The knight snacker

It's the middle of the night, and a contemporary kid called Sir Julian realizes he's famished--the result of having surreptitiously fed Mom's nasty-smelling "Fusion Fondue" to the family dog. Too short to reach the light switch, the pale-skinned child must now make a quest to the kitchen to "conquer a scrumptious snack," braving a darkness evoked in deep blue-green digital hues. Trailing a blanket cape and carrying a sword and stuffie in hand, he tames the potty monster by tinkling in it, realizes that a "hideous ghostly figure" he sees is just his reflection, and eventually makes it downstairs, only to discover that the only thing to eat is leftovers from the dreaded dinner. Is the knight brave enough--and hungry enough--to eat it? Employing in animation-like art a protagonist prone to imaginative perceptions, Wicker turns the hero's journey on its side and tickles it. Ages 3--6. (Oct.)

A grocery list left on the table subtly foreshadows a nighttime quest for comestibles. It's dinnertime, and like so many kids, Sir Julian, a tan-skinned child, is not impressed with his mom's experimental cooking, opting to feed it to the dog. Predictably, this leads to the need for snacks. Sir Julian's evening--beginning with his supper, which smells "like dragon's ooze"--mimics a hero's journey as he vanquishes foes and fears, among them the dreaded potty monster, on the way to his final destination: the kitchen. To his horror, he discovers that the family is out of snacks, rendering his perilous journey moot--or is it? For when Sir Julian, left with no other options, tries the dreadful dinner, he finds it…not bad. Perhaps the real quest is being open to trying new things. Food avoidance, bathroom fears, and nighttime worry are familiar and welcome themes in picture books, and this one, though a bit predictable, is no exception. Digital art effectively depicts Sir Julian's wide range of emotions, from trepidation to terror to triumph, but feels a bit artificial. Adult readers assessing (among other things) how loud this nighttime journey must have been may wonder where the grown-ups in this book are, but kids will enjoy comic nods like the overly dramatic depiction of the unfamiliar--and therefore--monstrous dinner. (This book was reviewed digitally.) An enjoyable, if well-trod, adventure. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.