#Prince & Knight by Daniel Haack

[loganslowdown4]

Me: aww there’s a kids book seriesabout a prince and a knight who fight a dragon and then fall in love! what a lovely positive lgbt+ message for my kids—

Also me: oh my god Roman has his own fairytales ROMAN HAS HIS OWN FAIRYTALES—

Prince & Knight written by Daniel Haack p. 2018

Tale Of The Shadow King written by Daniel Haack p. 2021

🤴🏻⚔️🐉🏰

(These aren’t books about Roman for the record but they are gay fairytales and they are so sweet and have such a positive message in both of them ❤️)

[beyondthedustjacket]

Reading the Rainbow — LGBTQIA+ Books for Your TBR Pile 🌈

A bunch of recommendations!

[theoniprince]

.:Once upon a time:.

(I have this idea since @lu-inlondon posted this fantastic post about Disney princess Adam Schürk 😌💞)

[intothestacks]

Tips for Children's Librarians 8/?

Regardless of the demographics of your patrons, make a conscious effort to read books with diverse characters.

That doesn’t mean the books need to have a diverse cast every time, but rather that you don’t always pick books with characters (especially main characters) from the same race.

Let every race have their turn at being represented. Not necessarily every time, but enough that the kids see themselves as well as others on a regular basis. Seeing oneself being represented and seeing people different from yourself represented are both wildly important.

This also means that you should make an effort to read stories with characters with different disabilities when possible too. You might have to look around for lists of books with disabled characters, but if you manage to slip in even a single disabled character book it’s a start. One book is better than none. You can work on expanding over time.

Make a conscious effort to also read books that question stereotypes.

Here's a starter list of books to add to your storytelling repertoire:

Red: A Crayon's Story by Michael Hall - Though it was probably intended to be an explanation about what being transgender is like, it also serves well for talking about invisible disabilities like dyslexia and autism, which means you can adapt the same story to talk about two different minorities. The gist of the story is that a crayon, called Red, can only draw blue things, no matter how hard they try and none of the other crayons can understand why Red can only draw blue, until another crayon recognizes that there's nothing wrong with Red but rather that they were mislabelled all along.

Families, Families, Families! by Suzanne Lang - A book about how families come in all shapes and sizes. It features a pretty extensive display of different family combinations, such as: gay and lesbian parents, parents that are divorced vs married, families with many kids vs single children, families with single parents (both male and female), families with stepsiblings, kids that live with their grandparents or aunts/uncles, and adopted kids to name a few. They even have the example of kids who have many pets vs kids with no pets!

Prince & Knight by Daniel Haack - A cute story about a prince trying to find a spouse to help him rule; it turns out he's gay and marries a knight instead of a princess.

Think Big! and Boo! by Robert Munsch - Both have Black main characters. While it's important to have stories that focus on the unique experiences and struggles of minorities, it's also important to feature books that have stories where the fact that a character is a minority is incidental and not what the focus of the story is about. These two picture books are great examples of this kind of book.

Lost and Found Cat: The True Story of Kunkush's Incredible Journey by Doug Kuntz and Amy Shrodes - The story of a lost cat's journey to be reunited with his Iraqi refugee family.

Dreamers by Yuyi Morales - The memoir of a Mexican refugee who moved to the United States with her infant son in 1994 and about how even though she left nearly everything she owned behind, she, like all refugees and immigrants, didn’t come empty-handed as they carry their culture, skills, and strengths with them.

Room on Our Rock by Jol Temple and Kate Temple – Three seals are perched on a rock. When others need shelter, do they share it? When read from front to back, the group of seals firmly believe there is no room on their rock for the parent and child seal who are seeking a place to rest. Readers are then encouraged to read the story again, from back to front, revealing a welcoming message where the seals make room for others and share their rock.

My Name Is Yoon by Helen Recorvits – Yoon's name means "shining wisdom," and when she writes it in Korean, it looks happy, like dancing figures. But her father tells her that she must learn to write it in English. In English, all the lines and circles stand alone, which is just how Yoon feels in the United States. Yoon isn't sure that she wants to be YOON. At her new school, she tries out different names.

The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi – Being the new kid in school is hard enough, but what about when nobody can pronounce your name? Having just moved from Korea, Unhei is anxious that American kids will like her. So instead of introducing herself on the first day of school, she tells the class that she will choose a name by the following week. Her new classmates are fascinated by this no-name girl and decide to help out by filling a glass jar with names for her to pick from.

[gehayi]

In case you or some kids you know need some books to read...

Books under Fire: A Hit List of Banned and Challenged Children's Books, Second Edition

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress, by Christine Baldacchino Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story about Racial Injustice, by Marianne Celano and Marietta Collins The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky Al Capone Does My Shirts, by Gennifer Choldenko The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963, by Christopher Paul Curtis Lily and Dunkin, by Donna Gephart George, by Alex Gino Looking for Alaska, by John Green Summer of My German Soldier, by Bette Greene Prince & Knight, by Daniel Haack It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health, by Robie Harris The Popularity Papers series, by Amy Ignatow I Am Jazz, by Jazz Jennings The Giver, by Lois Lowry Monster, by Walter Dean Myers Alice series, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor The Best Man, by Richard Peck Captain Underpants series, by Dav Pilkey This Day in June, by Gayle E. Pitman In Our Mothers’ House, by Patricia Polacco And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series, by Alvin Schwartz Bone series, by Jeff Smith This One Summer, by Mariko Tamaki Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred Taylor Drama, by Raina Telgemeier The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo, by Jill Twiss Nasreen’s Secret School, by Jeanette Winter

[magicalyaku]

I had vacation and tooth surgery and thus a lot of time to be lazy! <3 A chunk of it I spent listening to the narrations of some creepypasta series. Though, honestly, I'm not sure they can be called that? They're more episodic paranormal stories. Yes, there's monsters running around and dangerous, maybe scary stuff going on, but they're also incredibly wholesome and soo sweet and very queer! So if you're into that, go look for the stories written by @02321 on r/nosleep and Youtube! My Name's Skyler, I'm a Freelance P.I. narrated by Baron Landred (the title on r/nosleep is I Work as a P.I and a Government Agent approached me to help with a case) and I Deliver Mail to Cryptids narrated by Animas. (And also a bunch of stories more set in the same universe of the Silver King.)

Now back to our regular books! We have 4 princes, 2 kings and 1 queen this month!

Banshee Blues (Nina Blazon): I'm in the editing process of my latest novel, which I'm writing in German, so I felt I should read a German, non-translated book for once. This was the only one in my pile but it is from my favourite German author, so all was well. I have a lot to thank her for. The first novel read from her was Der Dunkle Kuss der Sterne (The Stars' Dark Kiss) and that was the first time I liked first-person viewpoint! Her next book had split POV and different tenses and I had to admit it was done well. Banshee Blues was not quite up to par with her previous works but it went a few new directions than usual which was nice as well. It tried very hard to lead you astray with what's going on and who is evil and who isn't. And while I liked how things turned out between the two leads it would have been monumental to have them stay platonic.

The Fallen King's Penitent Soldier (Tales of the High Court 5) (Megan Derr): Sigh, it's been a ride. I had a good time with the whole series. I love the worldbuilding, really. But it is alright to end it here, while it's still good, you know. In a way, these five stories are all built very similar: Being kidnapped by bad guys, running from the bad guys or running after the bad guys for the first half and afterwards waiting to let other people sort it out. There's probably a limited amount of iterations you can go through while still be interesting. But for these five volumes it was fun! As for book 5 by itself, I think it's a good thing it comes so late in the series. Because it really takes its time. There's a lot introspection going on for the two protagonists which is okay because they go through a lot but it's also very long and sometimes not much else happens. I liked the two of them, I liked how religion was handled, I liked how it went full circle back to Allen's story. I liked the series. Good times. :)

Prince & Knight (Daniel Haack & Stevie Lewis): I wanted this for the pretty pictures. But apparently the universe didn't want me to? I ordered this last year already, but the package went on an odyssee through several cities without ever arriving at my home. I ordered it again this year and … the same thing happened?! 8D The odyssee was shorter this time, mind you, but … why again?! I tried a third time and ordered it for pick up at a local bookstore and that finally worked. Geez! It's a children's picture book so the story is as basic as it goes. Is it goo for children? I wouldn't know. The dragon doesn't die and it's very sweet and very pretty.

In all seinen Farben (Boy Queen) (George Lester): I had some exhausting weeks at work and thought I could use something inspirational. Something about finding your own way and shine. Which happens in this book but there's also a lot of drama going on and I was not prepared for the rock-bottom-hit in the beginning. xD I mean, it was written in the blurb but I've owned the book for a year why should I reread the blurb … I know nothing about drag or make-up or anything in that direction (I did watch like 15 minutes of the drag show at Comic Con Stuttgart last year but that hardly counts), so it was charming and interesting to read about.

We Could Be so Good (Cat Sebastian): I have to apologise to everyone on the waitlist for this at my library because I could have read it faster but … once I realised what sort of direction the 70% drama might take I had a tough time reading on. They were so happy and it was nice and I just did not want to suffer! I did assume, since the book goes out of its way to address how all queer books published during the mid of the last century would have to end badly (and the protagonist outright refusing to read them therefore), it would probably take a turn for a happy ending. That was the only hope that kept me going. If I had known any of the author's other work I maybe wouldn't have worried so much, because it's written in her bio already that she'll only write happy endings?! Well … So for anyone else fearing the drama of a book set in 1959: No queer person was harmed in this book! (Nothing major anyway.) I like the book, though! Enjoyed reading it. Nick and Andy are both sweet. But that fear did something to me, took me a while to recover. :'D

Prince & Assasssin (Perilous Courts 1) (Tavia Lark): I needed something simple for my fragile heart and it seems gay fantasy is my comfort read now in the same way my mom reads stuff named like "The Little Bakery at XYZ Street". And what should I tell you, yeah, there're men who are tenderly and not so tenderly intimate with each other, yeah yeah, but there's also giant talking cats! Giant talking cats! Also, I really like the author's writing style. It's so smooth! I started reading and didn't want to put it down anymore because it read so smoothly! The book itself was so much better than I had expected (which was basically nothing). It won't blow you off your feet but it's pretty enjoyable and surprisingly wholesome. Also the worldbuilding felt just right. I'm looking forward to reading the next volumes soon!

King of Immortal Tithe (Darkmourn 2) (Ben Alderson): Did I buy the expensive hardcover just because I like the illustration more than the one of the paperback? Why hello, that's me. So this is the second fae book I read this year. It's apparently a universal truth now that fae men are the most beautiful and well endowed beings on earth and beyond. Not that I mind, you do you, but why does fae anatomy work the same as humans' actually? Anyway, this is a stand-alone in a series of stories all set within the same universe. I like that concept. Hunting for pieces of lore is fun. Arlo is a feisty character so following him was enjoyable. The switch from enemy to lovers was kinda sudden like … I can see why but personally it still felt sudden. Also Faenir calling Arlo constantly Darling was not my taste but you know, if it's just that, I can overlook it. The twist at the end had me barking out evil laughter (which means approval). I did hold back reading the final chapter until I read the first volume as not to spoil any more! (While they are stand-alones the previous story is referenced in this one.)

Lord of Eternal Night (Darkmourn 1) (Ben Alderson): "He was so tall and his hands were so large and his length was so great and so thick my fingers couldn't touch reaching around it. He was not just a man, he was a god!" I laughed. That's not a literal quote, but a good summary. Yeah. I laughed. And while praising one guy he was also dissing his former lover, the baker's son, for not being as large. Not the poor lad's fault, no need to get mean! Should have known at that point already who was the true evil mastermind. :'P. But in all fairness, there is a little more going on in the story. And well, these books know very well what kind of fantasy they're catering. There's a short guy, a little crafty and feisty, not too weak, and the very tall, very beautiful guy who everyone says is evil, but turns out he isn't so evil, he just has a tragic past, he also falls very hard for the protagonist and oops, maybe he does have some capacity for evil. I did like how the story subverted who's good and who's bad like three times. Otherwise, it's not really complex. But I'm kinda into the ending.

Alpha of Mortal Flesh (Darkmourn 3) (Ben Alderson): The third installment in the series, they've been getting more elaborate with each volume. So instead of the 2 and 3 half characters we had in the first one, there's actually a whole cast in here with motivations and backstories. That was nice. The writing style, however, is still as … trying as hard as in the beginning. It's not bad, mind you, I commend it for trying to use the full range of the English language, but there's a lot of words, making everything longer than needed, and sometimes their choice is really weird. Example: "My tongue broke free. It slithered from the confines of my mouth." But it's just a normal human tongue licking something eagerly yet still very normally! And, they're indie books, yeah, but I do wish all three books would have gone through another round of editing. The unnecessary repetitions and errors made me suffer a little. And while I got a little bored and impatient at the end I do like the story and what it's trying to do. Just that it was trying too hard in some aspects of the writing and not hard enough in others.

That's it for July! Apparently, August will be library month again. My TBR bookshelf disapproves but duh. Let's go and have fun. :P

[zenaidamacrouras1]

Are you aware of the Prince and Knight book by Daniel Haack?

There's also a sequel:

Spoiler alert: The Shadow King is not actually evil, just sad because he wants to wear dresses and date men and wasn't allowed to. Important to know because this book deeply troubled my children who could not understand why the Shadow King wasn't allowed to wear dresses and why it was a problem that he loved a squire.

[memoriallibrarytmc]

What’s Here Wednesday: Knight Puppet

This brave and noble knight is awaiting his chance to take action on the TMC’s puppet rack! Why not grab this puppet alongside a knightly book for your next storytime?

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Michael Morpurgo

Prince & knight by Daniel Haack

The kitchen knight by Barbara Schiller

[missarchivistdoodles]

Gearing up for June! I'm in charge of our Read With Pride display at the library I work at, and I'm excited to set it up! What are you favorite LBGTQIA+ authors, stories, etc.? (Mine is Prince and Knight by Daniel Haack!)

[marmarisgroovy]

HE FUCKING SAW THEM LETS GOOOOOO

[grackle-crackle-books]

Prince & Knight by Daniel Haack, Illustrated by Stevie Lewis

Genre/category: Banned/Challenged Book (5th most challenged in 2019), ALA Rainbow Book List Top Ten 2019, LGBTQ+, Picture Book

Targeted Age: PreK to 2nd graders

Quick plot synopsis: After struggling to find someone special to be his bride, a prince teams up with a knight in shining armor. Together, the two men face a dragon and fall in love with each other.

Why I chose Prince & Knight: Prince & Knight was the fifth most banned and challenged book in 2019. Unfortunately, book banning is becoming more and more rampant, with over 1,500 books challenged in 2021 alone (American Library Association, 2022). Books by and about LGBTQ+ people and/or people of color are by far and away the most censored books in the United States. Prince & Knight celebrates the love story between two men, and shows their wedding. The story allows LGBTQ+ readers the opportunity to see themselves in the fantasy setting, as well as offering non-LGBTQ+ readers a potentially new perspective. Additionally, Prince & Knight is a Top Ten choice from the 2019 ALA Rainbow Book List.

Evaluation:

First of all, Prince & Knight is full of gorgeous illustrations by Stevie Lewis. Her work is characterized by inviting colors, expressive characters, and beautiful depictions of nature. To convey the tone of various scenes, Lewis utilizes color and shadow. Two scenes occur at a long table in the castle. In the first, the prince sits alone in bright light at one end of the table, and his parents sit in shadow at the other end. This conveys the king and queen’s concerns about finding him a bride, as well as the fact that he alone is the focus of their attention. In the second scene at the same table, the prince, knight, king, and queen are gathered at the same end of the table. Natural light floods the entirety of the room. Having met their son’s husband-to-be, the prince’s parents are relieved that he will not have to rule the kingdom alone. The lighting and color express the emotions in both moments, from worry to joy.

Daniel Haack tells the tale of the prince and the knight in verse. Prince & Knight is sonically pleasing, a perfect candidate to be read aloud. Each line rhymes, such as “As the villagers returned, / it became clear to those around / that the prince’s one true love / had at last been found” (Haack, 2018, emphasis added). By using rhyme, Haack evokes the long tradition of fairytales, which were often originally oral narratives. The pleasing rhythm of the story’s language also contributes to its memorability.

Prince & Knight follows a central idea of the importance of being true to oneself. Right at the beginning, we learn that the prince is known to be sincere, and he expresses this quality throughout. Because of his sincerity, he does not waver from what he knows is his true self. The prince does not find love in any of the women he meets, and he refuses to lie to them even at risk of causing disappointment. Later, by staying true to his own beliefs and bravery, the prince goes to fight the dragon and protect his land at whatever cost. His choices in both ventures, courting and protection, earn him his happy ending with the knight. If the prince had strayed from his true self, he likely would not have found his true love.

Do I recommend it?: Certainly! Prince & Knight is a delight— this modern fairytale is beautifully illustrated and written. Readers from any background will love the story of bravery, joy, and true love.

Citations:

American Library Association. (2022, April 4). Top 10 Most Challenged Books Lists. Banned & Challenged Books. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10

American Library Association Rainbow Book List Committee. (2019, January 28). The 2019 Rainbow Book List. Rainbow Book List. https://glbtrt.ala.org/rainbowbooks/archives/1324

Haack, D. (2018). Prince & Knight (S. Lewis, Illus.). little bee books.

[loganslowdown4]

Me: oh my god there’s a kids book about a prince and a knight who fight a dragon and then fall in love! what a lovely positive lgbt+ message for my kids...

Also me: oh my god Roman has his own fairytale ROMAN HAS HIS OWN FAIRYTALE-

Yes this is real

For anyone wanting to buy it, here’s a link!

[justaqueerlibrarian]

(Image Description; a book cover with the title in bold pink letters, reading “Prince and Knight”. The title splits the frame vertically from the top left to the bottom right. In the top right there is a man in armor leaning against a horse that is wearing blue. The knight is waving to a prince in the bottom left corner. The Prince is wearing a white coat with blue shoulders, a pink shirt, pink pants and a golden crown. He is surrounded by four princesses. From left to right they are wearing pink and blue, blue with a darker blue bow, a deep navy blue with a purple bow, and a light blue with a pink bow. In the bottom right it reads, “Words by Daiel Haack, pictures by Stevie Lewis.” End.)

Title of the book being recommended; Prince and Knight

Where you could probably find this book in a library or bookstore; the Children’s section, JE, J or E (in the libraries I’ve worked in).

Why I would recommend this book; Prince and Knight is a cute story of a prince, a knight, (and a dragon is there too). It's a fairy tale for queer children, and it is no more or less complicated than that.

[intothestacks]

A+ Children's Books with LGBT+ Representation (Suggested by a Children's Librarian) (1/?)

Families, Families, Families! by Suzanne Lang

A book that teaches kids that families come in all shapes and sizes. From single parents to parents of the same gender, to kids with tons of pets or no pets at all, to kids who live with relatives or are adopted, this book has it all.

Prince & Knight by Daniel Haack

A cute story about a prince trying to find a spouse to help him rule; after turning down a lot of princesses, it turns out the reason he wasn't interested is that he's gay and in the end he marries a knight instead of a princess.

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson

The true story of Central Park Zoo's gay chinstrap penguins who successfully raised a rejected egg just like any other penguin couple. It's worth sharing with your mini reader that this is based on a real story, as most kids don't realize that gay animals are quite common in the animal kingdom and it's not just a human thing.

Red: A Crayon's Story by Michael Hall

Red is a crayon that can only draw blue. It's not until a new friend comes along that Red and their family figure out that perhaps they had been using the wrong label and Red was Blue all along. The book works well as a metaphor for both what it's like to be trans as well as for what it's like to have invisible disabilities.

[morebedsidebooks]

Prince & Knight is meant to be a fun little adventure story that also just happens to better reflect the reality of millions of families not seen in other children’s stories. If the protesters are worried that reading this book will turn someone gay, I can easily refer them to all the gay adults who grew up only reading about straight romances.

- Daniel Haack

[bellasmommyissues]

For the Homies who liked Our Flag Means Death and need to fill that hole and are into reading here are my book recs of other queer historical love stories.

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and virtue. by Mackenzi Lee. Set in the 1800′s, Monty who is a bisexual aristocrat is going on a tour around europe with his friend who he totally isn’t in love with, Percy, another queer man of colour who suffers from seizures. His sister to his dismay tags along. As much as Monty wants to enjoy the trip the cloud that is the fact that Percy will be leaving him for school at the end of it hangs over his head. Though they soon conveniently find that you can’t go to school when you’re captured by pirates, and not so conveniently forced into a plot to steal a near magical and very tragic item.

there is also a fluff mini-sequel as well as a sequel about Monty’s sister and a third book about their brother to complete the trilogy. 

Triggers for: short mentions of verbal and physical abuse, off hand racist comments, blood, seizure. 

Before We Disappear. by Shaun David Hutchinson. Set in 1909 at the world fair in Seattle, magician’s assistant Jack meets a boy who can do real magic. As he grows closer to the other man, Wilhelm, not only do they fall in love, but Jack also learns that Wilhelm’s guardian, a man who kidnapped him as a child and has been using him to commit his crimes since, is abusing him greatly. Jack plans to help Wilhelm escape and find his true family. 

I literally read this book in a ten hour sitting it is so good, very beautifully written and there is a small side plot about two women also falling in love that I didn’t expect but love, not only does it talk about very obvious abuse but also the less obvious manipulative kind, Jack and Wilhelm teach one another that they don’t have to be useful to be loved and it made me cry. very beautiful cover art.

Triggers For: Physical abuse, medical abuse, kidnapping, racist comments by characters, violence, manipulation by guardian, and this one character who is obsessed with a woman and is just very off putting im glad about what happened to him.

Prince and Knight. by Daniel Haack and Illustrations by Stevie Lewis. A children’s book in fairytale fashion about a Prince and a Knight who fall in love! Simple as that very sweet, no trigger warnings unless ur scared of dragons.