A child ignores the advice of an unknown narrator and learns by experience why a pet unicorn is a bad idea.
On the title double-page spread, digitized, cartoon artwork shows a light-skinned, brown-haired child clutching a toy unicorn and moving along a park path toward a public fountain. As the child reaches the fountain on the next page, large, black letters overhead declare, “WAIT!” On the next page, the lettering further addresses the child: “You were gonna wish for a unicorn, weren’t you? Wishing for a unicorn is a BIG MISTAKE!” When the child drops a coin in anyway, a white unicorn with purple mane appears, looking rather a lot like a horse-sized My Little Pony with a horn. As the child flies above parked cars on unicorn-back, the voice admits that, initially, there are advantages to having a unicorn. There follows a series of pages showing the disadvantages, as the unicorn sheds, tears up the child’s home, poops smelly pink cupcakes, and burps a rainbow. The child is still unconvinced, until the “biggest, top secret, nobody-knows-about-it problem” occurs. (Hint: unicorns are social animals.) The text is snarky-conversational with a contemporarily colloquial feel. On first read, children may enjoy the funny pictures and silly text and situations, but, rather like a rainbow-colored belch, it’s not substantial enough to sustain many return visits.
Best seen as a joke gift for a unicorn lover. (Picture book. 2-6)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-34347-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2016
Did you like this book?
The perfect book for kids who love dragons and mild tacos.
Rubin’s story starts with an incantatory edge: “Hey, kid! Did you know that dragons love tacos? They love beef tacos and chicken tacos. They love really big gigantic tacos and tiny little baby tacos as well.” The playing field is set: dragons, tacos. As a pairing, they are fairly silly, and when the kicker comes in—that dragons hate spicy salsa, which ignites their inner fireworks—the silliness is sillier still. Second nature, after all, is for dragons to blow flames out their noses. So when the kid throws a taco party for the dragons, it seems a weak device that the clearly labeled “totally mild” salsa comes with spicy jalapenos in the fine print, prompting the dragons to burn down the house, resulting in a barn-raising at which more tacos are served. Harmless, but if there is a parable hidden in the dragon-taco tale, it is hidden in the unlit deep, and as a measure of lunacy, bridled or unbridled, it doesn’t make the leap into the outer reaches of imagination. Salmieri’s artwork is fitting, with a crabbed, ethereal line work reminiscent of Peter Sís, but the story does not offer it enough range.
A wandering effort, happy but pointless. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 14, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3680-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2012
Categories: CHILDREN'S DRAGONS & MYTHICAL CREATURES
Did you like this book?
Both beautiful and inspiring as graduation gift or guide to life.
GET IT
An inspirational picture book offers life advice for readers who want to be themselves.
Replete with sparkling, often quirky illustrations of children living their best lives, this book is a gorgeous guidebook for those seeking encouragement while encountering life’s challenges. The children featured—a racially diverse group ranging from infants to preschoolers—cheerfully navigate the various injunctions that flow through the text: “Be curious.…Be adventurous.…Be persistent.…Be kind.” What is remarkable about the book is that even though the instructions and the brief sentences explaining them are at times vague, the illustrations expand on them in ways readers will find endearing and uplifting. Those depicting painful or challenging moments are especially effective. The “Be persistent” double-page spread shows a child in a boat on stormy seas; it’s rich with deep blues as it emphasizes the energy of wind and rain and struggle in the face of challenge. Together with the accompanying repeated phrase “Keep going, never stop. Keep going, never stop. Keep going, never stop,” this spread arrests readers. By contrast, the “Be kind. Be understanding” spread simply presents two children’s faces, one cast in blue and the other in gold, but the empathy that Reynolds conveys is similarly captivating. While there is no plot to pull readers through the pages, the book provides rich fodder for caregivers to use as teachable moments, both informally and in classroom settings.
Both beautiful and inspiring as graduation gift or guide to life. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 3, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-338-57231-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
Did you like this book?
© Copyright 2022 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
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.
