Small Knight was very brave and had even captured their scary Anxiety Monster with the help of their best friend, a teddy bear, begins this whimsical fable. When the king’s sister, a famous warrior, visits one day with her son the prince, Small Knight bonds with the sister, but not with the prince, who is so moody that the air around him vibrates—shown in the illustrations as red squiggles.
Small Knight tries to reach out, but the prince is still angry, and soon Small Knight is angry, too. Their friend Tiny Bear advises them that anger is contagious, spreading like their Anxiety Monster. Small Knight calms down and decides to do something to help. After a heated discussion with the prince, they realize that the prince is jealous of their knightly skills. He finds it hard to live up to his mother’s expectations. Small Knight admits they’re not the perfect princess that their parents want, either. They help the prince spend an afternoon doing something he likes, watching butterflies, and then the two of them practice swordfighting, away from parental eyes. Together, they’re ready for tomorrow’s Knight Tournament.
There are lessons here about how anxieties spread and how to overcome them, and some, too, about defying gender roles, but the multiple analogies and messages threaten to overwhelm the tale. It’s not a bad story, but it tries to do too much.
All of the characters are White.
