A PLAGUE OF UNICORNS

A whimsical fairy tale is stretched rather thin in this low-key novella.

James, heir to the duchy of Callanshire, has spent most of his 8 1/2 years asking nonstop questions, until his loving but exasperated family ships him off to Cranford Abbey to be educated. But the monks are otherwise preoccupied with driving off the unicorns that feast upon their apple orchard. Countless heroes have tried and failed to stop the annual raids; how can one clever and homesick little boy come up with the perfect solution? Yolen (who simply cannot write a graceless sentence) displays her strengths here: poking fun at heroic stereotypes, celebrating curiosity and imagination, and revealing both the homely everydayness of the magical and the wondrous beauty of the ordinary. Each individual vignette—charming, witty, poignant and dreamlike—is perfect in itself; yet stitched together, the awkward shifts in viewpoint and tone betray the narrative’s origin as an expanded short story. It is difficult to identify a target audience: The sophisticated prose and subtle themes are suited for middle-graders, but few are likely to identify with such a young protagonist; this might work best as a classroom (or bedtime) read-aloud. The handsome design complements Yolen's prose.

Sweet and engaging but less than the sum of its parts. (Fantasy. 8-12)