The Knight Who Took All Day Book

Summary:

The Knight Who Took All Day, by James Mayhew, tells the story of a knight who thinks he is the best in the land. He wants to impress a princess, but she doesn't pay much attention to him. So, the knight decides that he should fight a dragon to impress her. He looks all over, but cannot find a dragon anywhere. One day, a dragon suddenly begins to attack the village. While the dragon is attacking the village, the knight spends too much time having his squire find the perfect armor for him. Instead of going out and fighting the dragon, the Knight complains about his armor and keeps making the squire get him all different sets of his armor. When he is finally ready to fight the dragon, because he looks his best, the knight walks out to find that the princess has tamed the dragon and become friends with it. The princess then decides to marry the squire, and they ride off together on their new dragon friend.

Themes:

This story teaches students about vanity and gender stereotypes. The prince spends too much time focusing on himself and how he looks. When the people finally need help from the knight, he is too preoccupied with how he looks to be bothered to help them. This teaches students to never be selfish, and always put helping others first. This book also teaches about gender stereotypes. The knight was supposed to save the town from the dragon, but the princess ends up saving them. The princess becomes the brave and unexpected hero. She also marries the squire instead of the knight. This teaches girls that they can be the hero and that they don't have to do what is expected of them.

Personal Response:

I really enjoyed this book. It evoked emotions of frustration towards the knight when he puts his looks above the safety of the town. It's also really fun to read. The plot is really interesting and the illustrations tell their own story. If you take a few minutes and look at the pictures, you can see the princess becoming the hero even though the story doesn't actually say anything about her. The unexpected ending with the princess becoming the hero and following her heart is a cute twist. Also, I love how it puts the female character in the role of selfless hero instead of helpless princess.

Recommendation:

I would recommend this book for 1st to 2nd grades. It has a decent amount of text per page, but it is simple to read. The illustrations in the book are colorful and engaging for the students. If students take time to read the words as well as examine the illustrations, it could lead to interesting predictions about how the book ends. This book is also good to use when covering and discouraging gender stereotypes. In the end, the knight fits the role of the vain princess while the princess fits the role of selfless hero. This book covers a great lesson for students to learn at a young age.