Night Knight by Owen Davey (Templar Books, 2011) begins and ends with a boy with a colander as a hat, holding a play horse, but the rest of the illustrations show a different story: a knight coming to the end of his day.
The illustrations are playful and fun as the “knight” bathes with the fishes, jumps over crocodiles, and heads to his tower room. The story is one all kids can relate to – the need to go to bed – and yet the story comes across as playful and original. It’s easier to head to bed when it becomes a game.
My son and I liked the imagination in this story, and the fact that the story is told through the pictures with just a few words on the page makes it extra appropriate for a young child resisting bedtime. It’s just long enough to give the child an amusing story they can relate to, but not too wordy to be a quick bedtime story to help a child calm down.
I personally really liked the muted color palette (orange, yellows, and purplish-blue) and the geometric illustrations. If only my baby had stayed awake long enough to enjoy this one with us.
Mama’s Note: Friday nights are “fun night” for our family. Usually, this means we watch a family/kid friendly movie. Recently, now that my son is five, we’re branching out to board games. (When the favorite board game was Candy Land, I really did not like that option every week.) Today, my requested that instead, we read books together.
Yes, my five-year-old son wanted to spend an hour and a half reading with me. This is why I did my 1000 books project with him, and why I’m doing it all over again with my baby. Reading together as a family truly is fun. I’ve grown my son into what I am certain will be a life-long reader.
