The Best
Adventures Change You
Artie the Good Knight and the Excalibur Academy by Children’s Author Gabrielle Reid.
This adventure fantasy features a young heroine facing daily challenges in middle school and mythic Arcadia. It highlights the importance of friendships, honourable choices and facing your fears. Throughout the story, Artie and her companions (including her talking dog) will meet tests that see them standing up for each other, themselves and to the odd Ogre. The energetic chapter illustrations by Chad Budyk bring our world to life.
The simple and accessible language makes this book suitable for children aged 8 to 12. It is perfect for reading together or for older children to read independently.
Take a Sneak Peek
Download an excerpt today to see if Artie’s adventure is just the epic fantasy you can’t wait to get lost in.
“Good,” I said to him. We had a moment of locked eye contact. I knew we weren’t quite friends at this point, but perhaps we could be…less than enemies? Then he turned the open hand into a fist, punched me lightly in the shoulder, and grinned. “
Page 250 – Chapter “King Killer”
Reading is a simple and affordable way to expand young minds, broaden their worldview, and improve their vocabulary, all wrapped up in tales of adventure, world history, and faraway lands.
“Artie has done something far braver than any squire would dare to at her age,” Mr. Ellis continued. “Did she mess up? Certainly. But we can’t penalize a creative, determined soul.”
Page 248 – Chapter “King Killer”
About Us
Why did an insurance company write a children’s book?
This book has nothing to do with insurance but everything to do with inspiring people to rise to the challenge and be the best version of themselves.
The idea for ‘Artie the Good Knight’ was born in 2015 because I firmly believe we exist to champion the success of the people around us – especially youth.
Creating this book was a true collaboration of like-minded people. Gabrielle is a fiction writer and an avid Dungeons and Dragons player. Sydney Wettlaufer, my marketing manager, is very passionate about reading. They loved the concept of ‘Artie’ – and the dream team of Gabrielle, Sydney and Jeff was born.
Once the writing was complete, we contacted a gifted illustrator named Chad Budyk, who brought Artie’s visual journey to life.
On average, children spend the first eight years of their life learning to read, so they can read to learn for the rest of their lives. Leaders are readers. Our desire as a team is for people to get excited about reading, learning, and stretching their imaginations at an early age.
I hope you enjoy the adventure of our hero Artie, Beau and her cast of friends.
Sydney Wettlaufer
Jeff Roy
“If you are about to read this book, I also hope it makes your imagination smile. If in some small way, it encourages you to do what’s right, or to make someone’s day – or helps you realize that your flaws can also be your greatest strength – then bringing this book to life will have been worth the effort of everyone involved.”
About the Author
Gabrielle Reid is the author of Artie the Good Knight and the Excalibur Academy, and eagerly jumped on board for this project to create a children’s book for Excalibur’s “Read to Ride Program” when she first heard of the concept. Having always been a devout lover of all things fictional and having consumed all varieties of fantasy works in her youth till now – from C.S. Lewis’ Narnia series to J.R.R Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings – taking up the mantle and creating her own fictional world was a joy.
Living in Calgary, Alberta, Gabrielle enjoys playing Dungeons & Dragons, which is partly where the influence for “Arcadia” came into play. Writing the coming-of-age story of a young girl who deals with bullies – both in the real world and in a world of magic, cyclops, and talking animals – was an enthusiastic journey, wherein she got to fully embrace the “fantasy loving” side of herself.
Children’s books had always played a pivotal role in allowing Gabrielle to get a glimpse of the world from a very young age and helped to stimulate a sense of adventure, which going forward into life has helped shape her outlook on so many things. Creating one of her own has been an opportunity to give that experience back to children, and allow them to see, feel, smell, and hear the world on the imagined level of Artie Martin, our fearless protagonist.
“I need to go home,” I said decidedly, or perhaps even fearfully. “But I don’t know where home is from here. Could you help me?”
Page 26 – Chapter “Cassandra’s Pig Farm”
