Good Night, Good Knight (Dutton Easy Reader) [Hardcover]

Shelley Moore Thomas (Author), Jennifer Plecas (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up | Series: Dutton Easy Reader

Three little dragons in a far-off cave can't sleep. Someone needs to tuck them in! Luckily a Good Knight keeps watch and hears their lonely ROAR. The Good Knight (because he is a good knight) helps by bringing glasses of water, reading stories, singing songs, and dispensing kisses in multiple trips down his tower and through the dark forest. Young readers will fall in love with the agreeable Good Knight and the dragons with their sweet but repetitive requests. The repetition--though it tires the Good Knight--will help beginning readers build confidence. With pictures by Jennifer Plecas, whose unforgettably adorable dragons will win every heart, Good Night, Good Knight is sure to become a new bedtime classic.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this magical bedtime tale set in a dense forest in a faraway kingdom, three wide-eyed little dragons are lonely--but not for long. Thomas (Somewhere Today) introduces a Good Knight who nightly keeps watch from a "crumbly tumbly tower" atop a "very tall wall." One night when he hears a loud roar, he hops on his horse and gallops ("Clippety-clop. Clippety-clop") to the roar's source at the mouth of a cave. There a little dragon clad in tartan pajamas asks for a drink of water. The chivalrous hero grants this request and on subsequent return trips (with a charming refrain) reads a story to a second dragon and sings a song to a third. Not surprisingly, the knight finds this routine a bit trying and his asides ("I don't believe this"; "This is too much") will sound familiar to youngsters and especially their parents. Many will be able to guess the wee dragons' final demand. In one of Plecas's (Rattlebone Rock) many droll images, the three dragons with their eyes shut and lips puckered lift "their scaly little cheeks" for a goodnight kiss. Copious artwork, controlled vocabulary, effective repetition, brief sentences and a chapter-book trim size make this a comfortable fit for children just beginning to read solo. A fine way to bid good night. Ages 4-7. (Jan.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2-Whether used as a beginning reader or as a read-aloud at bedtime, this sweet story will charm readers and listeners alike. When the Good Knight hears a "very large, very loud roar," he sets off on his faithful steed to determine its origin. Thus begins the first of four visits to a homey cave where three lonely, young dragons are delaying their bedtime. The creatures appear more precocious than ferocious with their teddy bears, bunny slippers, and patterned "jammies." Young children will immediately recognize the tactics the wide-eyed, pudgy serpents use as each request for a drink of water, a story, or a song prompts another visit from the Good Knight. On his fourth call, the youngsters explain that they can't fall asleep without a good-night kiss. The intrepid hero kisses "each scaly little cheek" and patiently waits for them to fall asleep. Only when he hears them snoring does he head back to the castle for his own peaceful night's rest. The short, simple, repetitive phrases are sure to capture the imaginations of young children. The knight stands guard at a "crumbly tumbly tower" and gallops through the forest, "Clippety-clop. Clippety-clop." Observant viewers will enjoy the expressions of the horse as he awaits his master upon each visit to the cave. With a palette dominated by the blues, grays, and purples of the nighttime setting, Plecas's illustrations are a wonderful complement to this endearing tale.
Maura Bresnahan, Shawsheen School, Andover, MA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile; 1st edition (February 21, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525463267
• ISBN-13: 978-0525463269
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #779,371 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Night, Good Knight, Good Book, April 14, 2000

By 

Peggy Jo Skill (Puyallup, Washington) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Good Night, Good Knight (Dutton Easy Reader) (Hardcover)

Delightful beginning reader that is also a delight as a bedtime, good night book. It centers around the efforts of a knight to help three little dragons get to sleep with the usual glasses of water, bedtime stories and a lullaby. Repetition in words, actions and illustrations both facilitate its function as an early reader and as a sleep inducer. Vocabulary like, crumbly tumbly tower, clippety-clop make it fun and the juxtaposition of the very loud roars the knight hears and the little dragons with their jammies on and their inocent requests are delicious. The story may remind readers of "The Wolf's Chicken Stew."

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, May 3, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Good Night, Good Knight (Penguin Young Readers, L2) (Paperback)

We've been reading this book just about every night for 6 months now. My kids(aged 3 and 5)are busily galloping around on their stick horses while shouting "away!"; climbing crumbly-tumbly towers, and hiding in deep, dark caves. Get ready--for three months I had to build deep dark caves for my little dragons to sleep in.

And there's a sequel--"Get Well, Good Knight"! My kids love that one, too!

I like the books, as well. Any parent can sympathize with the Good Knight's situation. All in all, this is a good read for the pre-k/k set.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh what a knight, December 20, 2004

By 

E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird" (Manhattan, NY) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Good Night, Good Knight (Penguin Young Readers, L2) (Paperback)

Ah, sweet metaphor. Do children get metaphors? Studies show.... actually I haven't a clue what studies show. I haven't a clue if kids, little kids who are just beginning to read on their own, understand metaphors. Some do, I suspect. Others, not so much. Now, the book "Good Night, Good Knight", is a pretty obvious metaphor. And little children reading it will probably understand what the dragons in it represent and what the knight himself represents. Even if they don't, it's a smashing good tale. Sweet without descending into saccharine. Cute without being cutesy. It has just the right amounts of adorableness and neediness within its pages. Parents will be able to read it again and again without gagging. Kids will be able to read it with pure unadulterated pleasure.

Once there were three little dragons who didn't live all that far away from a good knight. One night the knight hears a roar. He hops on his horse to investigate and meets a small dragon in a cave. The dragon is not particularly surprised to see the knight (words along the lines of "Oh good. You have come" are bandied about) and asks for a drink of water before it goes to bed. The knight is wary but acquiesces and the little dragon is tucked into bed. No sooner than the knight goes home does he hear another roar. This comes from a second dragon who wants a story plus the first dragon who wants another drink of water. By the time the knight is called to take care of a third little dragon the reader sees where all this is going. The story is an excellent tale of an increasingly weary knight as he attempts to cajole and tuck in three mildly demanding little dragons for beddy-bye. At the end, the dragons are asleep (finally!) and the knight finally gets to fall into his own bed for the night.

I think what saves this book is the fact that though the dragons are somewhat demanding, they are quite polite. A story about three spoiled tantrum-throwing dragons who refuse to go to bed would have been, how do you say, not so nice to read. These dragons speak in full sentences and request only those things that small children would request. Stories, kisses on their scaly cheeks, stories, and songs. An added pleasure comes in the form of Jennifer Plecas' illustrations. Rendered in somewhat cartoony watercolors, the little dragons all have nightgowns, pjs, and various toys and stuffed animals. The knight, for his part, often looks surprised but never outright displeased. Like every patient parent he gets a little weary with the continual requests (his facial expression when all three roar for him together is one that every parent will recognize and sympathize with) but rarely upset.

There is nothing frightening in this book. There is nothing mildly disturbing. There is just a sweet bedtime story about a knight and his sudden dragony charges. This is a good bedtime book, if only because it's one of the few whose plot isn't based on children refusing to go to bed. This time it's children perfectly willing to go to bed but with some stipulations beforehand. If you'd like a book that will amuse you and please your children all at once, "Good Night, Good Knight" does indeed fit the bill. Sweet without insulting anyone's intelligence.