Shelley Moore ThomasCritiques

The Good Knight is on his watch when he hears a sound. Roar! Is it a dragon? A great big dragon? He searches the woods and finds a surprise. Three very little dragons are almost ready for bed. But who will read to them, tuck them in, and kiss them good night? Is this a job for the Good Knight?

Beginner Reader

A brave and goodhearted knight. Baby dragons asking for a drink of water, a story, and a song. Great repetition to aid in that whole learning-to-read thing. And dragon pajamas. With cars on them. What's not to love?!

3 dragon friends are sick. The Good Knight brings them soup from the wizard, but they won't touch it. What is he to do?

In their present-day tourist trap of an Irish seaside town, famed for its supposed involvement with selkies in the past, three sisters are faced with the sudden disappearance of their mother. Crushed by the loss, their father is struggling to carry on. To make matters worse, there are rumors afloat in the village that their mother herself is a selkie who has now shed her human form and gone back to sea. As Cordie Sullivan, the oldest daughter, tries to learn more about her mother's vanishing, she must find the strength to help her family move ahead, even as she discovers an increasing number of clues that point to a hidden island off the coast―a mythical kingdom of the selkies.

From Shelley Moore Thomas, the author of The Seven Tales of Trinket, a Kirkus Reviews Best Children’s Book of the Year, The Secrets of Selkie Bay is a powerful story about magic, family, grief, and hope.

“Explores grief and loss, as well as the comforting power of stories and belief in magic that can chase away sadness. . . . The fanciful folktales interspersed throughout the novel add plenty of charm.” -Booklist

"Especially endearing are the multitude of little pixie seals that come swimming to the island. . . . Here all elusive threads are woven into a satisfying ending and the recognition that an endangered species has renewed itself near the island." -Children's Literature

Full reivew

Somewhere between fantasy and reality,
between myth and legend
lies the kingdom of the selkies

The quote describes Secrets of Selkie Bay. The story is grounded in reality with the little bit of mystery of the fantasies right beneath the surface. I like books that are not all magical but, have a balance between the two that give a possible chance that there could be more to the world.

The story is told in Cordia POV as the oldest sister. She take on the responsibility of caring for siblings all dealing with the lost of their mom. Creating a fantasy for her eight year old sister, that their mom is a selkie and coming close to believing that fantasy.

I like this book all the way up to the endI'm mad that the dad didn't told them that their mother was in the hospitable. The girls through their mom pack up and left them. Either way I'll be upset at both situations. The story stay grounded in reality but, didn't take away the magic.

Lighthearted and comical, this book will definitely engage younger children into calling out all the dragons they see on the pages. If there is a lesson to be learned it is that children should always question 'authority figures' about things that don't seem logical or factual. They are being told by the author that there a no dragons in the book, but every page has some evidence to the contrary.½

Cuenta la leyenda que hace mucho tiempo, en los océanos vivían las selkies, seres que podían deshacerse de su piel de foca y hacerse pasar por personas. Dicen que hoy día sigue habiendo selkies entre nosotros. Algunos afirman incluso que la madre de Cordie podría ser una de ellas…

El verano acaba de comenzar y los turistas acuden en manada a Selkie Bay, en la costa de Irlanda, atraídos por las leyendas. Cordie Sullivan, de once años, dejó de creer hace tiempo en esos cuentos de hadas. Pero ahora su madre ha desaparecido de la noche a la mañana. Y mientras intenta ayudar a su padre, que a duras penas consigue sacar a la familia adelante, y cuidar de sus hermanas pequeñas, un presentimiento empieza a apoderarse de ella. ¿Y si su madre fuera una selkie, como se rumorea en el pueblo, que se hubiera visto obligada a acudir a la llamada de los suyos? ¿Y si la propia Cordie y sus hermanas fueran selkies también? ¿Y si hubiera llegado la hora de visitar la isla que, según las leyendas, alberga el mítico reino?

En algún lugar entre la fantasía y la realidad, entre el mito y la leyenda, se sitúa esta conmovedora historia sobre la familia, la esperanza y una magia muy posible, que tiene mucho que ver con nosotros y con el amor a la naturaleza. Un relato que abarca pequeñas historias y leyendas, escogido como uno de los mejores libros infantiles del año por Kirkus Reviews.

Genre: Fantasy
Age: Primary (K-2)
Review:
A knight hears a sound and goes to investigate. He finds three little dragons who want to sleep but cannot. The knights go through reading a book and tucking them in amongst other things to help them fall asleep.
This book is fantasy because there are dragons. Dragons do not actually exist thus this book cannot fit under any other category. The dragons also act like children. Wearing pajamas and holding stuffed animals before a bedtime routine.
Use:
1) Talk about bedtime routines
2) Not all dragons are bad, just like not all stereotypes are real
Ill. Media: Colored Pencils?

An adorable little mouse will keep you guessing in this book. However, what he is trying to convince you is beyond reason. He continuously tells you that the book is "not about dragons", even though the evidence clearly shows otherwise. Eventually his efforts on distracting you from the dragons become too obvious and he gives in. The book, although not my favorite would be good for any child that likes dragons and likes mystery. It really made you want to keep reading to finally find the dragons.

This sweet book follows the good knight and his aventure with some little mosters. It is fun to see the Good Knight taking care of the little ones even from far off. Children would love this book and would be intrigued by all of the little monster's adventures.

I liked the book for the educational opportunities it provides more than the content itself. This is why I would recommend this book for beginning readers. The plot was not very suspenseful, since it was about a knight doing favors for three little dragons, but the writing was what helped me appreciate the story. The book uses descriptive language such as “deep dark cave” and “crumbly tumbly tower” to give the reader a clear picture of the setting. There was also language to clearly describe sounds such as “clippety-clop” and “thud”. The rhyming in this story can help children with phonemic awareness and oral language skills. The repetition in the story can help a child with reading fluency, but would get boring for older children. The characters were relatable because all of the dragons had the same needs of a typical child. For example, one dragon wanted a glass of water and another dragon wanted to read a story. These are common requests that children have around bedtime. The illustrations were colorful and cute, which helps keep readers interested. The use of the words “night” and “knight” introduces readers to homophones, which help children expand their vocabulary and apply these words to their own writing. Whether this book is being read to children or they are reading it out loud on their own, there are many aspects of this book that would benefit a young reader.

The old, old wizard asks the three little dragons to take care of his cats while he's away for the day. They're happy to do so, but the one problem is they can't read! So when it comes time to deciphering the wizard's care instructions, things go horribly awry. Luckily, the Good Knight is there to help them out.

This book is very funny, especially seeing the cats' reactions to the various things the dragons have them do -- like go swimming in the lake instead of giving them water to drink! The cartoonish illustrations are not usually my taste, but they work well with this silly story.

I shared this book with kids from a variety of age groups, and most seemed to enjoy the book and its humor. The book is part of series, but it seems to stand up pretty well on its own.½

A new little baby is coming to your house and and there will be many changes. Sometimes the baby will cry -- loudly. That's just the way it says "Feed me!" or "Hold me!" or "Change my diaper!" Your parents will pay lots of attention to the baby (but they'll still have time for you!).

The genre of this book is fantasy. It is a funny and light hearted story about three dragons who are taking car of the knights cats. They have a difficult time understanding the directions they were given and this causes some very funny moments. The illustrations in this book seem to be done with watercolors and possible ink wash in bright colors.

Genre: Fantasy (fiction)

I would use this book to:
1. read to a class of Kinder of first graders to present reading
2. teach students about plot

Summary: This book is about three little dragons who are asked by an old wizard if they can take care of his cats while he is gone. The dragons agree to do so. The wizard leaves them a note on his table with the instructions. However, none of the dragons know how to read so they do what they think the pictures in the instructions indicate. They take the cats swimming, put them in a cupboard, take them camping, none of which they were supposed to do. Throughout the day the Good Knight asks the dragons what they are doing and seems worried. Then, the Good Knight does something about the situation and reads the note with the instructions. Finally, the dragons are able to follow the instructions correctly, After his return , the wizard rewards them with a kitten and the Good Knight gives them a book that will teach them how to read.

Media: Pencil, watercolor

I finally get magical realism! This is such a sweet story of a family struggling to make ends meet and three sisters discovering the legend of the Selkie. Also it surprised me!

Lively, cute silliness that lends itself well for reading aloud.

Get Well, Good Knight by Shelley Moore Thomas is a cute modern fantasy book about a good knights journey to save his sickly dragon friends. I enjoyed this because because I thought the repetitive plot was easy for the reader to understand and predict the events of the story. For example, the good knight went back to the old wizard numerous times because each potion the wizard made was too disgusting for the dragons to eat. Every time the wizard made a soup for the sick dragons he said, “this will make them well!” As soon as the reader sees this, they know the dragons aren’t going to like whatever soup the wizard made. I also loved the adjectives throughout this book. Thomas uses phrases like “ deep dark cave, shaky quaky voice, slimy grimy soup, and big black pot.” These descriptive words help the reader visualize the different settings in the story. The plot is logical, and very easy to follow along to as well. Overall, I think that this story does a great job of creating a imaginative setting that the reader can escape to.

Baby's Coming to Your House!
It is a story about preparing older sibling for a new baby tat is coming into the house.

I truly enjoyed this read. Simple, fun, and easy to understand basic principles of caring for others can be taught in and out the classroom. This book would be a great introduction into fantasy reading for the early reader and its medieval and dragon theme teach important class themes of well-being and healthiness. As I sit here sneezing away during allergy season, I am reminded of the dragon at the end...Achoo!

Summary: A story about three little sick dragons and a Knight quest on getting them better.

Personal Opinion: Cute art work. Simple enough to let children use their imagination and yet enough detail for adults to enjoy. This book make me want to go to the local SCA, Society for Creative Anachronism, and ask the Child Warden if I can read to the children there.

Classroom Extension:
What can children do to not get sick?
Good eating habits.
What can we do to help our friends and families to get better when sick?

A young girl's quest to find her father and become a storyteller. It is heavily based on Celtic folklore and reads like a group of related short stories or fairy tales.