Star Knights

by Kay Davault

A simple frog who wants to become a legendary knight finds himself on a magical journey. From the comic artist behind Oddity Woods comes a fantasy graphic novel with a lot of heart, adventure, and hijinks!


What makes a hero?

Brave Star Knights are heroes who go on adventures. But Tad is just a frog, and frogs can't save the day. Do they? Determined to out-hop his mud-dweller fate and pursue his dream of being a knight, Tad finds himself on a quest with a surprise group of adventurers, including the Star King!

It's a race against time as Tad searches for a way to take the Star King to the moon so that he can bring peace to the forest--and prove that anybody can be a hero.

Even a frog.

This graphic novel is perfect for fans of delightful characters, hilarious hijinks, and stories about being true to you who are.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Middle Grade, Comics, Animals, Magic, Adventure

240 pages, Hardcover

First published July 5, 2022

About the author

Kay Davault is a graphic novel author and illustrator. She enjoys drawing both cute characters and terrifying creatures within colorful worlds.

UPCOMING BOOKS:

ODDITY WOODS BOOK 1 (2025)- Kid detective Marietta tries to solve the sudden disappearance of her father in a dark woodland realm inhabited by ghosts and monsters. Based on the 2016-18 webcomic.

MISFIT MANSION 2 (2026)

ODDITY WOODS BOOK 2 (2027)

Reviews

[BookLoverAmanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Star Knights - Kay Davault - 5 Stars

First of all, let me start by saying how much I love the colors and illustration art in this graphic novel - absolutely beautiful. I am so glad I read this as I don't read a ton of graphic novels right now but want to try and dip my toes into reading some this year and this one was a HIT!

This is about a simple frog who wants to become a legendary knight and he finds himself on this unexpected magical journey. The characters in this are so much fun and the sweet themes of being true to yourself and the importance of friendship - so great.

Highly recommend.

Content for parents since this is technically a middle grade story: There are mentions of spirits, some mild fights/magic, and one character who is a witch but it wasn't anything I was uncomfortable with personally. It was just part of the fantasy world/story to me. Just want to mention for parents who may want a content note if needed.

[Gwendolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Keisha for sending this my way.

Don’t just look at my star rating and think to yourself this is not worth reading, because it is! I loved Tad and his adventure to become a legendary Star Knight. I appreciated the message of accepting one's true self. I loved the artwork. However, this felt very fantasy/mystical/magical to me and that’s just not a personal preference of mine.

Check out the art here: https://tinyurl.com/5xdfdj5w

I’ve only read Misfit Mansion by this author/illustrator, but I would love to read Oddity Woods and of course I’m excited for the next installment in the Misfit Mansion world. The coloring of Star Knights is similar to Oddity Woods from what I can see on the author/illustrator's website. I look forward to checking Kay Davault on my radar.

[Whitney · Rating 4 out of 5]

**Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for the eARC in exchange for a review. This in no way changed my rating**

This was really cute!

The graphic novel follows a frog named Tad and his salamander friend (I will admit I thought he was an axolotl) as they dream of being Star Knights, a group of animals that became anthropomorphic knights after being gifted stars and wishing on them. As "mud dwellers", Tad and his friend, Stello, are discriminated against by the furrier woodland animals and birds because they are thought to be in service to the Marsh Witch. The Marsh Witch is said to have turned the first Star Knights into what are called "fallen fauna", giant monster animals that make it unsafe for the others to roam after dark.

The story revolves around discrimination and bias, friendship, and the idea that an accepted narrative isn't always the truth. The art work was really engaging and cute. My favorite character ended up being a spider named Astrid. I don't like spiders outside of books, but Astrid's design was super, super cute. I really liked her as a character, as well. Tad had a satisfying arc, as did another character named Cygnus who is a much smaller character. Nonetheless, I thought she had a full arc despite taking up space on fewer pages.

I would happily add this to a library shelf or classroom. I would recommend for anyone maybe 7+. The story had important lessons and I think it's relevant to this time. It's nice that it was infused with a little magic, too.

4.5/5 stars

[Carleigh Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so cute 😊

[Keisha | A Book Like You · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s official. Kay Davault is a new favorite author, and I have no idea why more people aren’t reading Star Knights and Misfit Mansion! They are perfect! 🥹💛

[Sofja]

Cute

[Grace · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was boring and didn’t make sense

[Jaclyn Hillis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great story about friendship -- more like found family -- and staying true to yourself. We are quick to judge creatures for being "bad" or "good" based on stereotypes, when we should be seeing the good in every body. The art is absolutely adorable too.

Thank you Edelweiss and Penguin Random House for an advanced readers copy.

[Julien · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was thoroughly delightful. The art is beautiful, the character designs are unique, and the story lovely. The mythos here is really neat and I love the way it wraps up. Definitely worth it for fans of magic, especially of the magical girl transformation sequence variety.

[Jester, King's Favorite Fool · Rating 4.75 out of 5]

I'm so glad I decided to read this. I got through this in no time. It's a magical and charming story. I'm not a fan of reptiles or amphibians, but Tad is so cute. I love everything about this book. It is a story about a magical adventure, but it is also about being proud of who you are. This is easily five stars.

Personal Rating: ⭐5/5

Note: Using new rating system starting 2025.

[Lynn Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was actually so adorable

[Mo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for providing an eARC!!

Admittedly, I might be a bit biased, as I've been a fan of Kay's since I first read Oddity Woods a couple years ago (which I'm SO excited to see getting published as well!!). Kay's artwork is genuinely so lovely and sweet, and absolutely perfect for children's graphic novels. And I loved the story of a frog who just wanted to be more, but realized how much he was already. Extremely lovely and sweet and I would highly recommend whether you're in the target demographic, you work with kids, or neither, but you just want a lovely story about realizing one's inherent value in themselves & learning not to judge others on preconceived notions.

[Starr ❇✌❇ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was both a cute story of very round animals and a great primer on internalized prejudice for kids! That beginning was genuinely heartbreaking, and it hurt to see Tad really internalize the other animals' belief that he and other species like his were inherently evil and unworthy. While these aren't the characters, or world, that are bound to stick with me for long, it was still an interesting read.

[Nic · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read an ARC of this to review for No Flying No Tights. It's cute! I adore Kay Davault's artwork. The story is kind of whirlwind-paced, with a lot going on, but still nice.

My full review is posted on No Flying No Tights.

[Colleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars! Thank you Netgalley for the arc. This plot was so muddled and the world building was non existent. I can't imagine any of my students (middle school) reading this and thinking that it has a good plot. The art work was fantastic and what gave it 2 stars instead of 1.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story has the most adorable art; it is utterly precious. I loved it!

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute graphic novel about what makes a hero and how prejudices can be really bad. I wasn't a huge fan of all the self-loathing on Tad's part, but I was glad he learned his lesson. I liked seeing the consequences to all the "bad guy's" actions and thing were wrapped up very well at the end. Loved the art and it was easy to follow, even during the action sequences. Overall, I really enjoyed this one!

[Nora · Rating 5 out of 5]

I lllloooovvvveeeedddd this book 📕 it was ssssssssssooooooooo good 👍🏻 I loved Tad’s wishes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Sage · Rating 5 out of 5]

Star Knights by Kay Davault
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 or (8.6/10)

Characters - 8

Atmosphere - 9

Writing - 8

Plot - 9

Intrigue - 9

Logic - 8

Enjoyment - 9

This book was sweet, lighthearted, and honestly taught some good life lessons. The plot twists and character developments were awesome and I loved the art style ❤️

[Beth Reynolds Winters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really cute book. The comic type artwork is amazing.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved. Loved. LOVED. This was sooo cute! ❤️

[Simone Hagemann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ikke helt så fantastisk som håbet, men den er stadig ret fin. Men det er nok sådan en, man læser, og glemmer hurtigt igen. Tegnestilen er dog virkelig skøn og passer perfekt til universet.

[Minharin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tellement bien et adorable

[Juan Manuel Sarmiento · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un comic muy completo lleno de color, amistad, tolerancia y corrupcion

[Jessica (ThatDamFangirl) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so cute and I loved the concept of the Star Knights!

[hope h. · Rating 5 out of 5]

the middle grade graphic novels are POPPING OFF this year, this was so fucking cute. adorable art, trans vibes, snarky spiders, just a really fun read

[O.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good theme.

[Emiliia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book for my friends birthday but wile I was waiting for the party I read the whole thing it was amazing and I was so close to buying another copy! XD

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this throughout. Overall, really well-executed. Good pacing, easy to follow (this is surprisingly rare), creative and unique, with good character development and some surprises.

The framing and illustrations are great. And to top it off the characters are super cute.

I dunno, I just connected with this one right off the bat. Bookstore staff recommended it, and they were very right!