The Dragon and the Knight: A Pop-Up Misadventure

K-Gr 4—The story line bursts off the pages—literally—in this fun and fast-paced frolic through the fairy tale realm. The first spread introduces a "small but gallant" knight (silver visor tightly closed) and a "terrible" fire-breathing dragon. The formal-sounding text is blocked from view by two much less decorous looking pop-up figures, giving readers an inkling that this is not a traditional recounting. Shouting, "Hey! Get back here!" the knight races after a dragon depicted with more mischief than menace. As each page turn takes the chase through a retelling of a traditional tale, blocks of flowing text erupt off the pages and onto the eye-popping paper sculptures; the story-specific narrative covers Cinderella's ball gown, Snow White's glass coffin, Aladdin's magic carpet, Rapunzel's tower, and more. The mad dash culminates with a giant-size 3-D, fire-breathing dragon "ROAR!" a few burned-out holes, and a perfectly roasted marshmallow (and the knight—a smiling red-tressed girl—requesting a repeat game of tag). An imaginative, entertaining, and handsomely executed book.—Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal