I am very lucky and often get sent some lovely picture books to review. It is a great position to be in of course, but unfortunately I don’t have the time to write reviews for them all, and I often feel really bad about that. However I thought that I would try to showcase as many as I can by at least writing mini-reviews, which is what I will do from time to time in  Picture Book Carousel. Today, I want to focus on three lovely picture books featuring knights.

Sir Laughalot
Tony Mitton (text) & Sarah Warburton (illustrations)
(Orchard Books)

Sir Laughalot is a fearless knight, all kitted out, and only needs to find some fearless foes to fight! He is not one to run away from a challenge, but despite having an armour, a shield and a sword, his most effective weapon remains …his laugh! It might even bag his a princess! The valiant hero in this hilarious tale will be a hit with little readers. The clever rhyming text (written by Tony Mitton, master poet!) and brilliantly detailed and humorous illustrations work so well together, it is a pleasure to read aloud. There is also a great message to be taken from this highly entertaining story: with a bit of joy in your heart and a wicked sense of humour, you can conquer just about anything!
Fits of giggles will be ineludible is in this infectiously funny picture book; it puts me in a happy mood every time I read it!

Elephant Joe is a Knight!
David Wojtowycz
(Alison Green Books)

The King’s crown has been stolen and Elephant Joe and Zebra Pete are off on an adventure to retrieve it from the Dark Knight. But nothing is quite as it seems once they get to the Dark Knight’s tower: the dragon is kind and the damsel in distress is in fact … the Dark Knight! Will Elephant Joe be brave enough to save the say?
This third installment in Elephant Joe’s adventures has got a distinctive comic book style (which is accentuated by the use of speech bubbles) with bright colours and a clever use of collage and textures. This jolly take on traditional knight stories will delight young readers; there is a lot to spot in the illustrations and the endearing central characters will leave audiences wanting more.

Nat Fantastic and the Brave Knights of Old
Giles Andreae (text) & Katharine McEwen (illustrations)
(Orchard Books)

Nat is playing with his toy knights while his mum is cooking his favourite lunch. But every time his mum leaves the room, something rather unusual happens: one almighty sneeze is enough to to turn him in Nat Fantastic, miniature superhero. This happens several times throughout the book and each time Nat Fantastic is taken back on a new knightly adventure to fight some baddies. This action-packed picture book is perfect for budding knights and admirers of super-heroes.The illustrations are action-packed really child-friendly, and we all know how good Giles Andreae is at penning a good story! The text is quite long so might require some stamina for slightly younger audiences but with so much going on in the illustrations, they will definitely be kept entertained!

Many thanks to Scholastic and Orchard Books for providing review copies of these titles.

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