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GO AWAY, UNICORN!

Name: GO AWAY, UNICORN!
Author: Emily Mullock
ISBN: 978-1-338-57571-2

by Emily Mullock ; illustrated by Emily Mullock ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 3, 2019

Thanks to its media tie-in, this unicorn’s not likely to be going away anytime soon.

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First published in Canada, the book behind the popular animated TV series of the same title.

Alice is not pleased when a pink-maned, white unicorn crashes her 10th birthday party. Demonstrating that “unicorns can be pretty dumb,” he mistakes her pointy, gold party hat for a horn and thinks she’s a unicorn, too. Despite her protests, he follows Alice home after the party, sweetly determined to earn her favor even after she doffs the hat. But he makes a nuisance of himself in a series of twee little mishaps that finally cause Alice to snap after he magically turns her hair pink (“his most favorite color”). Outraged, she says “the meanest thing she could think of: ‘You are so not my friend. I would rather have a goldfish than you!’ ” Well, “even unicorns know when they’re being insulted,” and he leaves, crestfallen. In a satisfying if predictable ending, the pair is reunited when Alice misses him after all. While the trim size suggests this is an early reader, there’s more of a picture-book feel to the dynamic between art and text, especially since the latter lacks controls that would make it particularly accessible to emergent readers. The cartoon art depicts Alice with straight dark hair, big dark eyes right out of manga, and tan skin.

Thanks to its media tie-in, this unicorn’s not likely to be going away anytime soon. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-338-57571-2

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: June 9, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
WENDA THE WACKY WIGGLER
by Christopher Aslan & illustrated by Emily Mullock & developed by Aslan Studios

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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)