Friday, October 20, 2017

Review: Dough Knights and Dragons by Dee Leone, illustrated by George Ermos


DOUGH KNIGHTS AND DRAGONS
by Dee Leone 
Illustrated by George Ermos
Sterling Children's Books
40 pages 
ages 4 and up



In a mythical kingdom, a knight and a dragon cook up a delicious plan to save their friendship!

In Dough Knights and Dragons, a curious knight and an amiable dragon meet serendipitously, and instantly bond over their shared love of baking. But the friends are filled with sadness when, according to the law, the two must duel one another. Can the unlikely pair find a way to evade the law, save their friendship, and spread good throughout the land? Kids will devour this scrumptiously clever tale!

“Cookery and chivalry mix together well in this cream puff of a tale.” – Kirkus Reviews

"The lighthearted tone set by the clever title is reflected in the brief, buoyant, rhyming text, and further heightened by the cartoon style of the vividly colored digital illustrations." –Booklist
 



MY TIDBITS

Dragon and knight come together to form a delicious adventure with a sweetly delightful end.

When a knight runs across a cave filled with cooking and baking supplies, he does the only thing he can—cooks a pot of stew. The dragon catches a whiff and both are soon feasting, baking and becoming great friends. But with the big festival coming up, where knights and dragons are forced to fight, their friendship may come to an end.

Fire-breathing dragons, valiant knights and yummy desserts—this is the recipe for a wonderful tale, and it works. Through cute rhymes, the reader follows a heart-warming friendship between a knight and dragon as they learn they have something in common: cooking and baking. Readers will lick their lips at the tasty creations these two make. The harmonious friendship simply brings smiles. When the problem arises of the upcoming festival, the characters come up with a clever solution, using the one thing that connects them. The suspense is there, but it never over powers the strength of friendship and working together.

The illustrations are bright and invite to gazing. Kids will enjoy flipping through them and following the story on their own. The characters' emotions come to life, and even the more tense moments come across clear. Of course, the desserts look good enough to take bite of.

This is a lovely mixture of adventure and food, and offers a loving message, too. Both of my kids announced this one as their favorite picture book of the year, and who am I to argue with them?



TRAILER



And here they are. . . 

The author. . . 
Dee Leone is the author of Bizz and Buzz Make Honey Buns (Grosset & Dunlap). Many of her stories, poems, plays and activity puzzles have appeared in children's magazines. Dee taught at the elementary level in several states and was also a gifted program aide. Dee lives in the San Diego area and is available for interview.
Visit Dee online at www.deeleone.com to see an activity kit for DOUGH KNIGHTS AND DRAGONS! Follow her on Twitter at @DeeLeone3.


The illustrator. . .

George Ermos studied illustration at the University of Lincoln. He lives in the UK.


1 comment:

Dee said...

Thank you so much for your kind review! I'm glad you and your children enjoyed Dough Knights and Dragons. It was a royal treat to write. The publisher is wonderful and it was so nice of them to send out copies for bloggers to review. This is such a great blog.
May you always be hungry for books!
Dee Leone