Customer Reviews
Classic business partners 
2008-05-13
I am so sick of this book! My twin boys have been fascinated with this story for two years now. We are swimming in books here at home, but month after month this one continues to find its way to the evening "cuddle up with a book" time. The lack of words has encouraged a lot of sound effects, and there is just enough animosity between the knight and dragon to make it a little bit scary. Despite the failure at destroying each other, the two ultimately become business partners. The example is sufficiently classic to fill a whole chapter of the well-known marketing book, How to Drive Your Competition Crazy. Make sure to look at some other DePaola titles, too -- my kids love them all.
Great Dragon and Knight tale for young children - not violent! 
2007-11-08
Every young boy (with European ancestors) should learn something about dragons and knights, but most of the old stories dealing with this subject matter are horribly violent and inconsistent with the pacifist values you may wish to impart to your child/ren. This charming book manages to overcome such concerns. The ending is slightly silly, but the illustrations are great. The story is quite good; the dragon and the knight have a strong presence and trade in the "glory" of battle for a a very pleasant bbq. Great for 2-6 year olds.
A Language-Rich Picture Book 2007-06-13
As a teacher, I love Tomie De Paola's books because there is so much hidden in the text. This book is a wonderful book for younger children to build language. The written text is fairly straightforward and great for pre-readers ( 3 to 4 year olds) because they will learn/memorise it quickly enough. But the beauty is in the visual text - there is so much for the young child to tell you about, and develop the narrative themselves using the pictures. It allows the child to predict, tell events and develop the dialogue between the knight and the dragon themselves. And aside from that, it is a gorgeous and sweet tale of friendship.
Highly recommended.
Reading a Book 75 Times in a Week 2007-02-14
We got this book out of the library, and my 18 month old daughter cannot get enough. We read it to her three times a day, two or three times in a row. So I've read a lot of "The Knight and the Dragon" recently.
I like it.
Like "Pancakes for Breakfast," this is a book about trying to do something that you read about in a book and being alternately proud and frustrated by the task. It breaks down the problem of fighting dragons into steps (as well as the problem of fighting knights) and shows the heroes practicing, practicing, practicing. When setbacks happen, our heroes overcome either through persistence or creativity.
The simple pictures give my daughter the most pleasure, I think, but she enjoys the story, too. She especially likes it when the knight and dragon both fall down. And she likes to point out the librarian character.
Implication by Pictures 2007-01-14
The interesting thing about this book is that its plot is resolved by a drawing instead of words. In fact, towards the end, the book seems to do away with words altogether and shows everything that happens with pictures only. Hardcore writers may not approve of this method. A princess appears out of nowhere to give both the dragon and the knight helpful books, and that's how the story ends.
I liked the colored-pencil-esque drawings, especially of the dragon making evil faces in the mirror. Gave me a laugh or two.
Great Picture Book 2006-11-28
What happens when a sheepish knight and a not-so-fierce dragon fight for the very first time? Well, it's no ordinary battle since the knight has to go to the castle library to learn about dragon-fighting and the dragon must dig through his ancestor's things to find out how to fight a knight! Spontaneity of line and feeling are backed by zesty colors and a jovial, tongue-in-cheek tone to which children can relateA top springtime choice. --
Booklist There's a swirl of good-humored life to the book. --
The New York Times Book Review
The highlight: The dragon 
2006-06-16
My 2-year-old nephew is really into dragons right now, and this is one of the only books I could find that has a dragon as the main character. This is a picture book, with very few words. And I thought the ending was very strange.
The Knight and the Dragon 2006-03-14
This enchanting story about preparing to do something new offers an opportunity for parents and children to discuss the pictures, how a child might get ready for a new experience, and how to interpret the feelings expressed by a variety of faces. After a few sessions through the book, the child can manage to tell the story without being able to read any of the occasional words. For those who like to see that girls can be involved in challenges, too, the maiden from the castle who seems to be merely observing the action, has a hand in the very happy ending.
Angel Juriel 2006-02-25
This is an excellent book.
My grandson is 7 but due to circumstances is not reading yet. He loves anything to do with knights and this is a wonderful book for him.
The pictures are delightful.
As an adult I loved the humor of the pictures.
I liked the Knight and the Dragon 2004-11-04
In the Knight and the Dragon, the knight practices with a wooden dragon and the dragon practices with dummies. At first they're not good at it. The knight misses the wooden dragon and runs into a tree, and the dragon misses the dummies. But the next time the knight kills the wooden dragon and the dragon gets a hundred of the dummies. They give each other invitations and set a time for the fight...
I liked this book. I'm six years old. I know you don't know why I like it, but I'll tell you. I like it because at the end the librarian gives them books to make a barbecue!
