K-Gr 2-No one seems to know why the old dragon swallowed the knight ("It's not polite!") In addition, the bright red beast proceeds to swallow a steed, a squire, a cook, a lady, a castle, and finally, a moat. At this point the creature decides to burp out everything (except the knight), and what preschooler won't love that! The author has used a broad range of words-savory, shady, fattens, tassel, guzzled, bloat, quote, perchance, amass, and billow. These will add depth to the young listener's vocabulary. Mantle's illustrations are full of primary colors and are quite expressive as the dragon gobbles each entity he encounters. Life in the Middle Ages is hinted at with the additional drawings surrounding each dragon tidbit. This will be a great addition to the kindergarten/first grade curriculum on comparing and contrasting similar stories. VERDICT A fine purchase for most collections.-Elaine Lesh Morgan, formerly at Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Patterned after "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly," these whimsical verses describe a dragon who--not satisfied with the knight--gulps down everything from the squire to the castle moat before having second thoughts. "Maybe I've been a tad impolite. / Perchance I should only have swallowed the knight." Jaunty illustrations complement the absurdity of the rhyme. (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

In days of yore, before a certain fly's ultimately fatal encounter with an Old Lady, there was an old dragon who felt rather peckish. "There was an old dragon who swallowed a knight. / I don't know why he swallowed the knight // It's not polite!" He follows the knight with the knight's steed ("that galloped around at a terrible speed"). Then a squire, a cook, a lady, a castle, and finally a moat are each swallowed in turn. But"With all of that water, he started to bloat. / And that's when the dragon roared, and I quote: / Okay, enough! I've had enough / More than enough of this swallowing stuff!' " So realizing that eating all those things might have been "a tad impolite," the old dragon burps them all out in reverse except the knight (which is "ahhhjust right"). Klostermann's debut is a rollicking and warped Medieval take on the well-worn cumulative rhyme. Prolific British animator and illustrator Mantle's expressive and bright cartoon illustrations of the red, horned dragon (and the contents of his stomach) are a perfect match. The antics within the dragon's stomachevery image of the steed is accompanied by a little "clippity, clippity, clippity, clop" in teeny typeand his copious burping will leave 'em laughing. No matter how many swallowed-fly titles you own, this one belongs on your shelf too. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.