Book Review: The Knight and the Firefly

As I was clicking through some of my favorite blogs one day, I came upon an advertisement for The Knight and the Firefly.  It looked like a cute book with a Christian message, so I clicked on the link.  As soon as I read the synopsis, I knew I wanted to get a copy of this book.

 

Oliver, the protagonist of this tale, is a boy with a vivid imagination.  {If you don't think this sounds like C, it's as if you don't know him at all.}  And like Oliver, C is afraid of the dark.  This past spring, C has called to us after being tucked into bed or during the night after a nightmare to share his fears with us.  Several nights a week, C was waking up in tears because he was frightened - of a monster who might live in his closet, of a creaky noise he heard, or of the poisonous tree frogs he dreamed about after watching an episode of Go, Diego, Go!  The longer it went on, the more innocuous the items that triggered C's dreams.

Daddy A and I were at a loss.  We prayed with C, we prayed for C, we talked about the differences between fantasy and reality with C, and ultimately, we continued to comfort C when he was scared.  Enter The Knight and the Firefly.  When my review copy arrived, I read it to C before bed.  He loved the storyline, but he was more than a little disappointed when no giant eagle/angel wings appeared over his bed!  After I read the book and we said prayers together, I tucked C in for a good night's sleep and was pleasantly surprised when he did not wake up ONE TIME with a bad dream.

The next night, we read The Knight and the Firefly again.  Again, C slept through the night.  After about a week of reading, C noticed the discussion questions at the back of the book and asked me what they said, which started a great family conversation.

We no longer read The Knight and the Firefly every night before bed, but it is still a regular read in our nighttime rotation.  C's nightmares are gone, and he loves to remind me throughout the day that God is always with him.  The storyline is cute and the message is wonderful, so I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a children's storybook with Christian principles {The Knight and the Firefly is based on Psalm 91}, particularly if you have a child who could use some encouragement about their facing fears.

Note: I received a free copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.  The opinions featured are 100% mine.