Brothers of the Knight by Debbie Allen (1999) is a fun story about the 12 (yes, 12) sons of The Reverend Knight. They sneak away every night for some harmless fun. Their father is "a very good man, a leader in the community, who preached a powerful sermon every Sunday." A subtle, but key, characteristic is that he doesn't allow his congregation to "do too much shoutin'. Thought it was undignified." The Reverend is puzzled by the children's messed up shoes every morning. A series of housekeepers cannot solve this puzzle. Then, a small woman dressed in bright colors and carrying very heavy luggage, shows up on their doorstep. You guessed it: enter a Mary Poppins type personality. Her name is Sunday, and like Mary, she's privy to a little magic. Unlike Mary, she leaves but then returns. Kadir Nelson's illustrations are energetic. I love how he creates 12 personalities for the 12 boys. A fun feature of this story is that the narrator is the family dog.
