Sir Kevin of Devon

Sir Kevin of Devon
Adelaide Holl ~ Leonard Weisgard
Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1963

I dare you to find a child who isn't instantly turned on by this book for no other reason than the sheer awesomeness of the name. It rhymes. The knight's named Kevin. So many reasons for love from the get-go.

In days of old
And times gone by,
When knights were bold
And castles high,

There lived in the town
Of East North Devon
A little boy
Whose name was Kevin--
A smallish lad,
Not quite eleven.

Like so many David and Goliath tales, here we see a small boy face a town's fears all alone. Confront the monster. Kill the beast. End triumphant and brave. A story no red-blooded boy (or girl) will ever tire of hearing.

As always, Weisgard's pictures are truly his own. When you see the covers of his books, there is no doubt his hand was in them, so unique and original is his style. A true artist in every sense of the word. These wonderful drawings along with Ms. Holl's infectious rhyme and the tallish oversize of the pages make for a timeless adventure and have me wishing my son lived in an era of discovery instead of the time of Google. Weisgard once said, "Books, have always, for as long as I can recall, been a source of real magic in this wildly confusing world." Truer words have not been spoken.

Also by:
The Quiet Noisy Book
Little Chicken
The Little Island
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
The Big Book of Nursery Tales
Treasures to SeeThe Secret River
Pilgrim Thanksgiving
Cynthia and the Unicorn
The Mouse and the Lion
Rain Puddle