly and a 100% correct use of mathematics).
If you're a fan of Weinersmith's webcomic, or XKCD, or you can quote from the Hacker Humor Jargonfile, or are otherwise deeply steeped in geek culture, you'll love this. I had to stop reading three or four times just to howl with laughter.
As an aside, the humor is also improved a bit if you're at least passingly familiar with the traditional tale "Gawaine and The Green Knight", of which this is a retelling.
December 3, 2014
A wonderful kid's tale, retelling _Gawain and the Green Knight_ from the role of a young, talented, inquisitive nine-year-old girl who is swept away by the Green Knight. She becomes the giant's advisor to take on the daunting task of convincing the giant that he simply can't go about beheading people willy-nilly.
I was a little off-put by the focus on Augie's _intelligence_ in the first few chapters. (I'm thinking of recent research--and my own personal experience--that indicates extolling kids' innate *intelligence* can be harmful, compared to encouraging their work ethic). If I were reading it to my daughter, I think I'd replace a few instances of "intelligence" with "desire to learn" or something similarly appropriate.
I was also a little unimpressed with the n-mothers Solomon solution, but it is passable. It's inclusion is certainly nice, anyway.
As humor often does, not every joke is for everyone. A few fell a little flat for me, but I don't hold that against it too hard: it was plenty entertaining.
I was particularly fond of her interactions and experience with the sea-gnomes (although at first I objected to some of the premises there that seemed so contradictory to what I had just learned in _Life and Death of Great American Cities_!). But I'll let that slide, too, because that is probably my favorite scene in the whole book. I could feel Augie's anguish and despair. It was incredibly human.
I can't wait to get the physical copy, and add it to my daughters' reading selection.
I was a little off-put by the focus on Augie's _intelligence_ in the first few chapters. (I'm thinking of recent research--and my own personal experience--that indicates extolling kids' innate *intelligence* can be harmful, compared to encouraging their work ethic). If I were reading it to my daughter, I think I'd replace a few instances of "intelligence" with "desire to learn" or something similarly appropriate.
I was also a little unimpressed with the n-mothers Solomon solution, but it is passable. It's inclusion is certainly nice, anyway.
As humor often does, not every joke is for everyone. A few fell a little flat for me, but I don't hold that against it too hard: it was plenty entertaining.
I was particularly fond of her interactions and experience with the sea-gnomes (although at first I objected to some of the premises there that seemed so contradictory to what I had just learned in _Life and Death of Great American Cities_!). But I'll let that slide, too, because that is probably my favorite scene in the whole book. I could feel Augie's anguish and despair. It was incredibly human.
I can't wait to get the physical copy, and add it to my daughters' reading selection.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews