Brave Young Knight

February 28, 2011
A quote from Psalm 25, "Show me your ways, O Lord," introduces the story of four knights from four villages vying for the honor of being "the bravest knight," in this companion to The Princess and the Three Knights. After tests of the knights' mental and physical skills, the winner will be crowned prince. While the knight from the "west" village, selected for his intelligence and kindness as much as his speed and strength, practices for each event and questions his ability to prevail, his father counsels him: "Follow God and he will help you run the race." Patchwork lawn, layered hills, and geometrical patterns on lattices, fabric, and woodwork decorate Grimard's medieval village scenes, showing both humble village huts and a turreted castle with streaming flags, while text appears against full-bleed full-page spreads of bright oranges, greens, and occasional white backdrops. Playful images add humor, such as the knight carrying armfuls of dogs to gain strength, but a lack of suspense mars the climactic scenes, as the knight's three competitors resort to trickery, while he alone honors the king's orders. A straightforward morality tale. Ages 4–7.

March 15, 2011
Kingsbury, a prolific author of Christian novels for adults, offers a story for younger readers about a courageous knight who competes to become prince of his homeland and heir to the throne. The competition pits four knights from different villages against one another as they face three challenges to test their speed, strength and intelligence. The dark-haired knight from the west village is introduced as a kind, hard-working young man who practices all these skills prior to the competition. His father encourages him along the way with comforting messages about God's support. During the challenges each of the other knights cheats in some way to gain an unfair advantage, so the king chooses the deserving knight from the west village as the winner of the contest. The story is wildly predictable and not particularly interesting, although the methods of cheating are inventive. The biggest drawback to the text is the lack of individual names for the knights, who are identified only by their village's direction, which leads to many repetitions of "the knight from the west village." Grimard's pleasant illustrations show a medieval world of castles, ornate costumes and flying banners. She depicts the winning knight as a serious young man who smiles only twice in the story, when he is carrying a little disabled boy who can't walk properly. Earnest, but that's probably not enough to captivate readers. (Picture book/religion. 5-8)

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