BAXTER AND JEFFREY

Giving and getting help isn’t easy for a friendly dragon and a young knight-in-training in this picture book.

Everybody makes assumptions about a dragon named Baxter. Whenever he sees forest animals struggling, he rushes “to the rescue,” but they all run off afraid. Never mind the multicolored blanket he hand-knitted for them, or the toasted sandwiches he made. Meanwhile, Jeffrey, a young boy, marvels at the portraits of knights that hang in the corridor of his family’s castle. He owns a guide on how to be a knight, and he aims to teach himself to become one “WITHOUT any help.” However, adults keep trying to tell him what to do. After he runs off to the forest, he meets Baxter, but unlike other creatures, he isn’t afraid of him and learns to accept his help. San Martin’s illustrations stand out well, featuring lush, finely detailed greenery, humorous facial expressions, and layered backgrounds. Occasional word choices are confusing; for instance, the tasks in Jeffrey’s book are called jobs, when the term training exercises seems more fitting and accurate. The dialogue, however, is appealingly cheeky in how modern terms are used in a medieval setting: Jeffrey’s dad directs him to do burpees, and his mom offers him broccoli (a 17th-century term).

An unlikely pair build a kind, helpful friendship in a well-illustrated tale.