A full cast brings a ton of energy to this audiobook. The recording booth must be an exciting place for narrators who are portraying a medieval troubadour turned into a goose, a bumbling magician, a dastardly younger brother to the king, the king himself, a sorceress, and a band of young knights. Will these enthusiastic newbies to knightdom be able to return the kingdom of Byjovia to order? Kudos to the cast for making a hybrid work (part traditional novel/part graphic novel) into a seamless audio production. Through animation, inflections, and pauses, a coherent storyline made from words, pictures, and thought bubbles comes together. Listeners can’t help but chuckle at the overlay of contemporary language abounding in slang and puns and admire the pluck and sensibilities of the characters. A.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

Lincoln Peirce, creator of the best-selling Big Nate series, hits it out of the park again…This rollicking, irreverent tale of knights, troubadours and magicians proves Peirce is a middle-schooler at heart. Told in a hybrid comics and novel form, with a fast-moving plot and bad puns aplenty, Max and the Midknights will keep even the most reluctant of readers engaged to the end…Max and the Midknights is a vastly entertaining mix of action, adventure and humor. The lighthearted tale also touches on deeper topics of gender nonconformity, as characters question why girls can't be knights or magicians, or why boys can't write books or tell stories. At its heart, however, it is pure fun.

12/10/2018

Max’s uncle Budrick is a traveling troubadour in a 14th-century Europe-like countryside, and he’s the only family Max has. When the two visit Budrick’s homeland, the kingdom of Byjovia, they encounter King Gastley, who kidnaps Budrick and orders him to be his court jester. Max, who has always yearned to be a knight, must figure out how to rescue Budrick with the aid of new friends, the newly anointed Midknights. Thus begins a winding adventure filled with laughs, hijinks, and unexpected revelations, including a few about Max’s identity. Peirce mixes the formats of traditional and graphic novel, conveying much of the tale with panels but including prose passages on many pages. Filled with exciting elements, including wizards, dragons, zombies, and flying rats, this mischievous medieval tale in characteristic cartoons by Big Nate creator Peirce will entertain young and adult readers with adventure and humor. Ages 8–12. (Jan.)

A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year

"Max is epic fun!" -Jeff Kinney, New York Times bestselling author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series

"Fantastic! I loved it!" -Dav Pilkey, New York Times bestselling author of the Captain Underpants series

11/01/2018

Gr 4-6–Set in the Middle Ages, this hilarious illustrated novel centers on Max, who is often mistaken for a boy because of her short hair and assertive personality. Max wants to be a knight, not an entertainer like her uncle. She finally gets her chance when her uncle is kidnapped by the evil and aptly named King Gastley. She and several and other courageous children dub themselves the Midknights and come to the rescue. Aided by the retired wizard Mumblin, Max and her team try to restore peace to the Kingdom of Byjovia. This is a story of magic and adventure. Comic panels with Peirce's signature black-and-white art are expertly placed amid small paragraphs of text. Readers will be drawn into this fun setting. While this novel stands alone from the "Big Nate" books, the opening page references the series, as Nate's teacher chastises him for submitting "Max and the Midknights" as his nonfiction book report. VERDICT A solid purchase for all middle grade collections, especially for fans of "Big Nate."—Marissa Lieberman, East Orange Public Library, NJ

A full cast brings a ton of energy to this audiobook. The recording booth must be an exciting place for narrators who are portraying a medieval troubadour turned into a goose, a bumbling magician, a dastardly younger brother to the king, the king himself, a sorceress, and a band of young knights. Will these enthusiastic newbies to knightdom be able to return the kingdom of Byjovia to order? Kudos to the cast for making a hybrid work (part traditional novel/part graphic novel) into a seamless audio production. Through animation, inflections, and pauses, a coherent storyline made from words, pictures, and thought bubbles comes together. Listeners can’t help but chuckle at the overlay of contemporary language abounding in slang and puns and admire the pluck and sensibilities of the characters. A.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

2018-09-17

In the 14th century, young Max yearns to buck convention and be a knight.

In this fictional, European-esque kingdom, Max lives with Uncle Budrick, a comically terrible troubadour. Children in Byjovia follow in the career footsteps of their families; Max however, dreams not of songs and lutes but of becoming a knight. When Budrick is captured by the nefarious usurper King Gastley, Max finds a crew of like-minded kids and forms the Midknights. Together they fight an evil sorceress, zombies, and winged rats in their efforts to save Max's uncle and, ultimately, the kingdom from Gastley's evil grasp. This middle-grade graphic/prose hybrid plays with gender conventions, mixing in a feel-good theme reaffirming that everyone should be able to follow their dreams and defy pre-existing gender constructs. Plucky, gender-nonconforming Max makes a heartfelt soliloquy imploring the king to allow both girls and boys to pursue what they love, be it magic, knighthood, or writing. The zippy mix of prose and comics panels rockets along with quick plotting and lots of funny medieval madcap antics. Peirce's black-and-white illustrations will be stylistically familiar to fans of his Big Nate series and should resonate with fans of Jeff Kinney's Wimpy Kid. Main character Max presents white, as are most of the Midknights with the exception of one dark-skinned boy; one other is chubby, and a secondary adult character uses a leg prosthesis.

A knight's tale in shining armor. (Graphic/fantasy hybrid. 7-11)