Review by Booklist Review
Be careful what you wish for underpins this comic story of what could happen if one's dearest wish were to come true. In this case, a little boy prepares to wish for a unicorn despite warnings from an unseen narrator. With the plip of the boy'scoin in a fountain, a unicorn with flowing purple hair appears, and mayhem ensues. The narrator's warnings are juxtaposed with illustrations showing the boy and unicorn living in the boy's home. The narrator stresses that, yes, unicorns can fly but, once home, they shed (golden sparkles); scratch (the couch is in tatters); poop (piles of cupcakes); and burp (rainbows). But worst of all, when they get lonely, which they do, they invite their friends over for a raucous unicorn party the most destructive force in the universe. The candy-colored illustrations show the damage a roomful of magical party animals can do. Luckily, the wishing fountain is nearby, giving the boy a chance to correct his mistake, though the final illustration shows he may not have learned his lesson. Imaginative fun throughout.--Fletcher, Connie Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Unicorns: splendiferous magical delight or mythological menace? Dyckman (Horrible Bear!) suggests the latter in this cautionary tale. After a boy wearing an "I [heart] unicorns" T-shirt tosses a coin into a fountain, a white unicorn with a voluminous purple mane manifests in a shower of rainbows and stars. The boy is delighted, the unseen narrator not so much. "Sure, having a unicorn seems fun-at first," the narrator says. "Fine! It's awesome, okay?!" But this admission is followed by several negatives: unicorns shed, slice furniture to ribbons, and can't be housetrained. Climo (the Rory the Dinosaur books) creates gleeful unicorn havoc in her droll cartoons as the boy's new pet sheds golden sparkles, belches rainbows, and more (readers will never look at cupcakes the same way after the house-training scene). After an ultradestructive unicorn party involving a herd decked out in bows, leg warmers, and sunglasses, the boy learns his lesson (sort of). The ending fizzles, but there's a lot of mischievous fun to be had getting there. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Scott Treimel, Scott Treimel N.Y. Illustrator's agent: Kathleen Ortiz, New Leaf Literary & Media. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Horn Book Review
Dyckman and Climo's tongue-in-cheek expose reveals the "reality" of life with a unicorn. And the truth is a lot less wonderful than pro-unicorn propaganda (magic! rainbows! glitter!) would have you believe. The story begins in a peaceful-looking park where a plush unicorn-toting child walks onto the scene sporting an "I love Unicorns" shirt. On the next page, the kid approaches a fountain with coin in hand, while the offstage narrator calls out, "'WAIT!'" Guessing what the unicorn-fancier's wish will be, the narrator tries to intervene, but-- "plip"--too late. The kid wishes a unicorn into being; the narrator, after admitting that having a unicorn is undeniably "awesome," presents the case for "it's not worth it." Climo's rainbow-bright illustrations take Dyckman's silly premise to a whole new level of absurdity. With the narrator's dialogue serving as the text, characters' reactions are displayed in the cleanly rendered art. This is a crowd-pleaser, complete with cupcake poops and rainbow burps, and the beleaguered kid dealing with the chaos and mess. You'd think the message here is "be careful what you wish for," and it is, sort of, although our young hero clearly hasn't learned that at book's end. Along with all the rainbows (burps and all), there's a welcoming and unobtrusive gender-nonconforming vibe. The child looks boyish (but isn't specifically identified), which telegraphs that liking sparkly unicorns is open to all. And that is a message you DO want. kitty flynn (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
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) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
