Are things good or bad or are they the preconceptions we impose upon them? Are KNIGHTS always good and are they ALWAYS supposed to fight and be the doers of good deeds?

And similarly, are DRAGONS always fire-breathing demons, intent on death and destruction…or do they act as a result of what they are expected to be? If we and they follow the expectations of what others impose upon us, what might be the result for both?

Or, can there be a better result if DRAGON and KNIGHT combine and form an alliance where each can be his best self and contribute what each feels he does best?

Tomie dePaola, in his 1980 gem called “The Knight and the Dragon,” has thought of these alternate scenarios and evidenced each in his delightful picture book with food as an end result, literally, AND plenty of food for young readers’ thoughts, as well.

It conjured memories for me of Kenneth Grahame’s “The Reluctant Dragon,” who also wrote “The Wind in the Willows ” that Walt Disney put to fine effect in his animated film of 1949, as well as his version of “The Reluctant Dragon” in 1941.

I have put a link to Disney’s “The Reluctant Dragon” below, but PLEASE, do allow your young reader to sample Tomie dePaola’s picture book FIRST, called “The Knight and the Dragon.”

Both classic reads hold up and have grand stories and lessons to teach young readers of any age in any time.

Please see parts below of Disney’s “The Reluctant Dragon”:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=the+reluctant+dragon+part+2+