Title Once Upon a Unicorn Horn Series --- Author Beatrice Blue Illustrator Beatrice Blue Publisher Editions les Malins - 2019 First Printing Quarto UK - 2019 Category Children Warnings None Main Characters June Main Elements Unicorns

The funny, heartwarming first title in a new picture-book series explaining how magical creatures got their distinguishing features.

Do you know how unicorns got their horns? It all began once upon a magic forest, when a little girl called June discovered tiny horses learning how to fly in her garden. But one of the poor horses couldn't fly at all! So, with the help of her parents, June thought of a very sweet and very delicious way to make her new friend happy. I wonder what it could have been… This first title in a new picture-book series explaining how magical creatures got their distinguishing features is packed full of humour and heart (with a tiny touch of ice cream).

Wait...are these "magical horses" or white rabbits? They didn't look even remotely equine, and I'm someone is ok with a unicorn not being a horse with a horn stuck on its head, I actually prefer the more deer-like version. But these don't have manes, hooves and they have ears about half the length of their body and they sit...that's a rabbit. And the mother unicorn, guess she's clown in a local circus what with her big red lips and red dot and upside down flower on her head. And what is the girl wearing? Its never explained, I thought it was a bunny costume but now I know this artist can't render recognizable animals so maybe its a cow?

The story is just as silly, I liked how the girl wanted to help the magical horse to fly, but the problem was solved when she tripped and dropped an ice cream cone on the horse's head...so that's how the unicorn got its horn...I dunno, there had to be something better than that to convince me, I mean the ice cream is going to melt and get into the little horse's eyes and witout the cream the horn won't stick. I know, this is a book for kids and it doesn't need to make sense...but at the same time you're kind of talking down to the kid if you want them to buy this idea, kids aren't dumb.

It's cute but in the end, I just didn't like the way the unicorns were woven into the story, neither the art, nor the horn idea. Goodreads seems to disagree with me, people and kids seem to love it, so might just be me.