Review - Knighthood for Beginners

Knighthood for Beginners
by Elys Dolan
Date: 2017
Publisher: Silver Dolphin Books
Reading level: C
Book type: illustrated chapter book
Pages: 208
Format: e-book
Source: NetGalley

Meet Dave (a dragon who wants to become a knight) and his trusty steed (a German-speaking, worldly goat named Albrecht) in this illustrated, laugh-out-loud chapter book.

Dave is terrible at all the things dragons are supposed to be good at: hoarding gold, eating villages, telling riddles...and don’t even ask about his knitting skills. So when he becomes the first dragon ever to fail the Dragon Test, he finds a book called Knighthood for Beginners and decides he’s found his destiny! Before long, Dave is decked out in a new suit of armor and is off on a series of adventures with his trusty steed—a German-speaking, life coach, explorer, and goat named Albrecht. The ultimate goal? Dave the dragon being knighted by the King of Castletown.

From start to satisfying finish, this page-turner by Elys Dolan is a fresh and extremely funny new voice in chapter books. Black-and-white illustrations by the author help bring all the hilarity to life, and there’s even a glossary of Albrecht’s German expressions.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I enjoyed this illustrated chapter book... for the most part. The story of a little green dragon named Dave is pretty amusing. Dave is terrible at being a dragon. So, armed with his copy of Knighthood for Beginners, he sets out to become a knight instead. Along the way, he gains a friend in the form of his trusty "steed", Albrecht (who's actually a goat); saves a kingdom; rescues a princess; goes to couples therapy with Albrecht (as one does with their "steed"); and helps people find their own calling. But when Dave finds out that knights must slay dragons, his whole plan is put in jeopardy.

The illustrations are cute and there are a lot of them; this would be a good book for reluctant readers, as the text is broken up by lots of illustrations. However, I can't wholeheartedly recommend this book for a couple of reasons. First, the pacing is off. It starts out great, but then the story takes some detours that are rather boring. Second... the commas. Oh, the commas. I'm not sure if the author even knows how to use them properly. There are a lot of them missing. And sometimes they're where they shouldn't be. A lot of readers might not be bothered by that sort of thing, but I found it very distracting.

For a fun fantasy romp, this is okay. But it could've been even better had the punctuation been cleaned up a little.

Thank you to NetGalley and Silver Dolphin Books for providing a digital ARC.

Plot: 3/5
Characters: 3/5
Pace: 3/5
Writing & Editing: 3/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall: 3.13 out of 5