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Boogie Knights    by Lisa Wheeler & Mark Segal Amazon.com order for
Boogie Knights
by Lisa Wheeler
Order:  USA  Can
Atheneum, 2008 (2008)
Hardcover
* * *   Reviewed by Hilary Daninhirsch

I love books that cleverly play on words, such as the adorable Boogie Knights. In this fun book, a Madcap Monsters Ball is secretly taking place in a castle, where werewolves hustle and zombies bustle, and all the while, the knights in shining armor (all brothers) are asleep upstairs.

One by one, the knights are awakened (either by a banshee, by a monstrous melody, by a courtly sneeze, etc.) and come downstairs to join the party. The name of each knight is what made me chuckle: Sir Veillance, Sir Prize, Sir Loin, Sir Round, Sir Ender, Sir Vivor, and, the funniest in my opinion, Sir Cumference.

A little boy (who reminds me a little of Calvin from the famed comic strip Calvin and Hobbes) is a witness to the fun. The jazzy language and playful, dusky illustrations make for a terrific read-aloud:

'"It's getting late,"
tough Sir Loin states.
"Our honor is at stake."
He heads right down
with wide Sir Round ...
and now they shimmy-shake.

Wizards wiggle!
Ghostlings giggle!
Demons do their thing.

Gremlins groovin'!
Vampires movin'!
See that hunchback swing!
'

This is one of the most creative and entertaining picture books I've read in a long time. Not all books for children need to contain a message or moral: this one is purely for fun.

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