B page - Beaver, Bear, Badger, Bee, Ball, Butterfly, Barrel, Bag, Book, Basket, Beard, Bread, Branch, Belt, Buckle, Berries. (Bad Guy, extreme right; students are as keen to find this fellow in the pictures as anything else)

C page - Chipmunk, Clock, Clown, Crow, Cows, Cats, Chicks, Chicken, Clarinet, Cymbal's, Candy, Comet, Cape, Clouds, Church.

D page - Deer, Dolls, Door, Donkey, Drum, Dancing Dogs, Dalmatian Dog, Indian Running Ducks, Diamond Design.

E page - Emu, Elephant, Eggs, Eaglet, Ear rings, Envelope, Ears, Eyes, Elbows.

F page - Fox, Frog, Farm, Field, Family, Fish, Flower.

G page - Giraffe, Gargoyles, Grandfather clock, Guitar, Gloves, Goat, Mother Goose, Grass, Green.

H page - Hen, Hippo, Hare, Heron, Humpty Dumpty, Hat, Hole, Hedgehogs, bee Hives, Haystacks, Harvest, House, Hay.

I page - Ivey, Iguana, Ice cream.

J page - Jaguar, Jewel box, Jack o' lantern, blue Jay, grey Jay, Stellars Jay, Jigsaw pieces, Jar, Jug, Juggler, Jack in the box, Javelin, knee Joint, Jaw.

K page - Kid, Koala bear, Kingfisher, Kestrel, Kite, King, Kitten, Knife, Keys.

L page - Little Lion, Little Leopard, Lapwing (bird), Lark, Lambs, Leaves, Ladybird, Lizard, Lollypop, Lute, Logs, Lamp, Ladder, Literature, Leg.

M page - Moose, Mask, Moon, Mouse, Mirror, Mug, Mushrooms, Mole, Million (ten to the power 6) and the zodiacal signs for Mercury, Mars, and Male found on the robe.

N page - Newfoundland dog, Noddy (a fumbling, inept, stupid person), Nuthatch (bird), Newt (lizard), Net, Newspaper, Nails, Nest.

O page - Otter, Oriole (bird), Owl, Opossum, Origami, Oast house (a conical kiln used for drying hops), Orange (colour), Oak tree.

P page - Porcupine, Parrot, Partridge, Pears, Pair of Puppies, Pan Pipes, Petal, Poppy, Paint brush, Paint Pot, Palette, Puppet, Post, Pointing, Painting a Portrait, Pony, Pigeon, Parade, Pennants, Puddle. (Note that Dennis' wings pop out on the P Page ! )

Q page - Quilt, Quartet, Quintet of Quails.

R page - Rabbit, Rooster, Robin (UK), Robin (Canadian) Rats, Rope, Red.

S page - Skunk, Sparrow, Spider, Saluting Scarecrow made of Straw, Seahorse, Sign that says Sarah's Sweets, Sock, Stars, Sun, Salmon, Sheep, Shells, Swan, Seagull, Squirrel, Snail, Snake.

T page - Tiger, Teddy bear, Trumpet, Turkey, Toad, Teapot, Toes, Tree, Trunk, Turrets, Three on horseback.

U page - Unicycle, Upside-down Umbrella, Ukulele, looking Up.

V page - Violin, Vampire bat, Vireo (bird), Vulture, Valentine.

W page - Waving Witch, Waving Wizard, Warbler (bird), Wrist Watch, Words.

X page - saXophone, aXe,

Y page - Yak, Yawn, Yellowthroat (common bird),Yo Yo.

Z page - Zodiac signs on magicians robe, in alphabetical order, Aries, Cancer, Capricorn, Leo, Neptune, Jupiter, Pluto, Saturn, Scorpio, and Taurus.

Notes on the Borders

The borders contain references that are not in the medieval context, and also reflect the same time of day as the main illustration. A good bird book might come in handy for identifying the birds that are flitting throughout "Jousting". (Peterson Field Guides by Roger Tory Peterson and National Geographic Complete Guide to the Birds of North America are great; I used these.) Who knows...Jousting with Jesters could spark an interest in bird spotting. This was another aspect of my childhood years in England that came into the book. I spent many happy hours "spotting" birds on the Romney Marshes in Kent.

Notes on Different Elements in the Story

The story can be "read" as a wordless picture book by following the visual clues and seeing how the story unfolds. The words were chosen for alliterative fun sounds, and to give the students unfamiliar words. Discussion about these words may generate interest in language. Old words like "capering" echo the medieval period. Silent letters as in Gnomes, Knight, and Knave help deal with a tricky aspect of spelling.

The Medieval period can also be discussed. Even though the book is very much a fantasy, I did do research on the costume and architecture, arms and armour. I even made sketches of the English countryside, so Jousting With Jesters is based on solid authentic visual reference.

Notes on Dennis the Dragon

Dennis is a Fruit Eating Dragon. Like all dragons, he is born without a flame and must go on the ancient dragon rite of passage, The Dragon's Quest for Flame to the Vermillion Volcano. When he finds his flame, he will be able to talk to other Dragons, which is very important in order to get the job that he wants and find his place in the wider world.

Fruit Eating Dragons grow very quickly; they become adolescents in just six months, and stay in that stage of development for two hundred years. That's why some Dragons have a naughty reputation. Dennis has reached this stage on the endpaper at the back of the book. I hope that he stays calm for the next two hundred years!

Some Notes on the Creation of "Jousting With Jesters"

For some time now I had wanted to create my very own book. I have been lucky enough to illustrate some wonderful stories by terrific authors (For a full biography, please see my website www.martinspringett.com.) I wanted to do something that I can only describe as "silly", to create a character that was filled with a positive spirit, that would amuse and delight readers young and old, and I wished to return to the rolling green landscape of my own childhood located in southeast England, the county of Kent. On the sign post on the half title page are written the names of three villages that I knew well when I was growing up: Appledore, Brenzett and Cranbrook. It seemed a good alphabetical fit, A B C, and a good start for our little dragon's journey. I made all kinds of discoveries on a trip to England two years ago that helped me create the world in which "Jousting with Jesters" is set.

On the endpapers is a landscape that combines Wales and Kent, although I don't think there are any volcanoes in either place. The wrought iron designs set in on the door of the title page were discovered in a beautiful parish church in Surrey. The title box Knight and his Lady with pups at their feet is an echo of the medieval tomb design so well known throughout Europe. Normally, of course, the Knight would have a hunting dog at his feet and the Lady a lap dog, but this is a fantasy, not a documentary.

On the D page we have a pair of operatic ducks. While on a walk near Hungarton, a village in Leicestershire, my brother in law and I came across a gaggle of these ducks with their heads in the air, all quacking in a murmuring fashion. As we approached them, they ran off towards a low fence. One ducked underneath, now truly alarmed and "singing" at the top of its lungs. They stopped and surveyed us with beady eyed nonchalance, necks still stretched skyward. I was greatly amused by their odd posture and the way they ran about as a group. I knew I had to have Indian Running Ducks on the D page.

On the H page I feature a horse sitting while Helping Dennis with his "Homework". I was convinced that I had seen a horse sit somewhere, and I was determined to find evidence of it, as I loved the scene depicting Dennis and his Helpful pal. Eventually I came across a website from Russia (!) showing a photo of a horse sitting having tea with several people. It looked like something out of "Alice in Wonderland" with a checked table cloth and a huge tea pot.

On the M page I have covered the Magicians robe in signs of the zodiac, rather than the usual stars and moon motif. I will attach a complete list of these signs and their names.

The architectural details I came across in churches, castles and medieval towns like Rye and Chester were inspiring as well. The faces at the bottom of each archway on the Q page were spotted in a church near Bournemouth. They were a much smaller detail than in my picture, and usually very odd images like a frog or small dog, with an occasional human visage. Most people think that churches in medieval times always had the unadorned grey stone look that they have now, but in fact every surface was painted in bright colours. One can still see this even in a great cathedral like Canterbury. There we came across small areas of bright paint at the top of many of the columns in the crypt — a lovely and unexpected find.

On the R page I have a cobbled street with typically medieval buildings "leaning" in to get a good look at the scene. This picture was in part inspired by the old town of Rye in Sussex. As we strolled around the town, I was enchanted by it in a very different way than when I used to visit it as a child. I am now aware of the passing of time and the character this gives to a place. As a youngster I always felt these types of houses had "faces". The one to the far right in the picture does look as though it is "shouting" at the Rotten Robber.

The inn sign for The King Robbie is a small homage to the memory my dear friend Robbie King. Robbie had a great sense of the absurd, and surely the Rotten Robber's costume is truly that. This is based on an authentic medieval design that I came across in a wonderful reference book called "Medieval Costume and Fashion" by Herbert Norris. It's a classic in it's field, going into astonishing detail on how the costumes were made, why fashions changed during the period, how influences came in from the East after the crusades, and the edicts put out by the church on the kind of veils women should wear (if they had to wear them, then they were going to use bright silks rather than plain linen, etc.) Fashion has been with us forever.

I had fun with signs and the visual playfulness of the period on the S page. While in Oxford I came across a lot of odd gargoyles, one of which is on the G page, and in one instance a gold and black painted Satyr over an Inn door. I regret not finding a place for him on the S page. The Sarah's Sweets sign is a nod to my friend Caitlin Sweet's sister.

On the T page the alert student will notice that we have moved into the Fall, as the leaves have changed colour. From here on my little Imps proved very useful in the borders. Rather than just having a dull image of a trumpet, I was able to have on of these little guys play the instrument, as I did with the Violin on the V page and the saXophone on the X page. I also used many birds as letter references.

Many of the characters featured earlier in the book reappear on the Z page — even the bad guy first seen the B page, if you can find him! As we are now in winter, I was able to indulge in my love of wintery trees. I have always loved the silhouettes that trees make in the winter months in England, and it's still something I love to at look no matter where I am.

A note on the dedication page

The book is dedicated to Pauline Baynes, the illustrator of The Chronicles of Narnia by C S Lewis and the works of J R R Tolkien, specifically Farmer Giles of Ham, Smith of Wooten Major and The Adventures of Tom Bombadil. Pauline's career has spanned fifty years and she has a new book out in 2006 called Questionable Creatures. She is eighty-four years old now, and certainly an inspiration to me. As a boy I loved her pictures for Narnia. No matter how many editions and different covers the series has gone through, Pauline's illustrations have been a constant throughout. Several generations of children have been charmed and delighted by her work. She was the first person to show us what Narnia looked like.