characterization is so good in this, The enthusiastic knight, the cautious horse it plays on bravery stereotypes in a fun but not didactic or "teachy" way.
The humor is so free and silly, I have really good memories of several books by Bill Peet as a kid, Reading this one so many years later, I think I understand why, The text goes with the illustrations in a way that feels safe and as if the author understands and likes kids and wants to make them happy.
And like the writer/illustrator is having fun himself, I might be reading too much into it but that's what I think it felt like to me both now and then.
: It's somewhat dated i. e. No visual diversity in the humans, all the main characters are male, etc, but their actions ring true to humankind, Life is hard for Clyde, the horse of a brave knight, But when the time comes, will he show true courage This is a predictable but extremely fun picture book that kids and their parents will enjoy.
Read my full review at sitelinkCarstairs Considers, This is Bill Peet at the top of his game, We have a sympathetic horse, a gripping story, a scary monster, a satisfying conclusion, Along the way we have the pleasure of his art: great facial expressions and body language on people and animals both, scruffy dogs, bearded peasants, a spooky forest, and of course Bill Peet can never resist including a collapsed barn, which he always captures with a stunning blend of emotional and architectural truth.
Okay, these are adult pleasures, but it's a great story for kids, too, and kept my grandson spellbound, Bill Peet is amazing. Clyde was the war horse of a brave young knight known as Sir Galavant, Clyde wasn't known for his bravery, but for being a coward, When Sir Galavant promises the villagers that he would vanquish a terrorizing ogre who raided during the night, Clyde was forced to show some bravery.
This is not my favorite Bill Peet How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head, but its certainly my kids favorite, and why not A wicked ogre, a scared horse, a reckless knight, and all of it building up to an explosive KERPUFFLE! Both kids never tire of it.
Clyde the war horse thinks that it's pretending to be brave, because it doesn't feel brave as it decides to make the right choice anyway.
But that's exactly what bravery courage is: doing the right thing despite the threat of pain or the temptation of pleasure.
So Clyde wasn't simply pretending to be brave, He was brave,.stars. Clyde the warhorse must master his fear to help his knight Sir Galavant defeat an ogre,
Clyde is a horse with a fearful deposition belonging to a rather foolish knight named Sir Galavant, who likes to boast about his monster slaying prowess despite his lack of experience.
When an ogre begins threatening local farmers, Sir Galavant rides off to do battle, but Clyde bolts in a terror before the first blow is struck.
Unfortunately, Clyde fails to notice that he has lost his rider until he has reached safety, Unwilling to desert Sir Galavant, he decides to pretend to be brave, Clyde attempts to distract the ogre from attacking his master, and the ogre chases him, The ogre is intent on his prey that .
Sir Galavant, of course, takes the credit for the defeat of the monster, But Clyde has gained quite a bit of confidence from this experience and no longer considers himself to be a coward.
The story provides humorous reassurance to children about facing and overcoming one's fears, It is a variation of the classic story in which someone who either selfidentifies as or is labeled a coward discovers that s/he can be brave when the situation requires him/her to be.
As members of the Stark family are fond of saying, the only time a man can be is when he is afraid.
It also introduces young readers to the psychotherapeutic advice to "act as if," which translates in popular culture as fake it till you make it or fake it till you feel it.
The idea is that if one pretends to have a quality or ability, then one will actually develop it since behavior changes thoughts and feelings.
Because Clyde pretends to be brave, he is able to act bravely and becomes brave in the end,
The illustrations are nicely done, I enjoyed Clyde's facial expressions, which perfectly convey his emotions to the reader, There was something in the way Clyde was drawn, especially his worried look, that reminded me of Ichabod Crane's horse Gunpowder from "Disney's Legend of Sleepy Hollow," which was one of my childhood favorites, and then I discovered from the author bio that sitelinkBill Peet worked for Walt Disney as an illustrator/animator, which would explain the similarity.
The author gets a point for Clyde's name being a pun on the horse breed Clydesdale, For readers who enjoy chivalric humor, sitelinkBoogie Knights contains the best puns for knights' names of any book I have read.
Clyde is the noble steed of Sir Galavant, a very brave and foolhardy Knight and Clyde is a coward, although, he tries to act all brave.
One day, a terrible ogre attacks a village and Sir Galavant sets off to vanquish it, They find it in a dim forest, all purple and scaly blue, It is horrible with a horn on its head and it looks a little like Mad Madam Mims dragon, just a little.
Well, Clyde runs off when the monster gives chase and Sir
Galavant is knocked off his horse, Clyde notices when he is in the sunlight, He goes back and faces the Ogre and then the ending happens,
The setting is medieval Europe, The artwork is customary Bill Peet, with lots of character and emotion,
The nephews favorite part was when we see the horse and the ogre in the sun and the sun is looking down on the scene with this mean face.
Its funny. He thought there was action and a good monster and he gave thisstars, He said its a good Peet story, The illustrations in this book are wonderful! As a child, I loved Clyde and all his cowardly ways, It makes you feel brave to read of his adventures and empowered to face your own fears, Excellent children reading! Gives you a similar feeling to the Disney version of "The Sword in the Stone, " I love Bill Peet amp I adore this book It's my very favorite children's book and the first I remember reading entirely on my own.
It's a great story of a cowardly horse who is forced to face an ogre that is terrorizing the surrounding countryside.
Sir Gallivant, Clyde's knight, goes on a quest to defeat the ogre and, in the end, Clyde must take a stand or risk losing his closest friend.
Wonderful story Fun, fantastic illustrations! The kids loved this book and were all attention and sighs,
: its always worth the reread! My husband's favorite as a kiddo, and so fun now to share with our son.
He has just turnedbut is fascinated and asks for it before every nap and at bedtime, I'm a fan of the writinggreat adjectives amp perfectly placed alliteration, The characters are endearing. Fun read for both kiddos amp the adults who read to them, I'll check out more Bill Peet works having read this fun adventure, This hilarious book was probably my favorite as a child, It is so funny that reading to your kids may actually be something you look forward to! Clyde learns to act bravely, especially when he feels most afraid.
His almosttoolate courage rids the countryside of a trerrible ogre,
Note: some mild namecalling includes "dimwitted noodlehead," and "chickenlivered cowardly big lout, " The knight says, "I could slit his gullet in a twinkling, " At the end, the knight decides the townspeople wouldn't believe what really happened to the ogre, so he makes up a lie to tell them and takes the credit for himself, when Clyde was really the hero.
I can't believe that since I wasyears old I've been trying to find this book again, It was one of my very favorite as a young boy, about a brave knight and his fearful war horse who eventually had to face his fears becoming a hero against the great monster to save the day.
I could never remember the name, only the main story line and what the cover looked liked, It was so influential on me as a kid it made me want to be a knight when I grew up.
. . so when I was old enough I became an United States Marine,