Knights and Dragons Galore

Knight Owl
Written & Illustrated by Christopher Denise
Age Level: 4-7 Years
Published March 15, 2022

I always root for the underdog.

Owl dreams of becoming a knight, but he is an unlikely candidate to say the least. One day, a series of dragon sightings coincides with the disappearance of several knights from the castle walls, and more brave souls are needed to join the ranks. Owl applies, and to everyone’s surprise, he is accepted. It turns out, many of the things that make Owl different from the human knights are actually what make him special, and ultimately successful. (Turns out, Owls are perfect for the Knight Night Watch shift.)

“ ‘You don’t look like a knight,’ said the dragon.
‘You look like a midnight snack.’ ”

The storyline is clever, entertaining, and well executed, but for me it’s the details embedded in the illustrations that are the gifts that keep on giving. The picture of Owl at Knight School includes a stack of books with titles like “Chivalry Counts” and “Intro to Jousting,” and shows a fellow student puzzling over a textbook that reads “Chapter 5: How to build knight stuff.” Owl’s eyes are drawn comically wide in every scene, making him appear endearingly earnest, guileless, and vulnerable. Hardly the character you’d envision for a fierce dragon’s formidable opponent, and yet...