The Little Knight Who Battled the Rain. Gilles Tibo. Illustrated by Geneviève Després. Translated by Petra Johannson. Toronto, ON: Scholastic Canada, 2015. 32 pp., pbk., $8.99. ISBN 978-1-4431-3382-1. Preschool-grade 3 / Ages 3-8. Review by Tamara Opar. ***1/2 /4

excerpt:

Quickly, the little knight ran through all the rooms in his fortress to find his equipment.

He found: his sword in the sink…his breastplate on the television…his red cape in the bathroom.

He found his boots behind a door…his gloves under the toboggan.

Finally dressed in all his armour, the little knight drank a large glass of milk and devoured a huge piece of chocolate cake.

The Little knight jumped on his horse and told the Singers: “Take refuge in my fortress. I will go to meet my destiny!”

Destiny indeed! The Little Knight has not had an opportunity to practice his knightly skills as opponents are simply not to be found in or around the curious kingdom atop the forest where he lives. The Little Knight responds with energetic urgency, fuelled with chocolate cake, to assist the Singer family in liberating their triplets from the monsters who seized them. With the assistance of his trusty steed, the Little Knight manages to outsmart all three monsters - the ogre, the witch and the ghost. He rescues the triplets and returns them safely to the Singer family unit.

     Alas, this is not the end of the story as the three monsters seek revenge on the Little Knight who refuses to be afraid. By uttering the unexpected words “I like you!” to the three monsters, our hero manages to turn things around to an atmosphere of kindness and mutual respect between the villagers of the curious kingdom and the three monsters of the forest.

     Geneviève Després’ enchanting artwork employs varied techniques and textures with different mediums to create some quirky drawings, such as the hero dancing in his underwear for the three monsters as the animals of the forest look on in astonishment. The whimsical pictures add a charming quality to the story with their amusing annotations of life in the forest as the Little Knight engages with the monsters. Adding fun to the illustrations are little statements sprinkled about that bring the reader’s attention to the charming details of the story that make it so much fun to explore the pages of the book.

     This is the second Little Knight adventure written by Tibo, the first being The Little Knight Who Monsters. Both titles have been translated from the original French books by Tibo.

Highly Recommended.

Tamara Opar is Section Head of Children’s and Teen Services at the Millennium Branch of Winnipeg Public Library.

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