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Midsummer Knight
Gregory Rogers is back with a new wordless adventure every bit as funny and inspired as The Boy, The Bear, The Baron, The Bard. Here the Bear returns as a soldier whose daydreams are interrupted by Shakespeare's fairy, Puck--the Boy in the previous book. Soon Bear finds himself hurtled into an enchanted world replete with treacherous doings, sinister plots and, of course, palace dungeons. Is Bear truly a swashbuckler? Will he ever escape?
32 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2006
1 person is currently reading
29 people want to read
About the author
Gregory Rogers
79Ìýbooks9ÌýfollowersChildren's book illustrator, Gregory Rogers studied fine art at the Queensland College of Art and worked as a graphic designer for some years before taking up freelance illustration. He was the first Australian to be awarded the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
May 2, 2022
Such a cute story! I remember being fascinated by this book in the series in particular because of the cute fairies and the beautifully-illustrated fantasy world (and the humor...) and it was nice to reread it again years later!
December 3, 2012
Bear has an adventure without Boy, this time wandering through the forest into a fairy castle with some nods to Midsummer Night's Dream (mostly in the person of the little flying sidekick whom I guess is supposed to be Puck, although he wasn't puckish in personality) where he rescues the inhabitants from prison and restores their treasure.
This story was wordless and drawn out in comic-book format panels. I felt like it really wanted to be an animated cartoon short rather than a book.
This story was wordless and drawn out in comic-book format panels. I felt like it really wanted to be an animated cartoon short rather than a book.
March 23, 2018
A bear knight goes on an "alice in wonderland" type adventure. There aren't any words and sometimes it's hard to follow but the illustrations are very cute.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 13, 2023
A sophisticated wordless picture book.
September 27, 2019
The sequel to this wordless, graphic-nove is packed to the brim with adventure and Bardic references. Presented in a large hardback (lovely for sharing and pouring over for details), we follow an armoured, but cuddly looking bear as he leaves the Thames and enters Shakespeare's the world and characters of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Entering a magical forest he discovers a place of mystery and must work out who is causing fear and mayhem in the palace of the fairy king and queen.
Rogers must have spent an age thinking about perspective, pace and timing for they're all pitch perfect. Ideas, tension and moments of excitement are all captured with such grace and all without a single word. I don't think you need to know the play to enjoy this but it would make for a richer reading experience.
Rogers must have spent an age thinking about perspective, pace and timing for they're all pitch perfect. Ideas, tension and moments of excitement are all captured with such grace and all without a single word. I don't think you need to know the play to enjoy this but it would make for a richer reading experience.
April 21, 2020
Somewhere between a picture book (wordless) and a graphic novel. Lovely illustrations with a sense of humor. Lots of fantasy and fairy tale adventure familiar ideas, plus a fair number of nods to Shakespeare. A lot of fun for those who like their fantasy a little quirky (hello!) and even for some older and mid-grade readers who will like adding in the details to this adventure.
September 21, 2019
A cute, wordless picture book fantasy adventure. A bear floats down the river in a boat, runs from bees, and ends up going through a "portal" into the world of fairies, where he ends up helping restore the throne to the rightful king and queen.
September 7, 2022
Read for the Renaissance Faire Girl Scout patch.
September 6, 2012
In this continuation of "The Boy, The Bear, The Baron and The Bard" readers will find Bear floating down the river Thames. He soon bumps into land and makes quick work of finding a beehive and having a snack, only to be chased off by angry bees. He finds a place to hide inside of a tree. Bear discovers that the inside of the tree is a tunnel and follows the tunnel and discovers a strange land. the birds and mushrooms are bigger than he is!
He is suddenly picked up by a bird and dropped in her nest. Bear proceeds to fall out of the nest but is caught by a young boy with wings who gently lowers him to the ground. The boy is able to convince the bird to fly both Bear and him to a fairy kingdom. They seek out the castle and are led in by a sinister-looking castle official. When they arrive in the throne room they find that it has been ransacked and the royals are missing!
When Bear and his companion pick up a royal necklace and shoe they are immediately arrested on suspicion of the crime. They've been setup!
Finding themselves in the castle dungeon they quickly befriend the King and Queen and find a way out of the dungeon. Readers will be confused with how this happens, but it appears that the prisoners act as if there is some emergency.
The friends find their way back to the throne room. Inside they encounter the castle official who opened the door for them busy packing away the royal belongings for his own benefit. A battle ensues and of course the good guys win.
Bear and boy are knighted and are free to leave the kingdom. Of course, the boy remains behind and a sad goodbye is hard of both Bear and boy. Bear travels back through the tunnel and back to his own land.
Not nearly as good as the original. But this is mostly due to confusing drawings. If readers can get through that this book is rollicking good fun!
He is suddenly picked up by a bird and dropped in her nest. Bear proceeds to fall out of the nest but is caught by a young boy with wings who gently lowers him to the ground. The boy is able to convince the bird to fly both Bear and him to a fairy kingdom. They seek out the castle and are led in by a sinister-looking castle official. When they arrive in the throne room they find that it has been ransacked and the royals are missing!
When Bear and his companion pick up a royal necklace and shoe they are immediately arrested on suspicion of the crime. They've been setup!
Finding themselves in the castle dungeon they quickly befriend the King and Queen and find a way out of the dungeon. Readers will be confused with how this happens, but it appears that the prisoners act as if there is some emergency.
The friends find their way back to the throne room. Inside they encounter the castle official who opened the door for them busy packing away the royal belongings for his own benefit. A battle ensues and of course the good guys win.
Bear and boy are knighted and are free to leave the kingdom. Of course, the boy remains behind and a sad goodbye is hard of both Bear and boy. Bear travels back through the tunnel and back to his own land.
Not nearly as good as the original. But this is mostly due to confusing drawings. If readers can get through that this book is rollicking good fun!
April 9, 2015
Midsummer Knight (Wordless)
This book tells a thrilling and adventurous story about a bear and his courage. The format of the book is similar to a graphic novel strip but does not contain any words. There are several pictures throughout the book that give a great depiction about what is happening.
Text-to-self: This book reminds me of when I was little and how I used to choose my books based on the illustrations and how many were in them. I enjoyed visual learning and normally did not like reading a book that had more words than pictures. I wish this was something that would have been made known to my younger self because I loved adventure stories and feel like this one would have been an a great option.
Text-to-text: The adventures and unknowns in Midsummer Knight reminded me of The Hunger Games. I know this may sound crazy but this book is about a bear in an enchanted world and through his journey ends up thrown in a palace dungeon. The Hunger Games setting is in a different “world� with crazy laws and traditions. It is an opportunity to explore realms outside our modern world and use imagination to think about living in an enchanted forest or living in a world with “districts�
Text-to-world: This book’s is mainly about the bear, the friendships he makes, and his courage to fight for himself. These are all life lessons that can be taught in the classroom and connected to real life experiences. For example discussing how new settings or new situations can sometimes be scary and how it takes courage and kindness to get through it can be one way to relate the text to the real world.
This book tells a thrilling and adventurous story about a bear and his courage. The format of the book is similar to a graphic novel strip but does not contain any words. There are several pictures throughout the book that give a great depiction about what is happening.
Text-to-self: This book reminds me of when I was little and how I used to choose my books based on the illustrations and how many were in them. I enjoyed visual learning and normally did not like reading a book that had more words than pictures. I wish this was something that would have been made known to my younger self because I loved adventure stories and feel like this one would have been an a great option.
Text-to-text: The adventures and unknowns in Midsummer Knight reminded me of The Hunger Games. I know this may sound crazy but this book is about a bear in an enchanted world and through his journey ends up thrown in a palace dungeon. The Hunger Games setting is in a different “world� with crazy laws and traditions. It is an opportunity to explore realms outside our modern world and use imagination to think about living in an enchanted forest or living in a world with “districts�
Text-to-world: This book’s is mainly about the bear, the friendships he makes, and his courage to fight for himself. These are all life lessons that can be taught in the classroom and connected to real life experiences. For example discussing how new settings or new situations can sometimes be scary and how it takes courage and kindness to get through it can be one way to relate the text to the real world.
September 15, 2014
It seems like there's a lot of lore out there about magic that happens on Midsummer Night. There's certainly no lack of magic in this tale, in which a bear, floating down a river on a lazy summer afternoon, interrupts his scheduled laziness and gets caught up in a rescue of king and queen being robbed blind.
In this picture book, which is a picture book in the purest sense--there's nary a word to be found. That this pleasant little book conveys its story so clearly, then, is to me, no mean feat. And while some parents might find the lack of text daunting (what the heck do they "read" to their kids?) there's something inherently fun and whimsical and encouraging of imagination for parents and children to make up the dialogue and descriptions to narrate the images. If nothing else, just play some music in the background and enjoy!
In this picture book, which is a picture book in the purest sense--there's nary a word to be found. That this pleasant little book conveys its story so clearly, then, is to me, no mean feat. And while some parents might find the lack of text daunting (what the heck do they "read" to their kids?) there's something inherently fun and whimsical and encouraging of imagination for parents and children to make up the dialogue and descriptions to narrate the images. If nothing else, just play some music in the background and enjoy!
March 20, 2015
Basic Plot: a bear goes on a magical adventure!
This book has no words, only pictures. It's structured comic-style with individual panels on a page. While it was fun to have my son essentially describe the whole story as he saw it (very funny, I highly recommend this tactic if you've got a young one with an imagination), I do think the story could have benefited from some dialogue or description. Not necessary, but helpful perhaps.
The art was clear and well done, which is essential in this type of book. The story was whimsical and had a pretty classic "good wins" kind of ending.
Overall, quite a bit of fun, but a lot of work and won't help your reader much. Though I could definitely see using the book to make a kid write dialogue and text boxes... I am such a teacher.
This book has no words, only pictures. It's structured comic-style with individual panels on a page. While it was fun to have my son essentially describe the whole story as he saw it (very funny, I highly recommend this tactic if you've got a young one with an imagination), I do think the story could have benefited from some dialogue or description. Not necessary, but helpful perhaps.
The art was clear and well done, which is essential in this type of book. The story was whimsical and had a pretty classic "good wins" kind of ending.
Overall, quite a bit of fun, but a lot of work and won't help your reader much. Though I could definitely see using the book to make a kid write dialogue and text boxes... I am such a teacher.
January 27, 2014
Personally, I love words to go with the story. However, this book allowed for you to see what was going on instead of being told. It involves comprehension in terms of what the illustrations are demonstrating. It could even be more open-ended without losing focus of what the story is about. The book gave me an experience of working with a book without text. I could use it in the classroom for students to understand how illustrations create meaning and demonstrate what the text is describing. It could also be used as a model for students to write their own book. I understand its purposefulness, but it would not be my first pick.
November 22, 2011
In graphic novel style - but without words getting in the way - this is a tale of a curious and brave bear who saves a magical kingdom from a very nasty, greedy man. Boo Hiss. Reminiscent of Alice falling down the hole as the start, but it's just the sort of staight-forward story for bed time kids just love - and the wordlessness lets even littlies join in the telling.
Gregory's illustration style reminds me somewhat of Quentin Blake - bold, broad main characters, but all a little bit scrawly around the edges.
Gregory's illustration style reminds me somewhat of Quentin Blake - bold, broad main characters, but all a little bit scrawly around the edges.
September 5, 2016
I didn't like this book the first time I read it, but I wanted to give it another shot. It is a picture book without words that has little influence from Shakespeare's play (they both take place in woods and involve fairies and that is where the similarities end). I still wasn't thrilled with it. I would rank it "okay."
June 11, 2015
My five-year-old son picked this book out from the library this week. He thought the cover was "purplish".
I'm not a big fan of wordless picture books, and while this book is pretty well-done and some of the illustrations are quite amusing, it isn't quite enough to convert me to fandom.
Still -- it does reference the best stage direction ever written: Exeunt, pursued by bear.
I'm not a big fan of wordless picture books, and while this book is pretty well-done and some of the illustrations are quite amusing, it isn't quite enough to convert me to fandom.
Still -- it does reference the best stage direction ever written: Exeunt, pursued by bear.
January 12, 2014
Another charming outing for the characters introduced in The Boy, The Bear, The Baron, The Bard. As cute as ever, and with an enchanting setting in a tree. My library copy was signed by Gregory Rogers with 'faerie best wishes'.
February 9, 2016
A wordless book about a "knight" bear who goes through a door to a magical fairy realm wherein size is relative (a la Wonderland). In this new realm he ends up making some new friends and rescuing a deposed king and queen.
illustrations are very good.
illustrations are very good.
August 8, 2014
A picture book without words. I love these!
May 19, 2009
Completely wordless, the detailed illustrations require little readers to work hard for the story! Try this one for developing narrative skills.
January 29, 2011
very fun picture book
September 7, 2016
Lots of fun. Another great book from Rogers
June 9, 2012
narrative with no words
August 11, 2012
A picture book in graphic novel style.
November 9, 2014
A fantastic story about traveling to fantasy worlds and finding a side of yourself you didn't know existed. As a wordless graphic novel, this is accessible to all readers.
April 6, 2016
2.5 stars. I'm not a big fan of wordless books, but the pictures were fun even though I didn't feel much like using my creativity to follow the story.
May 3, 2017
My daughter thinks I should have rated this with five stars. How about 4.5? It was fun, funny, detailed, imaginative and all through illustrations. Making the Bard the villain is an enjoyable twist.
We are fans of Gregory Rogers.
We are fans of Gregory Rogers.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
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