(2) 4-6 In this fantasy novel set "years after the regretful demise of Camelot," twelve-year-old Ellie is a witch but dreams of becoming a fairy godmother. All her plans go out the window, however, when she is enlisted to become one of the Knights of the Round Table. At the Montagne des ­Chévaliers she undergoes a series of dangerous tests that will, perhaps, lead her to a noble destiny protecting the Twenty-Five and a Half Realms. Caedmon has also been drafted, though he is far more surprised than Ellie because, until recently, he had no idea magic even existed. Caedmon is from the only nonmagical realm (from Wisconsin, to be exact). Depressed and reeling from his best friend's death, Caedmon learns that unless he becomes a knight and re-forges the broken pieces of ­Excalibur, his family will be in grave peril. Ellie, Caedmon, and their friends must overcome their fears and doubts as they proceed through knighthood trials and battle unforetold dangers, learning to trust one another along the way. Debut author Rogers combines elements from beloved fairy tales and legends, blending recognizable patterns with humor and excitement to produce something charming and new. Ellie's burgeoning witchcraft, which weighs heavily on her mind, lends the story some philosophical depth, and Caedmon's depression is portrayed with skill and sympathy. Readers will hope for a sequel, and there seem to be plenty more adventures awaiting our intrepid protagonists.

Reviewer: Sarah Berman | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2022

(2) 1-3 A gentle but fiercely loyal ladybug knight is joined by his faithful herald (a roly-poly bug who gets a little nervous sometimes but loves to loudly tell anyone who'll listen how great his friends are) and his steed/squire (a snail with a surprisingly spacious shell and a love of adventure) in Geisel Award–winning (for Fox at Night) and Caldecott honoree (for Mel Fell, rev. 3/21) Tabor's first two installments of a graphic-novel series for the early-reader set. These small-scale quests are packed with referential jokes and friendly banter as the trio heeds the call of creatures facing trouble, including themselves. It takes teamwork and problem-solving, for example, to stop a hungry chickadee from eating them for dinner. Sometimes it's good deeds that save the day, but sometimes the only solution to a big problem is an exceptionally delicious lemon cake. And you never know when the tale might be briefly interrupted (chapters titled "Interlude") by, for example, a poem celebrating Sir Ladybug in the style of William Carlos Williams. The neat and precise illustrations reflect the warm, understatedly funny tone of the stories, with soft colors and simply but expressively drawn creatures. Tabor's celebration of friendship will have readers joining Pell the Roly-Poly Herald in loudly singing Sir Ladybug's praises. Review covers these titles: Sir Ladybug and Sir Ladybug and the Queen Bee.

Reviewer: Laura Koenig | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2022

(2) 1-3 A gentle but fiercely loyal ladybug knight is joined by his faithful herald (a roly-poly bug who gets a little nervous sometimes but loves to loudly tell anyone who'll listen how great his friends are) and his steed/squire (a snail with a surprisingly spacious shell and a love of adventure) in Geisel Award–winning (for Fox at Night) and Caldecott honoree (for Mel Fell, rev. 3/21) Tabor's first two installments of a graphic-novel series for the early-reader set. These small-scale quests are packed with referential jokes and friendly banter as the trio heeds the call of creatures facing trouble, including themselves. It takes teamwork and problem-solving, for example, to stop a hungry chickadee from eating them for dinner. Sometimes it's good deeds that save the day, but sometimes the only solution to a big problem is an exceptionally delicious lemon cake. And you never know when the tale might be briefly interrupted (chapters titled "Interlude") by, for example, a poem celebrating Sir Ladybug in the style of William Carlos Williams. The neat and precise illustrations reflect the warm, understatedly funny tone of the stories, with soft colors and simply but expressively drawn creatures. Tabor's celebration of friendship will have readers joining Pell the Roly-Poly Herald in loudly singing Sir Ladybug's praises. Review covers these titles: Sir Ladybug and Sir Ladybug and the Queen Bee.

Reviewer: Laura Koenig | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2022

(3) K-3 Kasha tells an encouraging story about being brave and conquering anxiety in service of being true to oneself. "The king and queen hoped their child would be a proper princess," but princessing isn't for Small Knight ("...not that being a princess is bad..."). Taking "Proper Princess Lessons" distresses the young adventurer, though, and their parents are cluelessly dismissive: "One day a brave knight will save you!" Use of nonbinary they/them pronouns for Small Knight adds another layer of meaning to the narrative. The emotionally charged illustrations effectively depict Small Knight's worries about parental disappointment as a creature-shaped mass of angry sharp lines. In the end, a wise dragon provides the key: "What you should do is look inside yourself."

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Galia Bernstein. "A dastardly dragon named Dreadful" threatens Hanukkah, but never fear: eight knights (a casually diverse company) are ready to "fix things with some deeds of awesome kindness and stupendous bravery." And so they do: Sir Alex carves a dreidel to replace a scorched one, Sir Margaret picks apples for applesauce with her presumably fireproof lance, and Sir Rugelach and Sir Isabella roam the countryside in search of...what turns out to be a not-so-dreadful dragon. (Fire-breathing, after all, can be a useful skill around a menorah.) The faux-medieval silliness is complemented with old-timey illustrations and heavily adorned initial caps on a parchment-white background. Back matter briefly explains the traditions of Hanukkah.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2020

(2) 4-6 This Max & the Midknights (rev. 1/19) sequel finds Max enrolled at KSB (Knight School of Byjovia), Millie learning magic from wizard Mumblin, Simon apprenticed at Kevyn's dad's stable, and Kevyn writing books. His debut, "The Tale of Max & the Midknights" (sound familiar?), leads the friends to their next mission: after Millie casts a spell to produce duplicates of the book, they discover that one of the copies is actually a bodkin, a.k.a. an almost identical evil copy/twin of the original. Bodkins can be people, too, and those living in the shadow world of Knot are planning an invasion of Byjovia. It's up to the ­Midknights--including new character Sedgewick (one of Max's classmates)--to save the kingdom, again. In Peirce's latest comics-novel hybrid, humor abounds throughout the interplay of text, speech-bubble dialogue, and black-and-white illustrations (e.g., upon seeing an ominous-looking face form from the book bodkin's pages, Uncle Budrick quips, "And people wonder why I'm a reluctant reader"). But Peirce also adds emotional depth to Max's struggle with a very relatable anxiety: she wrestles with doubts about her skills ("What if I'm a lousy knight?"). An intriguing final twist for Max promises that fans of this mock-chivalric series will again be "seeing double" in a future installment.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2021

(3) 4-6 In this sequel to The Mad Wolf's Daughter, girl warrior Drest tries to help her new friend Emerick regain the castle stolen from him. She embarks on a quest for allies but finds she's been named a "wolf's head" with a bounty on her life. The medieval-Scottish setting is well drawn, and Drest's efforts to be true to herself are convincing.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(2) 4-6 In this humorous, action-packed, comics/novel hybrid set in the Middle Ages, troubadour's apprentice Max longs to become a knight--but girls aren't allowed to. Then Max discovers she's prophesied to save the kingdom. With help from new friends (who dub themselves "the Midknights"), she sets off on a hero's journey. Peirce's accessible, enlightening narrative flows seamlessly between regular text and speech bubbles in the black-and-white comic panels.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2019

(2) PS A wall (i.e., the book's gutter) separates a knight from an ogre and his jungle-animal companions. Readers' ability to see both sides of the wall simultaneously provides the humor as floodwaters (filled with voracious sea creatures) rise on the oblivious hero, who's eventually rescued by the ogre. Lightly toned watercolor illustrations with plenty of white space keep things upbeat, emphasizing the dramatic and comic possibilities of a pair of eyes.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2018

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Liana Hee. Princess Brianna Bright loves ballet and fencing, but she isn't very good at either--until thieves steal jewels from the castle, and Brianna combines ballet moves with fencing to save the day. Calvert cleverly points out similarities between ballet and fencing in this tale of girl power. Hee's digital illustrations are slick and twee but capture the strength and grace of Brianna's movements. Glos.

Reviewer: Mariko Turk

(3) K-3 Dad's amusing thought bubbles reveal his dread of daughter Alice's abundant ideas for their snowbound day ahead. Once Alice decides they'll make a book, the engaging story-within-a-story features King Alice and her "royal brave knights" on adventures that resemble the biracial family's activities: mealtimes, princess tea, unicorn party, and more. Cordell's loose-lined mixed-media illustrations capture the imagination, mayhem, and love in this family.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Stevie Lewis. A prince must choose a bride, but all the women he meets lack...something. He realizes what's missing when a knight in shining armor saves him from a dragon. The simplistic story works as a valentine to same-sex love, but several verses stumble over themselves to complete a rhyme; the glossy illustrations conjure classic Disney movie stills.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) 1-3 Princess Pulverizer series. Illustrated by Ben Balistreri. Princess Serena (a.k.a. "Princess Pulverizer") wants to be a knight, but her father says she first must complete a Quest of Kindness and perform eight good deeds to prove she's worthy of Knight School. Accompanied by a "lily-livered knight-in-training" and a "gassy, not-at-all-scary dragon," the princess embarks on punny adventures that turn the typical damsel-in-distress story on its head. Includes expressive, animated black-and-white art. Review covers these Princess Pulverizer titles: Bad Moooove!, Grilled Cheese and Dragons and Worse, Worser, Wurst.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(3) 1-3 Princess Pulverizer series. Illustrated by Ben Balistreri. Princess Serena (a.k.a. "Princess Pulverizer") wants to be a knight, but her father says she first must complete a Quest of Kindness and perform eight good deeds to prove she's worthy of Knight School. Accompanied by a "lily-livered knight-in-training" and a "gassy, not-at-all-scary dragon," the princess embarks on punny adventures that turn the typical damsel-in-distress story on its head. Includes expressive, animated black-and-white art. Review covers these Princess Pulverizer titles: Bad Moooove!, Grilled Cheese and Dragons and Worse, Worser, Wurst.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(3) 1-3 Princess Pulverizer series. Illustrated by Ben Balistreri. Princess Serena (a.k.a. "Princess Pulverizer") wants to be a knight, but her father says she first must complete a Quest of Kindness and perform eight good deeds to prove she's worthy of Knight School. Accompanied by a "lily-livered knight-in-training" and a "gassy, not-at-all-scary dragon," the princess embarks on punny adventures that turn the typical damsel-in-distress story on its head. Includes expressive, animated black-and-white art. Review covers these Princess Pulverizer titles: Bad Moooove!, Grilled Cheese and Dragons and Worse, Worser, Wurst.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(3) 4-6 Mice of the Round Table series. In this third entry, Calib, a mouse of Camelot aspiring toward knighthood, and his human friend, Galahad, are lured into Morgan's underwater lair. There they build allies and discover magical secrets. In a bittersweet ending, the magic of the famous sword, grail, and mirror all come together--but Camelot falls; Arthur and Galahad depart for Avalon; and Calib, rewardingly, is left to help lead the new era.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(2) 4-6 Twelve-year-old Drest sees her father and brothers captured from their camp on a Scottish headland in the feudal thirteenth century and travels with wounded knight Emerick to exchange him for one of her brothers, secretly planning to rescue her whole family. Magras emphasizes action sequences and emotional conflicts. She dodges a predictable outcome and lands on a satisfying conclusion that will gratify those rooting for idealism.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2018

(3) 4-6 New knights Eleanor and Odo (Have Sword, Will Travel) and their sassy talking-sword sidekicks join forces with a blind former king and his bodyguard to save the heir to the crown, whose grandmother is trying to usurp the throne. This second adventure's plot--wolves are fought, new lands visited, and a dragon awakened--is simple yet still diverting and should appeal to fantasy fans.

Reviewer: Janet Daniels

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by Boya Sun. This graphic novel promotes STEAM and tinkering while gently criticizing disposable culture. The candy-colored, anime-inspired land of Chasma revolves around toys, and all but neon knights gain power when they "catalyze" or merge with playthings. Bullied neon knight Beryl overcomes her shortcomings through her inventive abilities, which the powerful oxygen knight Coro soon discovers. The story compellingly explores friendship and jealousy amid appealing world-building.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(2) 1-3 After Sir Erec lies about slaying forty dragons to King Arthur, Merlin, and fellow Knights of the Round Table, he's sent into the past to face off against angry dinosaurs. Playing fast and loose with anachronisms, Phelan crafts a lighthearted romp with an engaging cast of characters. Pen-and-ink illustrations and intermittent comic-style sequential art bring swordplay to the forefront and keep the tone light enough for the book's young audience.

Reviewer: Eric Carpenter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2018