Do Knights Take Naps? [Hardcover]

Kathy Tucker (Author), Nick Sharratt (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up

Rhyming text explores what it means to be a knight, what he wears, and what he does for fun.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2-Unusual questions such as "Do knights have TV?" and "Do knights eat candy?" along with the more conventional "What does a knight wear?" and "How do you get to be a knight?" are answered in short verse in this peculiar hodgepodge of fact and fiction. The text is in the present tense, and there's nothing to indicate that these knights no longer exist. Pseudo-medieval language-"Come forth, thou nasty bloke" and "Catch me if thou dare"-contrasts jarringly with such modern phrases as "creepy men," "-a guy who tells stories for fun," and "He fixes the owie." Sharratt's bright, cartoonlike illustrations are the strongest part of the book. They depict the action well and include inventive, humorous details, such as mileage signs to the bad prince's castle and the fiery dragon's cave. This lighthearted tale is not for youngsters who want real information on medieval times, and there isn't much of a story.
Ginny Gustin, Sonoma County Library System, Santa Rosa, CA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Knights get up before breakfast and look for fiery dragons and bad princes to fight. They have shields and swords and live in castles. Sometimes they get hurt and need help fixing the "owie." The most important thing to know, though, is that right after lunch they take naps. Various questions about knights, princes, and dragons are humorously answered in this lively story in rhyme, illustrated with bright, witty cartoonlike pictures. The violence is treated lightheartedly (one picture features a very cheerful squire holding a mace), and except for fixing wounds and putting knights to bed for their naps, women are absent from the book. Still, as with Tucker's Do Pirates Take Baths (1994), this is clearly meant for fun, and it might even spark an interest in history. Marta Segal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company (March 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807516953
• ISBN-13: 978-0807516959
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,754,537 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #55 in Books > Children's Books > History > Renaissance

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun to read out loud, December 15, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Do Knights Take Naps? (Hardcover)

My two year old son loves this book. It has well-drawn, colorful illustrations and rhyming text. The rhymes are musical enough that we've been reading it as a bedtime story for about two weeks, and though it's a little complex for a two year old, my son can "read" most of it to me. While it doesn't contain the blood and gore you'd usually associate with knights, it does have jousts, dragons, swords and flails - all presented in a non-frightening way - so it's perfect for bedtime adventure.

Buy this book and enjoy reading it out loud to your little ones.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What About Those Knights....., September 6, 2001

By 

Roz Levine - See all my reviews

This review is from: Do Knights Take Naps? (Hardcover)

Kathy Tucker and Nick Sharratt have gotten together and authored a marvelous and creative picture book that tells you everything you ever wanted to know about knights, and more. Each chapter, written in joyful rhythmic verse and complemented with bright, busy, detailed artwork tells the reader a little more about the life of a knight. Find out how you get to be a knight in the first place, what he does for a living (fights bad princes and fiery dragons), what he wears, how he accessorizes and where he lives. Then, look into what bad princes and fiery dragons do that's so awful and how a knight fights and beats them. And finally discover the really important information, every would-be knight needs to know: Do knights get to eat candy, watch T.V. and take naps? Do Knights Take Naps? is a charming, witty and humorous book that's perfect for emerging readers and also makes a wonderful read aloud story the entire family will enjoy.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for boys who like knights!, September 17, 2004

By 

Emily M. Terry (Brookline, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Do Knights Take Naps? (Hardcover)

Hat's off to these two authors for creating a book about this subject that is intriguing to boys yet non-violent. My son who is 4 loves us to for us to read it to him again and again. It's the best book on knights I have found for his age! We checked it out at the library, kept it until it was way overdue and then had to buy our own!!