There Was an Old Dragon Who Swallowed a Knight

“No one seems to know why the old dragon swallowed the knight (“It’s not polite!”) In addition, the bright red beast proceeds to swallow a steed, a squire, a cook, a lady, a castle, and finally, a moat. At this point the creature decides to burp out everything (except the knight), and what preschooler won’t love that! The author has used a broad range of words—savory, shady, fattens, tassel, guzzled, bloat, quote, perchance, amass, and billow. These will add depth to the young listener’s vocabulary. Mantle’s illustrations are full of primary colors and are quite expressive as the dragon gobbles each entity he encounters. Life in the Middle Ages is hinted at with the additional drawings surrounding each dragon tidbit. This will be a great addition to the kindergarten/first grade curriculum on comparing and contrasting similar stories. VERDICT A fine purchase for most collections.”

–Elaine Lesh Morgan, formerly at Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR; School Library Journal


“In days of yore, before a certain fly’s ultimately fatal encounter with an Old Lady, there was an old dragon who felt rather peckish. “There was an old dragon who swallowed a knight. / I don’t know why he swallowed the knight // It’s not polite!” He follows the knight with the knight’s steed (“that galloped around at a terrible speed”). Then a squire, a cook, a lady, a castle, and finally a moat are each swallowed in turn. But…”With all of that water, he started to bloat. / And that’s when the dragon roared, and I quote: / ‘Okay, enough! I’ve had enough— / More than enough of this swallowing stuff!’ ” So realizing that eating all those things might have been “a tad impolite,” the old dragon burps them all out in reverse except the knight (which is “ahhh…just right”). Klostermann’s debut is a rollicking and warped Medieval take on the well-worn cumulative rhyme. Prolific British animator and illustrator Mantle’s expressive and bright cartoon illustrations of the red, horned dragon (and the contents of his stomach) are a perfect match. The antics within the dragon’s stomach—every image of the steed is accompanied by a little “clippity, clippity, clippity, clop” in teeny type—and his copious burping will leave ’em laughing. No matter how many swallowed-fly titles you own, this one belongs on your shelf too.” — Publishers Weekly 4/9/15