I AM A HIGHLY DANGEROUS WARRIOR!

A 6-year-old feels confident in his monster-fighting abilities, but his wizard guardian isn’t so sure.

When an enormous, fuzzy purple monster starts terrorizing the neighbors, the boy grabs his sword and his blankie, ready to confront the foe. He might not have a plan—something his teacher has mentioned is a regular occurrence—but he’s a “highly dangerous warrior!” The wizard questions this assertion, reminding the boy of his youth and certain qualities that aren’t quite befitting of a warrior, like his habit of wiping boogers on the cat and making a mess when using scissors. The boy sets out anyway and soon realizes that meeting the monster face to face is scarier than expected. Once he regains his confidence, though, he finds an unexpected solution; after all, his teacher has also praised his ability to “overcome significant challenges when he sets his mind to it.” This humorous story about developing new skills and autonomy while maintaining some childish tendencies is told through appealing and silly cartoon art that alternates between full-page illustrations and soft-edged panels and uses both narrative text and speech bubbles. Kids and their grown-ups will relate to the slightly contentious yet always loving relationship between the exuberant boy and the weary wizard, while the unexpected resolution with the monster could inspire creative problem-solving. The boy and the wizard are light-skinned; other human characters are diverse.

An amusingly told tale of growing up.