The Knight of Little Import

Batsel's medieval-inspired tale follows knight Charlie as she vanquishes the hidden-in-plain-sight monsters of her small town, called Little Import. Though "knights were supposed to slay monsters," young Charlie--portrayed in full armor--has only ever read about them. Compared to nearby Biggerborough, "Little Import just wasn't worth a monster's time." When Charlie overhears the neighborhood baker lamenting the havoc wreaked by a "gluttonous fiend," it catalyzes an aha moment, and she bags the town's first brute--layer cake-lookalike "Triple-Tier Hungerbeak." Before long, the whole village, populated by residents of varying skin tones, comes knocking for help with creatures including a wheelbarrow-esque "Frenzied Mudbull" and a bridge-like "Arch-Backed Spandragon." Readers are provided with descriptions of each monster, disguised as everyday objects, before a page turn identifies the various fiends (a grandfather clock, for example, turns out to be a "furious thundergong"). The result is a playfully interactive story that suggests the grass isn't always greener somewhere else. Ages 5-9. (Sept.)