In a snappy follow-up to Attack of the Underwear Dragon (2020), former assistant knight Sir Cole is diverted from his quest for an assistant knight of his own by a sudden desire to teach the tighty-whitey-clad (but fire-breathing) Underwear Dragon how to read. The embarrassed dragon agrees to give both a try, only to explode with frustration over English spelling rules (go figure) and fly off to destroy the kingdom again. Enter Claire, a dark-skinned young inventor whose fire extinguisher cools the dragon off long enough for Sir Cole to come up with a more interesting book to use as a primer. The plot makes absolutely no sense (except maybe the part about spelling), but readers will likely take it in stride, along with Rothman's casually rhymed prose, for the entirely ridiculous sight of a dragon in underpants blundering clumsily through Oswald's cartoon illustrations. Both the fundamental value of literacy and the old principle of getting the right book to the right reader, every librarian's goal, shine as brightly as ever through the nonsense.

Tiny Sir Cole (newly knighted, of course) embarks on his latest adventure: to teach the Underwear Dragon how to read.In need of an assistant, Sir Cole, who presents White, writes an open letter soliciting applicants. The missive inspires a long line of wannabe knights, from "jousting jugglers" to "twin candy hoarders." Rather than deal with the whole assistant-hiring business, Sir Cole decides to go on a walk. The many "No Dragons Allowed" signs he sees cause him to realize that the Underwear Dragon might not know how to read. Sir Cole sets off. When the tiny knight knocks on the cave door, the Underwear Dragon (still reeling from his defeat in Attack of the Underwear Dragon, 2020) initially refuses to talk to Sir Cole. "That's right. Underwear Dragons get embarrassed." Donning a duck disguise, the Underwear Dragon accedes to Sir Cole's request and begins the hard work of learning how to read. Eventually, frustrations take over, and the Underwear Dragon flies off on a rampage. Right when Sir Cole readies to give up, hope arrives in the form of Claire, a knight-in-waiting Black girl armed with an Outwit Dragon kit. Packed with similar strands of humor as its predecessor, although perhaps with a few more potty jokes thrown in, Rothman and Oswald's delightful sequel rightly captures the thrills and vexations afflicting all new readers. Now it's the Underwear Dragon's turn in the spotlight, and shine he does. The stylized artwork, meanwhile, retains its ability to provoke laughs and sympathy in equal measure.Hooray for the Underwear Dragon! (Picture book. 4-8)