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UNICORN IS MAYBE NOT SO GREAT AFTER ALL

Name: UNICORN IS MAYBE NOT SO GREAT AFTER ALL
Author: Bob Shea
ISBN: 978-1-368-00944-7

by Bob Shea ; illustrated by Bob Shea ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 9, 2019

And if readers learn a lesson about humility along the way? That’s just the icing on Unicorn’s flaming birthday cakes.

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Following Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great (2013), the extra-special equine is back for the first day of school, and he’s having trouble with the fact that he doesn’t stand out in the crowd.

Thinking quite highly of himself, Unicorn is confident on the first day, while best friend Goat suffers from “contractually obligated first-day jitters.” But later, their situations are reversed. Unicorn is chagrined that all anyone can focus on are “rubber bands that look like other things” (Shea skewers the decade-old Silly Bandz craze). Unicorn decides to regain the spotlight with a new, improved version of himself: He’ll be a “new-nicorn,” complete with rainbow wig and fake tail, colored contacts, “horn enhancer,” and an attitude and personality to match. His friends’ reactions don’t faze him in the slightest: “Why are you drawn like that?” a pig speculates metafictively. But his narcissism and lack of respect for other people’s space and boundaries mean he tromps (sometimes literally) all over his peers. “Go home, Unicorn!” A depressed and depressing day at home ends with the doorbell: Unicorn’s friends have missed him even though he’s “been super-annoying.” Hysterical side commentary and even funnier details in the cartoon illustrations will keep readers coming back again and again for more of Shea’s irreverent, tongue-in-cheek humor.

And if readers learn a lesson about humility along the way? That’s just the icing on Unicorn’s flaming birthday cakes. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: July 9, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-368-00944-7

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S DRAGONS & MYTHICAL CREATURES | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
BEARSUIT TURTLE PLAYS A GAME
by Bob Shea ; illustrated by Bob Shea

- BOOK REVIEW
HORNED TOAD HAS A SUPERPOWER
by Jill Esbaum ; illustrated by Bob Shea

- BOOK REVIEW
POLECAT HAS A SUPERPOWER
by Jill Esbaum ; illustrated by Bob Shea

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 21, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
A PERFECT PLACE TO PLAY
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Jim Valeri

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)