Gr 1-3 The knight and her trusty horse Edward from the popular series are back in this short graphic novel. When sleepy ogres are spotted outside the kingdom, the overly enthusiastic knight is ready to take them on, while the king and the others have their own ways of dealing with the problem. Unlike the previous books in the series, this title focuses on the characters and the jokes, rather than trying to teach about comics. This is somewhat beneficial, as those instructional bits were often too brief to be informative and slowed down the storytelling process. There is a quick tutorial on how to draw some of the characters on the inside book covers, so it's good to see that the instructional aspect has not been completely dropped. VERDICT This is a quick and funny read, and the simple word choice makes it ideal for reluctant readers. A fine addition to graphic novel and picture book collections. Peter Blenski, Greenfield Public Library, WI

In this new adventure, the knight and her horse, Edward, find giant ogres sleeping outside. When they rush to the palace to warn the king, he takes the knight and Edward to . . . the palace garden, where the garden gnomes need help harvesting vegetables. Then the knight has to peel a huge heap of potatoes and carrots, while the gnomes cook something in huge cauldrons. But what's the king's plan to deal with the ogres when they wake up? Young readers will enjoy the knight's wildly dramatic warnings and protestations juxtaposed with the gnomes calmly and quickly working. Parents and teachers will also love the king's grand plan. This fun graphic novel for prereaders and beginning readers is filled with colorful, deceptively simple art and easy-to-read panels. The word balloons and sound effects add to the comical tension in the story, while the structure and panel arrangements lend themselves to teaching early primary students about creating comics. The endpapers provide quick drawing lessons for the knight, Edward, the gnomes, and the ogres.