The Forgetful Knight

by Michelle Robinson

Mischief! Mishaps! Dragons!

Here's the story of an intrepid knight, only our narrator can't quite remember the details. Did that knight carry a sandwich or a sword? Was he supposed to fight a cat or a dragon? A hilarious and unpredictable adventure ensues, building through laugh-out-loud rhymes until, at last, the narrator remembers his own role at the center of all the marvelous madness.

Fans of Jon Scieszka's The Stinky Cheese Man, David Ezra Stein's Interrupting Chicken, and all of Patrick McDonnell's and Mac Barnett's picture books will love this zany audio adventure.

Genres: Picture Books, Dragons, Fantasy, Humor, Childrens, Storytime, Adventure

Audible Audio

First published July 5, 2016

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

When I'm not up to my knees in nappies, I write children's books. I also spend a fair amount of time eating chocolate. I try to write funny, read-aloud books that parents will enjoy as much as children - after all, if you have to share the same stories umpteen times, you may as well enjoy them.
I hope you like my books enough to read them umpteen times. Thank you - Michelle.

Reviews

[Stephanie (Reading is Better With Cupcakes) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is a bit on the crazy side... As it is about a knight who forgets things... However, the narrator himself cannot seem to remember much about the story either!

The story is about a knight that is off to go slay a...something (dragon) because the dragon ate his best friend (maybe?). He is planning on using his sandwich (sword) to get the job done!

A lot of the story is twisted up, but very fun to read. It is also something that is easy to read really fast! So be careful! It kind of just rolls off the tongue when you read it. But it is fun! That is for sure!

The illustrations are also a lot of fun. They are a bit more on the cartoony simple side, but that is ok. It works with this story.

This is definitely a fun and some what random read!

This review is based on a copy provided by the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Find more of my reviews here:
http://readingwithcupcakes.blogspot.com/

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

A knight errant sets out on a quest in this humorous picture-book send-up of the classic tales of chivalry, finding that the story is continually changing all around him. He starts out on a horse, but is soon striding toward destiny - "Once upon an olden day / A knight in armor rode away. / Then again... / he had no horse. / Did I say "rode"? / He strode of course." - eventually fighting a dragon (or is it a cat?) with his sandwich (I mean, sword!). Both combatants die on the battlefield... or do they?

I chuckled aloud on more than one occasion while reading Michelle Robinson's cleverly rhyming tale, with its stops and starts, corrections and retractions, and overall sense of fun. Fred Blunt's artwork in The Forgetful Knight reminded me a bit of the work of such illustrators as Quentin Blake and Tony Ross, and captures the madcap antics of the text wonderfully. I particularly liked his cat (of course), and his dragon. Recommended to anyone looking for fun new takes on the old quest-type tale, or for stories involving knights, dragons, and imaginative play.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my opinion, this is a perfect Story Time book! It is funny...there are plenty of goofy photos for the kids to analyze...and it rhymes. That is my perfect nirvana combo for our Story Time. I agree with the "Monty Pythonesque" vibe. I would definitely recommend it!

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arguably the finest story I've ever...jumped? Yes jumped, I was jump roping with my friends when this...book? yes book, because I wasn't jump-roping. I was reading to my...friends? No, no cats. I was reading to my cats, who were my friends, are my friends...wait. No. No wait, I was reading, and my cats were around when I read this book about a...Dragon? No! No, it's about a Knight! Yes.

Anyway, this book was great...at least I think it was, I can't really remember.

[Ana Calabresi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rhyming.

[Lydia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A knight's adventure as he faces a dragon (Or is it? Wait, yes, definitely a dragon!) with his trusty stead (Or, wait, no horse.) and his sword (Yes? YES! Totally has a sword!).

There's a heavily unreliable narrator for this story, but it has a happy ending and I would have loved it as a kid! Fun, with a touch of dark humor and illustrations that compliment the story style.

Content notes: No issues, though at a couple points you think several characters are dead or eaten, they're all okay in the end.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is pretty fun, clever, and ... memorable! A comical treat!

Ages: 5 - 8

**Like my reviews? I also have hundreds of detailed reports that I offer too. These reports give a complete break-down of everything in the book, so you'll know just how clean it is or isn't. I also have Clean Guides (downloadable PDFs) which enable you to clean up your book before reading it! Visit my website: The Book Radar.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book because the knight fights the dragon (BOOM! WHAM! BAM!): the dragon's dead and the knight is dead. The End. [spoiler alert] The dragon didn't die, he got told off and had a cry! He just had a small pet now and then. The knight survived as well. It's hard to tell, because someone lost his memory. The knight? The knight was me! That's why it's called The Forgetful Knight. This is an adventure you'll never forget? (Adventure? What adventure?)

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our reading of this ended with my son saying, “that was a weird book” and I myself was laughing.

Fun read-a-loud with cute drawings and a fun format. We found it at the Library, and I totally brought it home because of the dragon on the cover.

No regrets, but it likely isn’t one I think we’d read over and over for pleasure. Could be a fun Storytime though, or a lesson prompt on re-telling tales and memories.

[Kylie Combs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super fun for a read aloud, so silly and unlike the very serious fairy tales we might be more accustomed to. Great for an example of a twisted tale, or to use for first person narrative, or story elements.

-Create your own silly fairy tale. Who is the main character? What is the main quest? Is there a monster?? What happens in the beginning, middle, and end?
-tie in tons of fairy tales with dragons and knights

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book you need to read at least twice. The illustrations are so fun and inviting, you just want to look at everything going on and then there's the story of the forgetful knight which is silly and fun and rhymes, but not in a tradition quatrain or couplet form. It halts and pause and moves forward.

Kids will have fun guessing what the knight might do or think. Parents will relate to being forgetful.

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the title was a misnomer because it's the narrator, not the knight, who is forgetful. Then it turns out the knight was telling the story the whole time. So the title is actually a spoiler.

The narrator struggles to tell the story of a knight with a sandwich--no, a sword--fighting a whatsisname. It's kind of funny until you realize it's really a story about head trauma. Maybe it's a good lesson for that?

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were parts of this that were funny, but I didn't like the narrative. I kind of guessed it was the knight telling the story, but having the entire story told third person by a forgetful narrator wasn't very enjoyable. I did like when he head-butted the dragon's belly, though. At first when he said they both died,I thought this was the worst book ever.

[The Brothers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun story of a knight who knows he's suppose to go after a dragon (after a few forgetful false starts). He keeps forgetting the why and how of things, but in the end love for his best friend (horse) gets him through his forgetfulness.

Illustrations are silly fun.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A humorous rhyming fantasy about a forgetful knight who goes after a dragon for eating his horse. The playful text and goofy art work will make this picture book a good addition to a fairy tale themed read aloud.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

The tale of a forgetful knight, who must slay a dragon who keeps eating all the pets in the village to include the knight's faithful steed. A silly story full of rhymes, and funny punch lines, but in the end the Knight overcomes his forgetfulness, and saves the village's pet population.

[Heydi Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is crazy funny. It’s about a night that goes to gift a dragon to get his horse back, because the dragon ate it. The knight is telling the story but keeps forgetting.

This will have the kids rolling on the floor.

Great for any adventure or dragon Storytime.

[Jayme Carruthers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute!

[Eme87 · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this quirky story, a knight is trying to recall what happened. His story keeps changing as he realizes something doesn't fit. Very cute and fun.

[Misbah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The narrator, a forgetful knight, tries to tell us about her adventures but hilariously keeps forgetting. Super adorable! Loved the drawing style.

[emyrose8 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5- ahh, adorable, with good rhymes! The narrator is quite forgetful and has to backtrack in the story a bit, resulting in some hilarious rhymes.

[Miss Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fun little poem is sure to surprise you with it's ending. What happens when the Knight goes on to avenge his friend Sir Clopalot? Will he remember how the story goes? Te he he- made me laugh!

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fun little poem is sure to surprise you with it's ending. What happens when the Knight goes on to avenge his friend Sir Clopalot? Will he remember how the story goes? Te he he- made me laugh!

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a big eclectic to read because you had to constantly guess what the narrator was thinking of. It was funny in retrospect, and I think would work better for older kids

[Ethan & Isaac · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book sounds a lot like how my mom tries to tell a story.

[Cyril · Rating 4 out of 5]

VERY funny and clever!

[Cecilia · Rating 5 out of 5]

OH MY GOODNESS! This book is so fun. It would make an EXCELLENT story time book!

[Connie Heneghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as funny as I had hoped.

[Angelina · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars A bit silly, quite funny and featuring some clever rhymes. Illustrations are a bit rough but quite fun.

[Sandra Matthews · Rating 4 out of 5]

My audience hung on every word, every phrase and every page. They enjoyed guessing who Sir Clopalot was were further pulled into the story with the illustrations.