Thanks to its media tie-in, this unicorn’s not likely to be going away anytime soon.
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
BOOK REVIEW
Inviting.
A story inspired by a real-life effort to achieve social inclusion.
Rhyming text enriched by energetic, cartoon-style illustrations follows the diverse students in Miss Mellon’s class at recess. Most of the children dive into play with peers, but some feel timid or excluded. Those at play are initially oblivious to the discomfort of the others, but then a child named Jake notices someone using a crutch and hanging back from play. “ ‘It’s my leg,’ said Gabe. ‘I can’t run in a cast, / so I never get picked, not even last.’ ” Affable Jake responds, “Come play with us anyway. There’s time to spare,” causing Gabe to reply, “Wait a minute …I’ll be right there.” This interaction creates a compassionate domino effect of inclusion, with Gabe reaching out to another kid on the sidelines, and so on. When the children (and, oddly, an elephant and dragon) go inside after recess they ask, “how could we say, / without using words, that we all want to play?” Miss Mellon says they need “a seat / to wait for a friend or a buddy to meet.” It’s unfortunate the solution—the eponymous buddy bench—originates with an adult rather than the compassionate children themselves, especially since the author’s note reveals that it was a first grader who proposed the first one in the United States, but the generosity on display is heartening.
Inviting. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Aug. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-88448-697-8
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Tilbury House
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
Readers will chime in with the “hip, hip hooray” this cuddly-looking creature earns when he finally embraces and celebrates...
Although there are many stories about the perils and rewards of a monster’s turning nice, this one goes a little further, touching upon being rejected by peers, being bullied and eventually being at ease with who one is.
Supposedly each letter in the word “monster” stands for a valuable character trait that all these creatures share: M is for mean, O is for Observant, N is for Noisy, S is for Super Strong, T is for Tough-to-Please, E is for Envious and R is for Remarkable. Sadly, the lime green, rectangular protagonist loses his “M” and his ability to be truly mean. Now he is “just The Onster.” Without his “mean,” he becomes the target of teasing and feels embarrassed when he is caught by the monster pack doing good deeds and fitting in with the more kindhearted and accepting young humans. Even when he purposely tries to do something bad, such as pulling “the flowers out of Mrs. Power’s yard,” he “just can’t bear to harm them, so he waters them instead.” The rhyming text proceeds at a steady clip, and Edmunds digitally renders scenes that aptly depict the monster’s back-and-forth feelings about becoming a nonthreatening, thoughtful and friendly Onster.
Readers will chime in with the “hip, hip hooray” this cuddly-looking creature earns when he finally embraces and celebrates his differences. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: July 17, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8050-9375-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
