Custard the Dragon and the Wicked Knight - Hardcover

Nash, Ogden

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0316598828 ISBN 13: 9780316598828

Publisher: Little Brown & Co, 1996

Synopsis

A second rhyming adventure of Custard the cowardly dragon finds the household of the self-professed brave pets in an uproar when Belinda is kidnapped by an evil knight, and Custard must fend for himself when his companions abandon him.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 4?As she did in The Tale of Custard the Dragon (Little, 1995), Munsinger brings Nash's appealing cowardly dragon to life through her lively ink-and-watercolor illustrations. Belinda is kidnapped by the notorious Sir Garagoyle and it is Custard, not the child's other reluctant pets, who sets out to rescue her. " 'Well,' said Custard, 'at least I'm in the mood/To be the toughest chicken that was ever chewed.' " Munsinger's deft portrayal of the poem's action and characters is a perfect match for Nash's clever wordplay. Her paintings, whether of the arrival of the evil Sir Garagoyle ("You could tell he was wicked, for he reeked of roguery") or of Custard's rescue flight ("With headlight eyes and spikes a-bristle/He pierced the air like a locomotive whistle") perfectly convey the poem's light tone. Thanks to Munsinger for introducing a new generation to Belinda and her "realio, trulio, little pet dragon."?Kathleen Whalin, Greenwich Country Day School, CT
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist:

Ages 4^-8. As in The Tale of Custard the Dragon (1995), Munsinger illustrates Nash's nonsense poem with affectionate line-and-watercolor pictures that express the farce and the coziness of the story. Belinda's pet dragon is always getting flustered, so the other pets call him Cowardly Custard. Then, when Belinda gets captured by Sir Garagoyle, the shy dragon breaks down her prison gates with his "blowtorch breath," flattens the wicked knight, and flies Belinda home. Kids will love the first reversal--a knight can't always beat a dragon--but there's a further funny surprise: when Custard gets back home, he's scared by a rabbit in the kitchen. This time, he responds to the jeers with a nonchalant shrug: "I've learned what a nuisance bravery can be, / So a coward's life is the life for me." The rhymes are fun, and the pictures, with lots of purple and green, get the mock-heroic gestures and the cuddles of Belinda and her funny pet. Hazel Rochman

About this edition

• Publisher: Little Brown & Co
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0316598828
• ISBN 13: 9780316598828
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Munsinger Lynn