Title I Believe in Unicorns Series --- Author Michael Morpurgo Illustrator Gary Blythe Publisher Candlewick Press - 2006 First Printing 2005 Category Middle Grade Warnings None Main Characters Tomas Main Elements Unicorns Website ---

A tale of the transformative power of stories, told by British Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo and award-winning illustrator Gary Blythe

Eight-year-old Tomas hates reading. He would much rather be clambering around his beloved mountains. But when his mother forces him to visit the library, he can't help but listen to the enchanting tales the librarian spins as she sits on a lifelike wooden unicorn. When war comes to their village, it is Tomas's newfound love of books that helps save the library's holdings from destruction. Set against a backdrop of encroaching war, I BELIEVE IN UNICORNS is an eloquent reminder of the power of storytelling to alter our lives.

This book isn't actually about unicorns but the theme is very strong. Tomas is a young boy in pre-war Europe. He doesn't want to go to the library and hang out with the dumb young kids, but then the Unicorn Lady, the librarian that tells tales while sitting on a wooden unicorn tells the tales of the unicorns and Noah's Ark. Tomas is now hooked on stories and keeps coming back, even getting his friends to come and listen. Eventually he even gets to read to the group!

But then the soliders come, the bombs drop and his village is burned. The townsfolk gather together to save as many of the books as they can, but can they rescue the wooden unicorn too? A beautiful story of the power of books and imagination. Blythe's pencil artwork is beautiful and perfect for this story, I enjoyed looking at the pictures as much as I enjoyed reading it.