Sir Lance-a-little series by Rose Impey illustrated by Katharine Mcewen

Easy Fiction Treasure

I have talked about this series once before.  Sir Lance-a-Little sets off to fight the dragon Huffalot.  Such fun. He is a little knight who likes to think he is the bravest and cleverest knight in the whole kingdom of Notalot. The word play here is terrific. Huffalot does not sound very dangerous and perhaps nothing much happens in Notalot. Meanwhile his cousin sees the message from the dragon and she decides to join in even though she has to walk because sadly she has no horse. Along the way she meets a wolf. Readers who know the story of Little Red Riding Hood will quickly recognise that Princess Plum should NOT take the short cut offered by the wolf. This is sure to lead to trouble.

Look at these fabulous sentences - funny with a sophisticated vocabulary:

"As Sir Lance-a-Little rode along, he imaged Huffalot cowering in his cave."
"It was the voice of his pestiferous cousin, Princess Plum!"
"He knew the Knight's Code of Honour off by heart, and sitting on people definitively wasn't in it."
"He is famous for his colossal appetite for eating people."
"Sir Lance-a-Little and his tiresome cousin glared at one another."

I'm always on the look out for easy to read beginner books with satisfying stories. I've only seen Sir Lance-a-little and the Big Bad Wolf from this series but I'm sure all of them (there are seven) will be enjoyed by your young reading companion. A few from the series are still in print which is lucky. Here is a video with Katharine McEwan in her artist studio.

Here is the blurb from Scholastic:

"You’ve probably heard of Sir Lancelot. But how about Sir Lance-a-Little? This pint-sized hero is the bravest, cleverest knight in the whole kingdom of Notalot! He’s got a sword, and a helmet, and a proper quest: to defeat his number one enemy: the dragon Huffalot. Trouble is, something always seems to get in the way, from a naughty fairy to a Big Bad Wolf.

• Hilarious stories by much-loved author Rose Impey
• Featuring a delightful cast of fairy-tale characters
• Bright colour pictures and vivid, accessible text
• A magical choice for newly independent readers"

Rose Impey is a writing talent. She has written over 100 books!  I adore The Flat Man, Houdini dog (and sequels) and the Titchy Witch series.