Jack's Reading List: 5 Best Knight and Dragon Picture Books for Children (Part 1)

By Jack the Knight,

Hello.

Jack here. If you've made it to this post then you are clearly looking for the best knight and dragon picture books for children aged 3-7! Well you are in luck, since when I'm not on a quest, I read.

Here are five of my personal favourites, each is funny, clever and perfect for a bedtime read!

I: The Knight Who Took All Day by James Mayhew

A funny send-up of a pompous knight and the squire who serves him. The knight in question is extremely concerned with looking impressive and considerably less concerned with actually doing anything useful, he would be a good fit at the Castle....The squire, who is doing most of the actual work, is one of the most quietly heroic figures I've come across in a children's picture book.

I relate to this book on a personal level.

Not because I am the pompous knight, I want to be absolutely clear about that, but because I have spent considerable time in the company of knights who are very impressive at announcing themselves and significantly less impressive at following through. Sir Cecil, for instance, once prepared an extraordinarily detailed speech about why he was not going to help, which took longer to deliver than it would have taken to simply help.

The illustrations are wonderful and the message, that the person who actually does the thing matters more than the person who looks best doing it, is one I totally get!

Ages 4–7 · Author: James Mayhew · Look for it in your local bookshop or library

II: There Was an Old Dragon Who Swallowed a Knight by Penny Parker Klostermann, illustrated by Ben Mantle

A fun and silly twist on 'There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly', readers will enjoy the rhyme and laugh-out-loud story as a dragon slowly swallows a whole kingdom. In short this is a

great rhyming picture book, about a dragon, who swallows a knight.

I have complicated feelings about this one.

Fire Pud assures me it is entirely fictional and that he has never once considered swallowing me, which is always good to know. He did, however, read it three times in a row and seemed to be taking some notes. But let's make this clear, knights should not be swallowed by dragons (or any other creature), we are not easily digestible and would 100% give any dragon acid reflux.

The escalating structure, the dragon swallows the knight, then something to catch the knight, then something to catch that thing, and so on, is deeply satisfying in the way that only truly well-constructed rhyming books can be. The illustrations are vivid and funny.

The dragon is magnificent. The knight, it should be noted, is ok in the end.

This is the book for the child who finds the idea of being eaten slightly funny rather than alarming. Those children are my kind of children.

Ages 3–6 · Author: Penny Parker Klostermann · Illustrated by: Ben Mantle

III: The Storybook Knight by Helen Docherty, illustrated by Thomas Docherty

When Leo's mum and dad pack him off to fight a dragon, he takes a shield, a sword, and a pile of his favourite books. But can a story be as mighty as a sword? Yes. A story is absolutely as mighty as a sword and I will defend this position with whatever is available. Although many other knights would disagree with that!

Leo is a knight who would rather read than fight, and who discovers that the right story at the right moment can resolve a situation that no amount of sword-waving could touch. This is the book I would recommend to every child who has ever been told that reading is not as good as doing something. Reading is doing something. It is one of the most important things you can do.

It is also, I notice with some satisfaction, a book about a small knight with a big heart who proves that the conventional knight approach is not always the right one. This is a great read.

Ages 4–7 · Author: Helen Docherty · Illustrated by: Thomas Docherty

IV: The Princess Knight by Cornelia Funke, illustrated by Kerstin Meyer

Violet is incensed when her father offers her hand in marriage as the prize for a jousting tournament. Her youngest brother offers to win the tournament to save her, but she decides to save herself.

Remind you of anyone?!

Princess Charlotte recommended this one. She handed it to me and said "read this" in a tone that suggested there was no available alternative, so I have read it 14 times today.

She was right.

Violet trains secretly in jousting, swordsmanship and horsemanship while everyone around her assumes she cannot. She then enters the tournament in disguise and wins it. When her identity is revealed, nobody is more surprised than the people who thought they already knew what she was capable of!

We will get Violet in our team for the next tournament for sure!

Ages 5–8 · Author: Cornelia Funke · Illustrated by: Kerstin Meyer

V: The Dragon and the Nibblesome Knight by Elli Woollard, illustrated by Benji Davies

A bold, funny and heartwarming story, what will happen when a dragon and a knight discover they are enemies destined to fight? This is my personal favourite on the list!

I recommend this one last because it is, in my opinion, the most personally relevant book on the list.

A dragon and a knight. Expected to be enemies. Discovering, when they actually spend time together rather than fighting, that the whole situation is considerably more complicated than anyone assumed.

This is, in broad outline, the story of how I met Fire Pud. He was crying in a cave. I was supposed to be fighting him. Neither of us did what was expected. And the result was the best friendship I have ever had.

The illustrations by Benji Davies bring the whole story to life, warm and funny and full of the kind of detail that rewards a second and third reading. Elli Woollard's rhyming text has the same comic timing and emotional warmth that the best picture books always achieve. This is a brilliant read before bed.

If you read one book from this list, read this one and then the other four...

Ages 3–6 · Author: Elli Woollard · Illustrated by: Benji Davies

A Final Note from Chris

While you wait for Jack's adventure series to be published, please join Jack'sShield Wall for updates, medieval history, mythical creatures and the occasional reading recommendation from the smallest knight. Or let us know what books you would add to this list!

Join Jack's Shield Wall at thegoodknightbook.com/shield-wall. New members this month receive a free Guide to Medieval Insults. 🏰⚔️