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THE KNIGHT AND THE DRAGON

Tomie dePaola

Beloved author-illustrator Tomie dePaola turns a classic rivalry on its head when a bumbling knight duels a clumsy dragon with an ending you'll never forget.
What happens when a sheepish knight and a not-so-fierce dragon fight for the very first time? Well, it's no ordinary battle since the knight has to go to the castle library to learn about dragon-fighting and the dragon must dig through his ancestor's things to find out how to fight a knight!

When they decide they're finally ready, their energetic faceoff is sure to elicit giggles, uh-ohs, and very satisfied cries of "Perfect!" at the heartening conclusion.

Tomie dePaola (1934-2020) was the acclaimed author and/or illustrator of more than 200 books for children. He received the Children's Literature Legacy Award, a Newbery Honor for 26 Fairmount Avenue and a Caldecott Honor for Strega Nona. He was awarded the James Smithson Medal, the Regina Medal (from the Catholic Library Association), and was designated a "living treasure" by the state of New Hampshire, where he spent much of his life.
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Published 2026-04-14 by Putnam

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Chinese Simplified: Hsinex, Japanese: Holp, Korean: Daekyo

In his engaging style, dePaola illustrates a modem fairy tale with brightly hued paintings of Old England.

There's a swirl of good-humored life to the book.

In this whimsical spoof on ferocious dragons and their proverbial antagonists, dePaola ingeniously provides the perfect arena for the meeting of these two willing but clumsy creatures .... Spontaneity of line and feeling are backed by zesty colors and a jovial, tongue-in-cheek tone to which children can relate. Used in a classroom, this was picked as a top springtime choice.

While modern picture book conventions have led to countless stories of bloodless dragons and bumbling knights, none of the rest has a library lady and such winning pictures.

DePaola has come up with yet another comical, full-color winner.