Kerry and the Knight of the Forest by Andi Watson

Kerry and the Knight of the Forest Reviews

• 
  Melki

  A young boy carrying medicine for his ill parents travels through a forest fraught with danger and deceptive guides. Who can he trust to lead him safely through the deep, dark woods?
  
  
  
  A fun and satisfying adventure for middle-grade readers and up.
• 
  JohnnyBear

  Strong 6 out of 10
  
  Kerry and the Knight of the Forest is a fantasy adventure graphic novel that involves a boy named Kerry getting lost, after chasing a glowing yellow girl into the forest. When he gets into the forest, he meets this giant black diamond with an eye, who tells Kerry about the forest.
  
  
  
  The art in this book is top-notch. I loved all of the jagged angles, and I liked the character designs. The color palette in this book is nothing short of incredibly impressive. The art must've taken a really long time, and it shows. The narrative experience of this book is a little bland though.
  
  
  
  A lot of this book consists of Kerry walking around with the black diamond, and them talking. The dialogue is interesting, but it is a lot of exposition. I didn't that connected to the main character. The world-building is decently interesting, but I wasn't as compelled as I wanted to be with this book.
  
  
  
  This book has amazing artwork, but I think the plot is pretty slow and dragging. I was a little let down with this graphic novel, but I still thought it was an okay experience.
• 
  Hadia

  It was alright, but nothing too special? 😬
• 
  Rod Brown

  A middling fantasy story about a boy trying to get home by taking a shortcut through a dangerous forest. A strange knight agrees to guide him, but things keep going wrong. There is mild excitement and much bickering as they navigate the various beasties inhabiting the woods.
  
  It's not bad, but it also did not do much for me.
• 
  Kathleen

  A good read! A classic sort of fae story about a child getting lost in the woods and running afoul of the spirits that dwell there.
• 
  Kate Atherton

  I thought the coloring and action in 'Kerry and the Knight of the Forest' were fresh, exciting and immaculate. The story....was less dazzling most of the time. There were a couple touchstones where it becomes clear what is happening (re:the forest stealing children, the Waystone MAYBE not being a trustworthy character) but in general it was a lot of running around, falling through the ground, the Waystone waxing poetic about various things...etc. Back to the topic of color, this book uses color in a masterful way to make the forest MAGIC and unsettling. Various bright colors against dull or black give it a luminous quality and it's compositions are very well drawn and well balanced. I also really enjoyed the 'special features' at the end of the book such as profiles on various characters and creatures and all of the cover designs the author went through.
• 
  D.T. Henderson

  Absolutely charming. There's a subtle message of how everyone does not deserve your kindness, but it's worth trying to see the best in people (with common sense intact). Kerry is adorably earnest and sweet, and his dynamic with Waystone is great. The art style is blocky, colorful, and super geometric. I thoroughly enjoyed this.
  
  4.5
• 
  Cy

  i'd never heard of this but picked it up bc i like the art and i like fantasy set in the woods. it was really good with a great message!! good for kids who like quest-type stories or dnd.
• 
  Stacey

  Kerry shows the power of kindness, forgiveness and friendship in his adventure through the forest. He must defeat the evil and save his parents....and a few others along the way.
• 
  Julie

  I really enjoyed this book! The art style and story mesh so well. Kerry is constantly given the option to respond to danger with either kindness or hostility which makes the book read like an old legend or fairy tale.
• 
  Christine

  Solidly adorable
• 
  Mars Dorian

  A fun little story about a kid getting lost in the fable-infused forest.
  
  The narrative is drawn with a deceptively simply art style and beautiful colors harboring interesting patterns and textures.
  
  I wish there was more depth to the characters. The plot points converge too neatly and the end lacks emotional pull because of the too-easy challenge for the protagonist.
  
  Still a good MG graphic novel that I‘ve already read twice.
• 
  Sarah Schanze

  A very cute story with a deceptively simple art style that still packs an emotional punch.
• 
  Tyler Graham

  An imaginative, winding journey through a fantastical forest, following a boy trying to bring medicine home to his family. Fans of Over the Garden Wall will likely enjoy this mysterious, meandering, all-ages comic.
• 
  Kerry

  This was cute! It's for kids (I think it was given to me because the protagonist's name is my name, which NEVER happens) but it was still cute and entertaining, all the little creatures of the forest were very adorable! And it took me a few sittings to complete, which is very impressive for a graphic novel!
• 
  Jill

  Cute book, love the illustrations
• 
  Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book*

  Kerry and the Knight of the Forest by Andi Watson, 288 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL. Random House Graphic (Random House Children’s Books), 2020. $13.
  
  Content: G
  
  BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - OPTIONAL
  
  AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
  
  Kerry has the medicine for his parents, now he just has to get home before it’s too late. When a girl tells Kerry that there is a shortcut through the forest, he races in and gets lost. Finding a guide to help him, Kerry should be home in no time -- if he doesn’t stop for every distraction.
  
  While Kerry is a little exasperating with his inability to focus, he is also a genuinely nice person. I love how Watson illustrates -- through both words and pictures -- the message of good triumphing over evil. Distractions got in the way, but this simple story contains truth that will resonate with readers as we, too, understand getting distracted from important tasks.
  
  Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
  
  https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2020...
• 
  Amanda

  I wasn't sure whom to trust as I was reading this. I wasn't sure if this was going to turn out to be an unreliable narrator sort of story or a redemption story or where this was going. The illustrations lend to the mood as they are dark and at times rather simplistic. Kerry wanders and wonders throughout this story as he encounters creatures of the Forest. His quest, which is important and seemed quite straightforward, becomes more hazardous with every decision he makes. There is more than one life hanging in the balance here.
• 
  Gabrielle

  We got an ARC from ALA Midwinter for a honest opinion. For the ARC only the first few pages are in color.
  
  
  This is a decent showing for Random House's first round of graphic novels. Would work for a kid who is into DnD. The story reads that way, and they added their own character sheets as well.
  
  Nothing particularly special about it but it is ok for a middle grade read.
• 
  Erin

  As you begin your perilous journey home to deliver medicine for your dying parents... who do you trust? The enigmatic girl? The snail? The one-eyed floating rock? Kerry is overly trusting and not terribly sharp, but he is kind and earnest and persistent. His adventures in the spooky forest are thrilling, and I found myself rooting for him all the way.
• 
  Danielle

  This is a cute and simple fantasy adventure about a kid trying to get back to his parents. It reminded me of Coraline and Over the Garden Wall, albeit with less depth. I really liked the emphasis on friendship and the meaning of family - this is good-hearted at its core.
• 
  Karen Hsu

  Read-aloud.
  Update: the 5yo chose this one. He liked how big the Waystone is. Parts of it did scare him a little.
  
  My 7yo chose this one. It was cute. Very fast-paced. The snail was our favorite part.
• 
  Alexandra

  Delightfully creepy with a message of found family and forgiveness. I’ll be excited to see the final color art.
• 
  Gail

  2.5
  This one did not grab me. Felt a little familiar as if I've read something similar before.
  The 12 year old didn't even finish it.
• 
  Tin Cheung

  Simple fantasy adventure story of a boy trying to make his way through an enchanted forest with the help of the knight of the forest.
  
• 
  Eric Benson

  This graphic novel works really well as a classic fairy tale. A young boy, Kerry, leaves home to find medicine for his sick parents only to get lured into a forest by a young girl and get lost. He's working against the clock to find his way out in time to save his mom and dad. While meandering through this dark forest looking for an exit, he meets dangerous creatures and spirits whom he must decide to trust or not.
  
  With each encounter, Kerry is forced with a choice of kindness or self-preservation. The fairy tale's lesson is that empathy, sacrifice, and kindness will go a long way to also receive the same goodness and fulfillment in your life. Essentially, it's the golden rule - do unto others as you would want to be done unto you.
  
  The story gets to this moral in a novel and interesting way. My only real critique of the graphic novel is the art. At first, I found the drawings of the characters to be juvenile, which considering the audience is usually workable, but the drawings of Kerry seemed rushed or neglected in comparison to the rich colors, details, and textures of the backgrounds. Andi Watson explains in the book how he drew each page and even goes as far as sharing pencil sketches from an earlier version of the story. This is very useful for his young readers hoping to also be artists and writers one day.
  
  Watson described his artistic decisions as to make Kerry more simple – acting as a symbol. (A symbol for humanity possibly?) This does make sense to me, but considering Watson's abilities in his background work, why were these same talents/skills not put to use in adding tones/textures to Kerry? It's a small criticism, for an otherwise well-done book.