An entertaining read for unicorn lovers, with a touch of sweetness.
A child embarks on a quest to find out whether unicorns exist.
When the young narrator’s brother states, “There’s no such thing as unicorns,” the protagonist explores the community to see if he is correct. The child takes a map and binoculars and asks readers, “Could YOU help me, too?” At the farm, the farmer states that unicorns aren’t real. But the child persists. At a crowded zoo, the unicorns “MUST be somewhere hiding / as they’ve disappeared from view.” The narrator continues to search around the lake, in the woods, in the meadow, at the beach, and even in a cave, without success. At school, the teacher also confirms the nonexistence of these fantastical creatures. Though the child is disappointed, in a tender moment, the supportive older brother offers a gentle hug. The kids “make a wish upon a star / that’s shining through the night,” and suddenly a surprise is revealed. Lively rhyming text pairs well with whimsical cartoon drawings of a diverse community. Kids will enjoy scouring the colorful pages for hidden images of rainbows and other hints that perhaps the child’s brother has it wrong. The protagonist is light-skinned with red hair in pigtails; their brother is light-skinned with blond hair. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An entertaining read for unicorn lovers, with a touch of sweetness. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781338812558
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Like the last sip of a chocolate milkshake, it’s very satisfying.
A story-reading dragon—what’s not to like?
Duncan the Dragon loves to read. But the stories so excite him, his imagination catches fire—and so do his books, leaving him wondering about the endings. Does the captain save the ship? Do aliens conquer the Earth? Desperate to reach the all-important words “The End” (“like the last sip of a chocolate milk shake”), he tries reading in the refrigerator, in front of a bank of electric fans, and even in a bathtub filled with ice. Nothing works. He decides to ask a friend to read to him, but the raccoon, possum, and bull all refuse. Weeping, Duncan is ready to give up, but one of his draconic tears runs “split-splat into a mouse,” a book-loving mouse! Together they battle sea monsters, dodge icebergs, and discover new lands, giving rise to a fast friendship. Driscoll’s friendly illustrations are pencil sketches painted in Adobe Photoshop; she varies full-bleed paintings with vignettes surrounded by white space, imaginary scenes rendered in monochrome to set them apart. Duncan himself is green, winged, and scaly, but his snout is unthreateningly bovine, and he wears red sneakers with his shoelaces untied—a nicely vulnerable touch. Though there are lots of unusual friendship stories in picture books, the vivid colors, expressive faces, and comic details make this one likely to be a storytime hit.
Like the last sip of a chocolate milkshake, it’s very satisfying. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-75507-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Adorable but unlikely to hold children’s attention on rereads.
Letters fly back and forth between a child and a unicorn until the two finally meet in person.
The initial double-page spread shows a light-skinned teacher facing a class of children at their easels. “Our art and pen pal units have been combined,” the teacher tells them. “We’ll be mailing pictures and images along with each letter.” On the next page, a unicorn teacher extends the lecture—to a group of chubby young diversely hued unicorns. This teacher advises the students to ask their pen pals questions, to talk about their own lives, to be creative, and to enjoy themselves. Over the course of the school year, we see a light-skinned child called Constance Nace-Ayer (who, as her name suggests, is a little grumpy about the pen pal project, at least initially) exchange handwritten letters and artwork with a more upbeat pink unicorn named Nicole Sharp. There is plenty of wordplay and some sly, subtle indications that the pen pals sometimes misunderstand each other. At the book’s climax, when the pen pals all meet face to face, Constance and Nicole are surprised to learn each other’s respective species. While young readers will appreciate the cutesy illustrations, the pen pals’ decision to remain friends despite their differences falls a bit flat. The story depicts this moment as a huge triumph, but what human—no matter how narrow-minded—would reject an offer of unicorn friendship? (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Adorable but unlikely to hold children’s attention on rereads. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2023
ISBN: 9780593206942
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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