A sweet friendship tale, rosy in every sense.
A child helps a magical companion find a forever home in a sugary adventure with waggish interactive elements.
“It was a day full of RAINBOWS. And I was playing picnic in my TREE HOUSE…when all of a sudden I heard a KNOCK on my door. It was a unicorn. I LOVE unicorns.” Worried that the rainbow-maned beast is lost, the blond, peach-skinned young narrator offers reassurance (“I will find you a new home!”), and the two set off. Ruling out a pet shop, a farm (“The food was DISGUSTING”), and the “VERY STRANGE” Famous Unicorn Carousel (where the other unicorns “wouldn’t even stop to say hello!”), the pair visit plausible spots until landing upon the unicorn’s ideal home. The glossy, foil-tinged cover will surely speak to a certain dainty readership, but the protagonist’s thoughtful and mission-oriented persistence belies the princessy palette. Hand lettering reminiscent of Oliver Jeffers’ work adorns Yarlett’s pleasingly childish, candy-colored mixed-media illustrations on thick pages embellished with five lift-the-flap elements—including letters and a shop flyer—that enhance the storyline. Humorously detailed, full-page artwork includes visual gags as the unicorn susses out each failed location. Redolent with pink, this first-person point-of-view evolution of a proprietary relationship into a bonded friendship delivers on its promised “magical surprises” and should delight fans of fantastical adventure stories and unexpected pet dramas.
A sweet friendship tale, rosy in every sense. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9781536246469
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2025
Clever inspiration for bold-hearted storytellers.
Get comfy! This storyteller has just the right tale.
A beige-skinned elflike protagonist sits in the dark by a small fire and invites readers to listen to “THE GREATEST BEDTIME STORY EVER.” Quickly, we flash back to a scene of the elf, in pursuit of literary inspiration, foolishly following an eerie sound to a cave. There, our hero meets a fire-breathing dragon who is unable to sleep without a snack. Fearing the worst (the dragon is eyeing the elf hungrily), the elf offers to tell a bedtime story instead. After the narrator writes and illustrates a story and then reads it aloud, the dragon falls asleep. On the verge of escape, the storyteller suddenly comes to a horrible realization: “I had left behind the Greatest Bedtime Story Ever!” Returning for it, the protagonist steps on a bone, awakens the dragon, and is devoured by the creature. We never do learn what was in the tale told to the dragon, but the one the elf relates is absorbing, an entertaining metafictional riff on the challenges of storytelling. The abrupt conclusion may disturb more sensitive youngsters, but many will find it great fun—they’ll enjoy rereads knowing that the protagonist is narrating from the belly of the beast. Sima’s appealing digital art slyly alternates sweetness (the dragon clutching a plush toy while listening to the story) with tension and even scares (a close-up of that toothy dragon maw).
Clever inspiration for bold-hearted storytellers. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 9, 2026
ISBN: 9781665974523
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2026
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
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