Knight-napped!

Dragonbreath #10

by Ursula Vernon

In the tenth book of the series perfect for Dork Diaries and Wimpy Kid fans, this dragon will storm a castle, battle a knight, and stand up to any bully!

What does Danny Dragonbreath do when his super-annoying cousin Spencer gets kidnapped by knights? First, he thinks about how nice and quiet Thanksgiving would be without Spencer. Then, of course, Danny goes off to rescue him, with his cohorts Wendell and Christiana by his side. Their action-packed mission involves a dirty dungeon, a very squelchy moat, a big surprise for Christiana . . . and jousting galore! The hilarious Dragonbreath series matches up classic middle grade humor with comic panels. It's guaranteed to make you laugh until smoke comes out of your nose!

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Adventure, Humor, Middle Grade, Graphic Novels, Dragons

208 pages, Hardcover

First published December 4, 2014

About the author

Ursula Vernon, aka T. Kingfisher, is an author and illustrator. She has written over fifteen books for children, at least a dozen novels for adults, an epic webcomic called “Digger” and various short stories and other odds and ends.

Ursula grew up in Oregon and Arizona, studied anthropology at Macalester College in Minnesota, and stayed there for ten years, until she finally learned to drive in deep snow and was obligated to leave the state.

Having moved across the country several times, she eventually settled in Pittsboro, North Carolina, where she works full-time as an artist and creator of oddities. She lives with her husband and his chickens.

Her work has been nominated for the Eisner, World Fantasy, and longlisted for the British Science Fiction Awards. It has garnered a number of Webcomics Choice Awards, the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story, the Mythopoeic Award for Children’s Literature, the Nebula for Best Short Story, the Sequoyah Award, and many others.

Reviews

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part-graphic novel, part chapter book, this is an entertaining and somewhat educational story about an adolescent anthropomorphic dragon, his iguana pal, and a girl lizard. It's the tenth book in the Dragonbreath series by Ursula Vernon.

This was a fun story featuring Danny, Wendell, and Christiana. They are challenged to rescue Danny's cousin Spencer from a castle tower in Austria and blood-thirsty knights. While there are humorous parts throughout, this story seems to have less silly humor and more drama than some of the earlier tales.

We borrowed this book from our local library. The story is a quick read and the graphic novel-like scenes are woven throughout the story in a seamless way. This would be a great book for an older child who likes graphic novels, but not chapter books, since you get a little bit of both here.

Our girls adored this book and read it independently, arguing over who would get to read it first. It's a fast read and our oldest kept telling me about the different parts that she liked the best as I read it. I especially like that advanced vocabulary words are sprinkled throughout the tale, providing a little challenge without being too frustrating for younger readers. Overall, it's another fun book in the series and we really hope the author writes more - our girls love these books!

interesting quote:

"Right. More reconnaissance. And no, I'm not going to spell it." (p. 146)

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I accidentally started this series on this book, book 10, but I enjoyed it so much that I went back to the beginning to enjoy the adventure from there. Now I'm on to the last book! These have been a joy to read.

[Nicole (bookwyrm) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun story of how Danny, Wendell, and Christiana infiltrate a castle to rescue Danny's cousin Spencer, who has been kidnapped by knights. There are lots of silly twists and turns, great humor (for both kids and adults), and wonderful art.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most recent Dragonbreath book, which of course means I loved it.

I'm not going to lie, folks. I love most everything that drips from Ursula Vernon's pen, because it has a similar combination of weird and amazing as Seanan McGuire while also generally not being as horrible (in a good way, I mean this in the best of ways, Seanan McGuire is wonderful and a fabulous author and I love everything she writes, it's just that horrible things tend to happen and this is not so in Vernon's work). But Knight-Napped, oh, I love it for reasons which are multiple and ever-changing.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Dragonbreath books, Danny Dragonbreath is... well, a dragon who tends to channel Calvin of Calvin and Hobbes fame a little more often than his family would like. His friend, Wendell, acts as his Hobbes and portable encyclopedia as well as being surprisingly badass. Numerous side characters populate the series and make everything awesome. Knight-Napped is the tenth book; I recommend starting with the first.

For those of you familiar with the books, Christiana is back! I love Christiana, she is exactly the type of girl I was, and she (and Spencer, who is also back) are the prime solvers of this book. Danny tends to get into more trouble than he gets out of, which I also love. Plus the writing is clever and I love the drawings and I love Dragonbreath, okay? I just do. I love all of it.

Time for a reread, methinks.

[Ashley N. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tenth book in the Danny Dragonbreath series. I continue to enjoy the wit in this series. Storywise, I found this volume a little weak, but I'm still a fan. Best parts for me include Wendell geeking out about the nasty castle moat (he had an awesome illustrative diagram as well), Danny's mother's parting words as he leaves for the adventure - "Have fun storming the castle", and that Danny breathed FIRE in front of Christiana so now she had to believe he's really a dragon. The pigeon named Fluffy was cute as well. These books are a treat for kids and adults.

[Mary Catelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Danny's annoying cousin Spencer sends him a message by pigeon: knights have kidnapped him. Christiana is greatly distressed to learn the kidnappers are cousins of hers; she doesn't even object when the bus takes them to Austria and the castle. The rescue involves moats and fake fights, and Christiana being a proper knight, endangered species, and more.

[Ariel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hey guys, I just finished reading the most epic book ever – "Knight-napped!" It's the tenth book in the Dragonbreath series, and let me tell you, it's full of adventure, laughs, and dragons!

So, in this book, Danny Dragonbreath's annoying cousin Spencer gets kidnapped by knights. At first, Danny kinda thinks it might be nice without Spencer around, but then he decides he has to save him anyway. So, Danny, his best pals Wendell and Christiana, they all team up and go on this crazy rescue mission.

Their adventure is totally action-packed! They have to deal with a dirty dungeon, a super squishy moat, and even jousting! Can you imagine riding around on a dragon and jousting with knights? It's so cool!

And let me tell you about the illustrations – they're hilarious! There are these comic panels all throughout the book that show exactly what's happening, and they made me laugh so hard I almost fell off my chair!

One of the best parts is when they finally rescue Spencer. But I won't spoil it for you – you'll have to read the book to find out what happens!

If you love books like Dork Diaries and Wimpy Kid, you're gonna adore "Knight-napped!" It's funny, exciting, and perfect for anyone who loves dragons and adventure. I couldn't put it down, and I bet you won't be able to either!

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

what a great, silly idea! i really liked this one (the 10th! in the series). my kids and i found the premise to be super fun, in a completely ridiculous, but also strangely logical? kinda way. glad that it all worked out in the end and no one lost their head (literally). the knight mom/grandpa dynamic was a personal fave of mine (grandpa wildin while his daughter is out of town). i'm so sad there's only one book in the series left for us to read. :(

[Katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another read with my 7 y.o. that we both enjoyed.

[Kest Schwartzman · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are definitely getting better

[The · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty fun

[Galion Public Library Teens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review by B.L. : "As always, a very funny story, with a wonderful plot, and very entertaining graphics."

[Heather McLaughlin]

Drat. I think there's only one more.

[Rachel D'Ambra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good addition to Danny's adventures though not my favorite. I do love the idea that both dragons and knights are endangered animals - hence they take care to be noncombatants.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fine. It did have Spencer in it, which was not a plus. And a whole lot less witty dialogue. And a whole bunch more climbing and sneaking. Readable but just not quite as much fun.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not my favorite in this series, but still pretty good for an early elementary chapter book. Only 1 book left in the series!

[Ritika Chhabra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Follow Just A Girl High On Books for more reviews.

In Knight-napped!, Ursula Vernon takes us on an extraordinary journey as we discover more about this strange world that Danny, Christina and Wendell live in. Here, we find more about Christina's ancestry, and as it turns out, she is a knight. A knight. And a born enemy of Danny because of his anatomy (that of a dragon). What's more horrible is that Danny's cousin, Spencer (that annoying little seven-year-old who fell in love with a jackalope) has been kidnapped—or well knight-napped by Christina's relatives, the knights.

Spencer delivers this information to Danny with the help of a pigeon. Freakish, much? As if that isn't it, Danny goes all that way only to find Spencer enjoying himself. This makes for a great storyline as we try to figure out what exactly is going on with this little dragon. And ah, what a fun way to know it, it is.

Ursula Vernon took my heart away in this part-graphic novel, what with her twist on knights as a species, instead of a job. The way she showed us a development in our favourite characters, at the same time, keeping those developments consistent with how they are as a whole, left a huge impact on me. It showed me what does, and what doesn't matter. And how to write a good graphic novel, that too so high in the series. (Honestly, Jeff Kinney, learn something here!)

Overall, the book had a great storyline. If anything, I ended up actually enjoying reading all of this stuff. Danny's unique bus system was once again brilliant. I'm hoping that Vernon explains that mystery to us by the end of the series, at least. I mean, HOW DO BUSES ACT WEIRD WITH HIM AROUND?

I absolutely loved the knights in the castle. They were unique in their representation and had an air of excitement to them. All in all, it was a great addition to the series, and I wish there had been more on this knight storyline in the series.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are so zany and fun. My son loves them.

[Baroness Ekat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another wonderfully funny romp with Danny, Wendell and Christiana.

This time Danny's cousin Spencer is in trouble. He went for a sleepover at a new friend's house. Only to end up kidnapped. See his friend is from a family of Knights and well, Spencer and Danny are Dragons, and as always Knights and Dragons are "mortal enemies"

So it's up to Danny, Wendell and Christiana to go save the annoying cousin before he gets slain by Knights and get him home before any of the grown-ups find out.

I'm bummed that, right now at least, this is the last book in the series. I have totally loved each book and constantly tell people to read them. So what that they are "kids books"? They speak to kids of al ages, including your inner child.

[Loralee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like the rest of the books in the Dragonbreath series, this one starts off rather quickly with Danny getting a letter from his cousin (via bird mail) saying that he'd been kidnapped by knights! Oh dear. Of course, dragons and knights have been banging heads since pre-history, but that can be changed, right? Everybody can learn to get along, right? Not if Danny's annoying little cousin is executed by them! So off Danny goes, to the rescue.

What happens along the way is as hilarious as it is unexpected. I really enjoy all the Dragonbreath books, and this one was excellent!

[Carl Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite of the last few volumes of the Dragonbreath series, combining wit, adventure, friendship, and medieval hijinks. The dynamic between Danny, Wendell, and Christiana is the heart of the series--how they get out of their predicaments through their talents and rapport. Ursula Vernon has quite a bit of fun with refreshing the "knights vs. dragons" theme. Plenty of humor--my favorite moment was a Princess Bride shout-out--and action keep this series going strong.

[mandyfujita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Danny ends up with a pigeon on his head. His best friend, Wendell the iguana, and Christina the crested lizard figure out that its a homing pigeon with a note. Danny's cousin, Spencer is stuck in a castle tower and he needs rescuing. Off they go into the unknown.

Cute book with funny and cute drawings of Danny the dragon and his friends fighting knights. I read the other 9 adventures so I'm continuing the string.

[Sheherazahde · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like Dragonbreath you will like this.

Danny's annoying cousin Spencer has been kidnapped by knights and is being held hostage in a castle. Danny, Wendell, and Christiana have to go rescue Spencer before his mom finds out and throws a fit. It's a good thing the local bus system serves Austria (when Danny is involved).

[Dolores · Rating 4 out of 5]

When his incredibly annoying cousin Spencer gets kidnapped by knights, Danny is torn between the prospect of future family get-togethers without the pest--and family loyalty. Family loyalty wins out, and Danny and his friends set out to rescue Spencer from the dreaded knights. As usual, lots of humor and adventure make this a fun outing.

[Gabriel Knebel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a cute book with charming green-and-black pictures. The book starts out with the protagonist, Danny Dragonbreath's cousin Spencer being "kidnapped". Danny and his friends Wendell and Christina set off for a castle in Germany- on a bus. Surprisingly enough, the bus MAKES it to the other side of the world, and from there, it's hilarity after hilarity.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

We enjoyed this one greatly! Dragons vs. Knights was a great subject and the characters were given ample opportunity to show their friendship and humor, which is part of what draws us to this series.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the characters more and more. The series gives them personalities that kids can connect with. I need to do a better job of helping kids find these books. They are fast moving and that's what 3rd and 4th grade readers need.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another very good book in the series! Danny gets into and out of another mess with his friends and his little cousin.
Enjoy!

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coo!

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been my favorite in the series so far. It is what I expected from the title and much more. I really enjoyed seeing Danny at his finest.