The unicorn of the west

Gr 1-3-A gentle story that can be effectively shared on many levels. A young unicorn who has never before met any other creatures of the forest tries to discover who he is. With each season, he meets a different animal: a spring robin, a summer butterfly, an autumn squirrel. But it's not until winter approaches that he hears a ``melody'' that seems to beckon him to a place where he meets the Unicorns of the East, South, and North. They tell him that he is the Unicorn of the West and that every seven years on the solstice, the four meet to insure that each corner of the world will always know love and beautiful dreams. The unicorn returns home, content to know his identity and with the knowledge that he has true friends. In The Gold Coin (1991) and My Name Is Maria Isabel, (1993, both Atheneum), Ada employed similar themes of self-discovery. Here, it is interwoven with the idea that both friendship on an individual level and peace on a universal level are important. The story is well told and folkloric in its approach as a pattern is developed and repeated with each encounter with a different animal. The watercolor illustrations are soft without being pale and portray an apt world for this original fable.-Jane Marino, Scarsdale Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

The fantasy teaches the value of friendship and self-determination, as a unicorn searches for his identity. Romanticized illustrations of animals and nature reflect the mood set by the overwrought, poetic language. Also available in Spanish. From HORN BOOK 1994, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.