By Christopher Denise
A small owl who dreams of being a knight gets his chance, and faces a hungry dragon on the night watch with nothing but his wits.
Owl is small, but from the day he hatches all he wants is to be a knight. Knights have been going missing lately, so the castle is short-handed enough to give even a little owl a place at Knight School. Owl works hard, and because owls are awake all night, he's handed the loneliest job of all: the night watch. Then one night an enormous, hungry dragon turns up on the wall, and it's just the two of them. Owl doesn't win with a sword. He wins by being clever and kind, and by knowing a lot about a good midnight snack. The two of them end up sharing pizza on the ramparts, and the dragon becomes the castle's fiercest friend.
This is the one to reach for when your child loves the idea of being a knight but is the smallest at the table. Owl is little and dreams big and gets there by being brave and smart rather than strong, which is exactly the message a small child needs. Christopher Denise's paintings are gorgeous, all candlelight and shadow, so it reads like a real medieval night. And the dragon a child braces for turns out to be a friend, which lands as a relief every single time.