Helen Docherty is an internationally published author of many rhyming picture books, including the highly acclaimed Someone Just Like You, illustrated by David Roberts. Helen's books have been translated into 27 languages and staged as plays and musicals for children, in the UK, Germany and Canada. She often collaborates with her husband, the illustrator and author Thomas Docherty, and together they have produced many award-winning picture books, including The Snatchabook, The Storybook Knight ( The Knight Who Wouldn't Fight), Superwolf, Pirate Nell's Tale to Tell, The Screen Thief and Blue Baboon Finds Her Tune. She has also collaborated with many other illustrators, most recently Daniela Sosa, Steven Lenton and Brizida Magro. Helen worked for many years as a language teacher in Mexico City and the UK before becoming an author. She also has an MA in Film and Television Production (Bristol University), which helped to develop her skills in crafting narrative. You can learn more about Helen, her books and story-writing workshops by visiting her website.
I absolutely LOVE this book for children. First of all, the message. The message! The moral of the story here is this: you do not need to fight to get what you want accomplished, you can use your brain. And that, my friends, is what this world needs a little (or a lot) more of. If we can teach our children this, our future would be bright.
Leo, the main character, is a pacifist bookworm (love him) whose parents want him to be a knight. All he wants to do is read (I get it, Leo. Here too).
The story is told in rhyme, which I always love as I feel it engages the children more in the story. My four year old was captivated. The illustrations are bright and beautiful.
I highly, highly recommend this book for children. 5 stars!
A giant thank you to Liz at Sourcebooks for sending a beautiful hardcover copy of this book my way to review. I am so pleased to be apart of this book tour.
"Leo was a gentle knight in thought and word and deed.While other knights liked fighting, Leo liked to sit and read". Here is the beginning of this beautiful picture book about Leo, who couldn't understand why knights must fight.
One day his parents send him to tame a scary dragon, armed with a shield and a sword. Leo loads lots of books too. In his way he crosses paths with a Griffin and a Troll, and both surrender to the storybooks smartly chosen by Leo, that have them as main characters. Leo finally finds the Dragon, and it is fierce and enormous! It's true that Leo needs to read the dragons' storybook six times, but the Dragon not only quits fighting, he also helps to clean up all the mess he left in the town.
Such a cute story! The text in verse is totally enjoyable and the illustrations are absolutely lovely. Leo is the kind of character you fall in love with in the first page. What could be better than switch weapons for books? Surely a 5 stars!
I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Helen ja Thomas Dochertyn "Ritari joka ei tahtonut taistella" (Mäkelä, 2016) on runomuotoon kirjoitettu kuvakirja Riku-ritarista, joka joutuu lohikäärmejahtiin. Haarniskoitua hiirtämme kiinnostaisi enemmän lukeminen kuin taisteleminen, ja niinpä hän pakkaakin mukaansa ison nipun kirjoja. Niistä onkin heti alkajaiseksi melkoisesti hyötyä, kun matkallaan hän joutuu kohtaamaan mm. aarnikotkan ja sillan alla asustelevan peikon...
Dochertyjen edellinen kirja Pikkuinen kirjavoro oli todella hurmaava kuvakirja lukemisen ihanuudesta, eikä tämä jää kyllä yhtään siitä jälkeen. Silkkaa parhautta!
The Storybook Knight was written by Helen Docherty and illustrated by Thomas Docherty. It shares the story of a young gentle knight named Leo who is kind to creatures and prefers reading to any other activity.
Don't you just love him already? Leo if you haven't guessed is a mouse. His parents want him to be adventurous and become famous. They give him a shield and sword before pushing him out the door to slay a Dragon. Leo is reluctant but packs a lunch and of course a stackful of books.
The story that unfolds shares his journey as he meets a Griffin and a Troll before finally confronting the Dragon. Each page is colorfully illustrated and the story is told in verse. As Leo encounters each beast he is forced to use his quick wits to keep them from eating him and soon he befriends them.
I adored the message this book gives young readers. It also let's them know there is nothing wrong with having your nose in a book. Leo's experience with his parents is something all book lovers have faced at one time or another. The Storybook Knight reminds us it is ok to be you, to do things different and above all to love reading.
It should come as a surprise to no one that I love books about reluctant dragons and the knights who don't want to slay them. KENNY AND THE DRAGON is a longtime favorite of mine, for instance. Another favorite thing of mine is books about booklovers.
And this charming new picture book checks both those boxes! Our knight is a tiny adorable mouse who solves his problems by giving his opponents great books to read. And when he's tasked with slaying a dragon . . . will his usual technique work?
Of course it will, and it's precious. The pictures are darling, the story is charming, and there is the perfect amount of words on each page to make this a perfect read aloud!
The artwork was adorable and had lots of details to look at. The horse's personality came out, without it even saying a word!
For the scatalogically obsessed, there was dragon poo, dealt with in an appropriate way.
I absolutely LOVE Leo! He's a mouse hero after my own, book-loving heart.
The story was cute and SOOOO book loving it warmed my heart and that last picture spread was BEAUTIFUL and made me want to step inside and join in the reading with them.
Completely adorable book. Perfect for your little bookworm in training! 5 big, shiny stars! Highly recommended! :)
Kuvakirja sieltä parhaasta päästä! <3 Mahtava tarina, tosi kiva kuvitus ja riimit soljuvat Terhi Leskisen kääntäminä hienosti myös suomeksi.
"Riku on ritari erilainen, vaikka haarniskan ylleen hän pukee. Ei taistella tahdo hän muiden tavoin, vaan mieluiten kirjoja lukee."
Kun mukana menossa on Masa-hevosella ratsastava lukutoukkahiiri, hurja lohikäärme ja läjäpäin lohikäärmeen kakkaa, niin mitäpä sitä muuta voisi kirjalta enää toivoa? Sekä eskarilainen että minä tykästyimme opukseen siinä määrin, että täytynee tutustua myös muuhun Docherty & Docherty -parivaljakon tuotantoon.
A small mouse knight takes on storybook monsters and mythological creatures by giving them a book to change their lives. However, a dragon making a mess of the village may prove his greatest foe. Could the dragon change his ways?
Beautiful whimsical and interactive illustrations create a unique environment and world for one courageous mouse;
Oh man. If you are unfamiliar with the Docherty duo, get yourself acquainted now! They have to be one of the most adorable and extremely talented (and amazing) team ever. Ever! I have been completely enchanted with everything they produce since I stumbled across The Snatchabook on Netgalley a few years ago.
When I saw they had a new book coming out, I got excited. I was a bit worried it would not live up to my expectations since I absolutely LOVED The Snatchabook, but The Storybook Knight did not disappoint. I loved that my 8 year-old son climbed up into my lap to read this one with me. (He knows how excited I was to read this.) As usual, the illustrations were AMAZING. Absolutely stunning and the perfect compliment to a charming story. I am always in awe of the talent these two have. I had a digital copy to review, and yet, the images were still vibrant and eye catching. We loved looking at all the little details included on the pages.
Little Leo is a reader, and I love him for that. It was great to see how he tackled a problem in his own unique way. I'm all for a character (person) staying true to themselves despite the challenges they face. What a great message for little minds!
I highly recommend this one. In fact, I think you'll want to add it to your personal collection. I know I do!
We know the pen is mightier than the sword, but for the mouse knight in this story it is the book that is mightier. Leo wants to read. His parents want him to get rid of the dragon that is hurting the land.
So Leo sets forth with his books in tow, and reads to all the creatures that try to stop him along the way, including the dragon.
I think this is the first picture book I have ever seen that features dragon poop, which Leo helps the dragon clean up.
A sweet little picture book with bright drawings, and a good moral, that fighting isn't always the answer.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review
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.
What a charming story with engaging illustrations! This story is written in a gentle rhyme that flows very well throughout the book.
I read this book to my sons this evening and it was a big hit. In this adventure, we meet interesting characters along the way and see how Leo interacts with each one. Armed with his new sword and shield, as well as many books, he bravely encounters fearsome foes. I thoroughly enjoyed this delightful children's story and I look forward to reading more books by this author and illustrator.
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Jabberwocky for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was an extremely cute story. I really wish I had a young child so I could immediately go read it to them. Because there is no question that I would buy a copy of this for my family library. The artwork was super lovely. There were plenty of expressive details thrown in that made me smile and laugh.
Luna vind dit een super leuk boek. We hebben samen echt gelachen. Vooral bij '6 keer' keek Luna echt verbaasd en het was echt leuk om haar snoetjes te zien bij dat detail. "6 keer?!" vroeg ze. Ik had iets totaal anders verwacht (ik had de achterflap niet gelezen) en was totaal verrast. Heel leuk en grappig geschreven. Ik heb er dus zelf ook van genoten :).
Such a cute story about a mouse that wants to read and not fight. If we could solve all of our problems the way this mouse does, the world would be a beautiful place.
Rytíř, který přemůže celý svět pomocí knih, spolupráce, laskavosti a odvahy. Jak geniální, jak prosté. A jak nádherně ilustrované. Kombinace pár řádků příběhu s krásnou velkou ilustrací na každé stránce dělá s knížky ideální čtení pro děti širokého věkového rozmezí (+- 2-8 let).
Oh how I loved reading this book to my kids! I now know what book (of many, of course) I will get them for Christmas! The rhyming, the illustrations and the storyline were all perfect.
It might be because I am a huge bookworm myself, but it could also be because the artwork is gorgeous and that I really enjoyed the story itself too.
The Storybook Knight is about a little mouse knight. However, is he isn't what you normally think of when you think of a knight. He is not much of a fighter, he is more of a reader (much to his parents dismay). So one day, his parents find an ad looking for a knight to tame a dragon and they send their son off!
However, he doesn't fight like a knight normally would. He never even lifts his sword (except to point out that he has one). Instead, he takes out a book about whatever creature it is that he encounters on his journey and reads it to them! This settles down the creatures and allows him to continue on.
Not a conventional method for a knight by any means, but it is very effective.
I really like how this book doesn't condone that you need to fight to be brave and to solve your problems. That you can use a book (and your smarts) and find a solution. Also, I like that it shows that books bring people (or creatures!) together!
And the artwork...it is gorgeous! So beautifully done. It is bright without being over whelming and it is a lot of fun to look at. It has a watercolor and ink quality to it and is just gorgeous. It really adds to the story.
Needless to say, I am a huge fan of The Storybook Knight!
This review is based on a copy provided by the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
When you’re a knight and your name bestows you with the courage and bravery of a lion…what is a mouse to do?
Everyone meet Leo!! The knight who does not fight with a sword and somehow still wins battles.
Leo is only small but has a very powerful weapon, words! And this lovely tale follows him on his mission of peace.
Helen and Thomas Docherty form a formidable pair while delivering a message through a rhyming story and wonderfully colourful illustrations of magical creatures familiar to us from other tales.
Any child reading about Leo in this adventure, will understand that words and stories can solve issues better than swords can, and in this tale lies their introduction to diplomacy at an early age.
The adult in me however cannot help but look a little deeper and see Leo as an unlikely political envoy somehow finding common grounds with big and mighty antagonists who could not be more different from him but also from each other. This only emphasises one truth that we only all know too well:” We have far more in common than which divides us.”
This is a beautiful picture book that I am happy to recommend to both adult and young.
Thanking team @scholasticuk for providing me with a copy of this title.
Leo’s quest (the ones his parents send him on) is an adventure of all the things I love in stories. From the beginning when we see him buried nose-deep in books to the end when he ‘slays’ the terrifying dragon by being exactly who he is.
I loved –
* the story * the message * the wonderful artwork (seriously if it wasn’t for being an absolute sacrilege I could love to take the dragon illustrations and stick them up but there is no way I can destroy books, especially not lovely ones!) * all the little details within the illustrations (yes that gets a separate mention) * the characters, not just Leo (he’s adorable) but all the ones he meets on his quest * the cleaning (this makes sense when you read the book) * & how the story ends
The Knight Who Wouldn’t Fight just wonderful through and through. So if you have a younger audience to read to they will love it. If you don’t, well who cares – I’m pretty sure you’ll like it too.
If you like The Story of Ferdinand, you'll enjoy this tale about a book-loving mouse and his many conquests. Adorable illustrations!
Ages: 4 - 8
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Stories, knights and adventures while reading... What more could a reader ask for?! Not much from my point of view. I absolutely loved The Storybook Knight and have read it multiple times! Not only does this book contain fantastic illustrations and a rhythmic flow to the story line, but it contains an important message for the reader (or listener) to take away... This book helps the reader (or listener) learn that it is okay to be yourself, to love books and do what you think is right. This book reiterates that different perspectives are key and books can save lives. I definitely plan to read this during story times, more than I already have, as the kiddos become captivated by the story and don't want it to end.
This is one of the most adorable picture books I have yet read! (And that is the reason why I review it on here, what I usually do not do for picture books....)
The story is very cute, funny and transports the moral of the story without seeming to focus on it. The pictures are adorable and the rhymes make it very easy to access for children. Just look at that gorgeous cover! It also doesn't just show that you don't need to use violence,, but can use your brain - it also shows a love for books, which can never be installed into children to soon. :)