Who Wrote It?
Elys is an author and illustrator based in Cambridge, where she studied children’s book illustration. She works predominantly with ink, new-fangled digital witchcraft and coloured pencils, of which she is the proud owner of 178, but can never seem to find a sharpener. When not doing pictures and making things up, Elys enjoys growing cacti, working on her PhD about funny picture books and eating excessive amounts of fondant fancies.
What's It About?
Dave is a dragon, but not a typical one. He’d much rather bury his nose in a book than a treasure hoard and when he picks up a second-hand copy of How to be a Knight, he knows he’s found his calling. Ably assisted by his trusty steed Albrecht who, though a goat, has all the requisite attributes – attitude, looks, glossiness, not to mention the ability to speak, and a decidedly colourful past – he sets out to win his knighthood.
Fact File
Fact 1: Many of her books have been shortlisted for book prizes! Doughnut of Doom and Steven Seagull Action Hero were nominated for the 2017 Kate Greenaway Award (a national award for illustrating children’s books).
Fact 2: Weasels was shortlisted for the 2013 Roald Dahl funny prize and the Kate Greenaway in 2014.
Find out more about Elys on her website: www.elysdolan.com
Your Reviews
Zac from Great Preston C of E Primary School:
Amazing book one of the best my favorite character was the dragon I like that the goat was used as a horse and he went on adventures everywhere this book was the best
Hannah from Great Preston c of e primary school :
This book was really funny .i really enjoyed it .
I thought it was a bit sad to.
Nada from Whinmoor St Pauls CE of Primary School:
This book is amazing!!! Dave is my favourite character because he always comes up with ideas like the one where he got out of jail with his steed Albrech. Also my worst character is the Kings wife because she kept a secret that she is actually a wicked witch! She put a curse on the kings daughter! My favourite part is when Dave beat all the kings knights! And when they find out there is a very bad doctor.
Ishbel from Barwick-in-Elmet primary school:
My favourite character in this book was Dave because he was really funny and very different from all the other dragons. I liked when we found out Dave wanted to be a knight!!!!!!! :)
Samantha from Barwick-in-Elmet:
It was funny and a bit too silly. My favourite bit was when he said ''I think I need the toilet''.
Eleanor from Barwick-In-Elmet Prmary School:
I really like this book because it was really fun to read and I liked the dragon. My favourite character was dragon because it was very cute and funny.
Lyra from Barwick In Elmet Church Of England Primary:
Everyone should read this book because it is funny and really good memories afterwards.
Charlotte from Kippax Greenfield Primary School:
This book is kind of funny but parts of it is boring.My favorite character is Albrecht the goat because he is funny
Charlotte gave Knighthood for Beginners 2 out of 5 and now plans to read Me and Mister P by Maria Farrer.
Riya from Pudsey Primrose Hill:
This book is so hilarious!It has funny pictures and a cute dragon.I recomend this book to anyone because it makes you jolly.This is all so sad and interesting.Thank you for letting me in the book club. It is such fun!
Yusuf from Whinmoor ST Pauls C of E Primary School:
This dragon taught everybody you can be whatever you want. It boosted my self~esteem.I didn't like the book that much. It was boring. It would've been better if it was more spooky or horror.I love horror.
AWSOME BOOK I love it so much because it was SO FUNNY
Holly from Southroyd Primary:
I absolutely loved this hilarious book. I love the fact it has got a German speaking goat and I liked Dave too. It was funny when the goat pretended to be a lady and the King fell in love with him however it was sad when he and Dave had a quarrel and broke friends.
Emma from Carr Manor primary school :
I thought that it was really funny and there was a really cute picture in it. The plot was great and my favourite character was Mildred the bearded Lady because she believes in herself and others. I would recommend it to everyone
Noah from Carr Manor Primary:
The cute picture on page 150 is Dave breathing out fire and looking cute. I like this book because it has another book in it that's really good. I would tell my friends and family to read this book.
Harrison from Kippax Greenfield Primary School:
The book was about a little dragon and it was funny because he couldn't fight and he did everything wrong. Also he has a friend that's a German-speaking goat. Dave tries to be a knight but he can't do it right but he wears knights armor and uses a sword. His dream is to be a brave knight to protect the castle from other people. I would recommend this book for people who like medieval things. It was very funny and enjoyable but it wasn't my favourite. He ends up being a knight at the end but he takes a long time for him to learn the ways of a knight. He loved reading, I recommend this book for 5+. Its one of my favourite books.
Maisy from Southroyd primary and early years:
Awesome???. This book is totally epic i would score it 50000000 out of 5.???I adore the character Dave since he is really cute and funny and I like the bit in the story when... Oh I won't tell you that yet.??????????????????????????????????????????
Zak from Farsley Springbank Primary School:
This book was quite funny. Dave was the first person to fail as a dragon but he was actually the best knight. Albrecht was a really funny character because he’d been on lots of adventures and knew about everything - even though Dave didn’t believe him. I liked it when he had to dress up in a girl’e Costume and dance. It was funny when he got the jousting stick stuck in his bottom and the bearded lady had to pull it out. I think lots of people my age would enjoy this book.
Evie from Great Preston C of E primary school:
Knighthood for beginners is an incredible book for all ages and all genders. Dave the dragon is sent away from his family.? He tries to be a knight but will he get the job? Read the book and you will find out.
Zac from Great Preston primary school:
This book is very good because it is about a dragon called Dave that is a knight
Zac gave Knighthood for Beginners 5 out of 5 and now plans to read Me and Mister P by Maria Farrer.
Harrison from Great Preston :
I like this book because it is really funny book and I like how cute Dave is.
maiya from southroyd primary and nursary school:
This book was amazing and had many funny but scary parts!!!
I cant believe I am saying this but this is the best book I have read so far.
I think that knighthood for beginners is a very funny book. I like how you add a German character.
Francesca from Whinmoor St Paul's C of E Primary School:
I like this book loads because there is a dragon called Dave and he tried to be a knight. His horse (or pretend horse) is a funny character.
Francesca gave Knighthood for Beginners 4 out of 5 and now plans to read Me and Mister P by Maria Farrer.
Milan from Whinmoor St Paul's C of E Primary School:
This book was good because Dave was a dragon but he didn't act like one.
Nadia from Whinmoor St Paul's C of E Primary School:
It was really good because Dave the dragon is always different to all the other dragons. The moral of the story is never give up!
Eathan from Pudsey Primrose Hill:
I like this book because it has knights.
Eathan gave Knighthood for Beginners 4 out of 5 and now plans to read Me and Mister P by Maria Farrer.
Isabelle from Oulton Primary School:
I liked this book. It has some funny parts which made me laugh. I quite liked the dragon because he was really funny. The story worked out well for him.
Rian from Pudsey Primros Hill :
I like this book because it has bad nights and good night's.I don't like the middle bit.I don't think it's bad or good I just like it.
Rian gave Knighthood for Beginners 5 out of 5 and now plans to read Me and Mister P by Maria Farrer.
Ruairi from Immaculate Heart of Mary Primary School:
I loved the book. I loved the way it was all magical and that a dragon was able to become a knight and a goat became a steed. It was a bit upsetting when Dave burnt the fuzzy bunny book.
Madi from Whinmoor St Paul's C of E Primary School:
I really enjoyed this book because it had tons of adventure and humor. Dave the dragon and Albrecht the mighty steed (a goat) are so funny that you would want to read it again and again. I would recommend this book to 5-11 year olds because it is sometimes a little hard to understand Albrecht's language. I would say that 4 out of 5 people would give this book 5 out of 5 stars.
DYLAN from Southroyd Primary And Nursery School:
This book was hilarious and Dave was SO cute when he was a baby.
Katie from southroyd primary and nursery school:
The book was amazing I really enjoyed it and Dave it so cute, especially when he says "I need the toilet" that is so cute. and the best bit is when he had to pick a steed it had to be glossy, good looking, has an attitude and needs a fine physique and then... he picked xxxxxxxx that was hilarious. I loved it good job.
Lily-Rose from West End Primary School:
I liked it because there was a lot of unexpected things and all the characters were funny.
Carlos from Whinmoor St Paul's C of E Primary School:
I was surprised when one of the dragons said that he wanted to be different to the other dragons, It is good to be different. It is funny because some of the characters talk a different language.
