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Sir Badalot comes by his name honestly. With the slightest provocation, he flies into a fit of rage, complaining about how bad his lot in life is. You’ve probably seen a Sir Badalot in the wild. They’re the ones raging at someone cutting in front of them in traffic. Yelling angrily when they stub their toe.

This person sounds eerily familiar…Oh! That’s me! Well…moving on then.

Sir Badalot finally realizes he has a dragon that feeds off of his whining and complaining. He takes stock of his situation and decides he needs to beat this dragon and not let himself turn into…well, an adult with a bad temper…ahem! Will he conquer the dragon before it conquers him?

About the Author

Sir Badalot and the Cranky Danky Dragon is written by Rachel Jankovic. She is the mother of seven children–presumably with sinful behaviors like the ones exemplified by Sir Badalot. She has written a few books on parenting, and this is her first children’s book.

The illustrations by Forrest Dickison bring this story to life. He has illustrated several children’s books and has, since illustrating this book, become an author as well.¹ He is most known for illustrating Hello Ninja, which inspired the Netflix children’s series by the same name.

Summary

Sir Badalot is trying to build a castle, yet nothing seems to go his way. He responds with whining and complaining. After a particularly large blow-up, he realizes the Cranky Danky Dragon (with a heart of hard-to-please) is what keeps ruining his work. Deciding he needs to do something about it, he makes a plan then diligently gets to work. In the middle of the “sweaty mannish work,”² he realizes that there’s beauty and things to be thankful for all around him. In his diligence, he feels his heart changing and “wonders at his whining.”³

The dragon, who gets his power from whining and complaining, is waiting for Sir Badalot to throw a fit. Finally, he can’t take it any longer and decides he’s going to make Sir Badalot complain. To his horror, he finds Sir Badalot singing about what he’s thankful for and working hard. Upon attempting to make Sir Badalot complain, he realizes that he no longer has any power. Sir Badalot successfully builds his tower, defeating the attitude of discontentment in his life.

Analysis

Sir Badalot and the Cranky Danky Dragon, is a very fun poem. It makes fighting against whining and complaining enjoyable. Rachel has masterfully interwoven a message of fighting against sin and learning self-control into this story of Sir Badalot. Teaching boys how to not whine and complain while keeping the masculine spirit that God has gifted them with. His victory over the dragon makes him a positive role model for boys.

The illustrations in this book complement the story very well. Forrest excellently captures the attitudes and expressions of Sir Badalot and the Cranky Danky Dragon. My son has probably learned more from the illustrations than the words.

The intended audience is young boys. However, I will admit, I quite enjoy reading it myself.⁴ My three-year-old son has requested it every night for over a month now, I have yet to tire of reading it to him. It has been a fun blessing to see and hear the different things that my son has picked up throughout the many times we’ve read this book.

Personal Response

This story reminds me of Proverbs 25:28, “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” (ESV) At the beginning of the book, we meet Sir Badalot in a castle with no walls and no self-control. He is having to learn to exercise self-control in order to build up his walls and defend against the sin of whining and complaining.

Sir Badalot is not alone though. Everyone whines and complains. This book is geared specifically for learning how to handle discontentment from a masculine perspective, making it a great book for parents with young boys.

A boy who does not learn self-control when they are young, will have a much harder time learning when they are grown. The habits of those years are not easy to undo. Give your son the blessing of understanding self-control from a young age. This book can be a tool to help you do just that.

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1. It’s also a great book as well. It’s called Crispin’s Rainy Day. ↩︎
2. Jankovic, Rachel. 2022. Sir Badalot And The Cranky Danky Dragon. Canonball Books. ↩︎
3. Jankovic, Rachel. 2022. Sir Badalot And The Cranky Danky Dragon. Canonball Books. ↩︎
4. In my opinion that means it passes the C. S. Lewis Test. “I am almost inclined to set it up as a canon that a children’s story which is enjoyed only by children is a bad children’s story.” — C. S. Lewis ↩︎