Mom and Me Reviews: Prince and Knight by Daniel Haack

Mom and Me Reviews: Prince & Knight by Daniel Hack, Illustrations by Stevie Lewis

First Line: “Once upon a time, in a kingdom far from here, lived a charming prince who was handsome and sincere.”

Summary: This is the story of a prince who is ready to marry, but cannot find a bride. He searches everywhere, but cannot find “the one”. When a dragon attacks the kingdom, he goes to defeat the attacker and meets his one true love– a knight.

Ratings:

                Maggie: N/A

                Conor: N/A

Guest Reader (Anonymous): unable to score

                Mama Lala: 7 out of 10

Their Thoughts:

“Where is this place, ‘Far from here’?”

“It’s going to be a girl. The Knight is going to be a girl and the girl is going to be the one the prince likes” (cue penetrating stare at me).

It took them a long time after the book was over to share their thoughts. Then they said, “I don’t know if this is appropriate for my age group.”

My Thoughts: I love the bright vivid colors of the illustrations. I enjoy that it starts with ‘Once Upon a Time’, and ends with ‘Happily Ever After’. I think the book was well-worded. I also think it caused the child to think about and even evolve their thoughts of being gay. They assumed things about the story, and it made them uncomfortable when it didn’t conform to their assumptions. It made them uncomfortable that it made them uncomfortable, too. I think that is why they believed this was “not for their age group.” All in all, I am glad I read them this story at this age, and not a younger one– or too much older. I wanted to confront these assumptions at a younger age. The topic had been discussed before, and they are in contact with people who are gay, so this was not a new subject– it was a new perspective, though.

FYI: This story contains LGBTQ+ themes, and may require discussion with your little ones on the matter.

Happy Reading our friends,

Mama Lala, Maggie, & Conor