Once Upon a Tim - by Stuart Gibbs (Hardcover)

About the Book

With no knightly experience but plenty of pluck and an impressive vocabulary, a twelve-year-old peasant, hoping to improve his station in life, volunteers to help a cowardly prince and his not very powerful wizard rescue a princess from an evil, foul-smelling monster.

Book Synopsis

Now with a reimagined look! Join a peasant boy who wants to be a knight in the laugh-out-loud funny, highly illustrated first book of the New York Times bestselling Once Upon a Tim chapter book series from Spy School author Stuart Gibbs.

Tim is just a peasant, but he dreams big. He wants more out of life than to grow up to be a woodsman like his father. Unfortunately, the only route to success in the kingdom of Wyld is to be born a prince. Still, Tim is determined. He is brave and clever and always tries to do the right thing--even though he rarely gets the credit for it.

Then news spreads that Princess Grace of the neighboring kingdom has been abducted by the evil Stinx and Prince Ruprecht needs a legion of knights to join him on his quest to rescue her. Tim finally has the lucky break he's been waiting for, the opportunity to change his station in life. And even though he doesn't know how to ride a horse or wield anything more deadly than a water bucket, he's going to do whatever it takes to make sure his dream becomes a reality.

Review Quotes

"Fans of heraldic silliness like "The Princess Bride" and "Shrek" will delight in ONCE UPON A TIM, a charming take on the traditional knightly adventure.-- "The New York Times Book Review"

"A comic quest follows, with scares and laughs abundantly on offer...Tim's chatty, entertaining narration, which includes ample potty humor and the occasional vocabulary 'IQ booster, ' also touches on lessons about stereotypes and unconscious bias throughout the chatty, madcap adventure." -- "Publisher's Weekly"

"Budding heroes defeat class and gender expectations as well as the occasional monster in this wry outing."-- "Kirkus"

"Gibbs peppers his prose with entertaining side comments as well as "IQ boosters," explaining terms such as malodorous, iconoclast, and infinitesimal, while maintaining the pace of the narrative. This giddy romp through a medieval setting, complete with menacing trolls and gigantic, bloodthirsty butterflies, is the start of a promising series from the author of Spy School (2012) and its sequels."-- "Booklist"

"The humor, enhanced by Quentin Blake-esque illustrations, will definitely find an audience with kids looking for a quick, funny read."-- "School Library Journal"

About the Author

Stuart Gibbs is the author of five New York Times bestselling series: Spy School, FunJungle, Moon Base Alpha, Charlie Thorne, and Once Upon a Tim--as well as the new nonfiction series Spy School Secret Files. He has written screenplays, worked on a whole bunch of animated films, developed TV shows, been a newspaper columnist, and researched capybaras. Stuart lives with his family in Los Angeles. You can learn more about what he's up to at StuartGibbs.com.

Chris Choi is an illustrator, author, and graphic novelist who formerly worked under the pseudonym "Chris Danger." Chris, an army brat, lived everywhere, but grew up mostly in Hawai'i. He attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City, worked in animation and academia for a few years, and has been a full-time freelance illustrator for almost a decade now. He currently lives in Philadelphia with his wife Eva and their dog and two cats. Visit him on Instagram @Choi_Meets_World.