Review by Booklist Review
In this companion to Sima's popular Not Quite Narwhal (2017), readers meet Nimbus, a little blue horse with feathered wings, who was born in a cloud. Though she lives alone, she can usually keep herself entertained by soaring through the sky, sliding on rainbows, and searching the stars for horse constellations. One particularly lonely evening, she decides to make a wish on a shooting star: "I wish I had someone . . ." The star falls to earth before Nimbus has completed her wish, so she flies in search of it. On an island, she meets a unicorn named Kelp, who has the ability to make his own rainbows. The friendly creatures who inhabit the island pitch in to assist Nimbus in locating her lost star, but the bright daylight makes it difficult. Discouraged, Nimbus returns to her cloud, where she acknowledges that perhaps she discovered something on the island that is even better than her wishing star. Charming digital illustrations and the heartwarming tale of friendship--not to mention unicorns--will keep very young children entertained.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In Sima's version of a crossover episode, Nimbus, the titular pegasus--who has purply blue wings and an aviator's cap to match--meets Kelp, the unicorn protagonist of 2017's Not Quite Narwhal. Nimbus, whose outlier status in the sometimes "too empty" sky corresponds to Kelp's underwater backstory, has pursued a falling star to an island in hopes that wishing on it will bring about "someone to keep her company." Kelp, whom Nimbus discovers standing sweetly in a meadow surrounded by butterflies and flowers, can't find the star either. The two nevertheless revel in each other's company (Nimbus flies in the rainbow generated by Kelp's horn), and when Kelp introduces Nimbus to his congenial beachfront community of narwhals and unicorns, readers may find themselves shouting out, "Here are the friends you're looking for!" Nimbus, however, wings all the way back to the heavens before realizing that she doesn't need to find the star itself to "finish her wish." If the resolution feels a titch lengthy, Sima rewards the audience with a great party ending: under starry skies, all the creatures--horned, mythical, and otherwise--gather for a truly adorable campfire event, replete with stargazing. Ages 4--8. Agent: Thao Le, Sandra Dijkstra Literary. (Mar.)
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