September 1, 2021
PreS-Gr 1-While many believe that unicorns are only make-believe, it's Uni, "the only unicorn who believed that little girls were REAL," who comes to visit a child via a swirling double-rainbow "between Here and There." Unfortunately, Uni is invisible to any who do not believe, including the girl's family and her friends, a mixed group of racially diverse children; their faces register puzzlement when introduced. This offering presents illustrations in a variety of sizes, enhanced by the fluidity of digitally painted images that continue beyond the frame of the page and so encourage page turns. Patterns of flowers enhance a folk-art range of houses in the small town setting with a colorfully imagined world of cartoon characters. VERDICT A suggested general purchase for libraries with readers who simply can't resist the latest unicorn book, this title pays tribute to the boundless power of imagination.-Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano I.S.D., TX
Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
September 15, 2021
In this third volume, Uni finally gets to visit their little-girl pal where she lives and meet her friends and family. Sliding in on a double rainbow (the one, of course, that connects Here and There), Uni is excited to visit the Real World for the first time. But when the unnamed little girl introduces Uni to her parents, they don't see Uni at all. The little tot's entire body droops in disappointment. The duo then races to the park to find the little girl's friends. Surely they will want to see a unicorn! But they don't see Uni either. This time, it is Uni's turn to sadly droop. Suddenly, light hits Uni's horn, and a rainbow appears. A glint of believing grows in a little boy, and he can see Uni! The thrum of magic and sparkle is there in both the text and art, but the ending feels slapdash and arbitrary: "The power of believing spread across the Real World, making it a bright and joyful place where everyone...was welcome." Regardless, the full-circle moment is satisfying, completing the arc begun by author Rosenthal's late mother, Amy Krouse Rosenthal, in Uni the Unicorn (2014) and Uni the Unicorn and the Dream Come True (2017). Uni and the little girl have now seen each other's homes and made both better through their friendship. The little girl and her family present White; her friends are racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A sweet trilogy conclusion. (Picture book. 3-6)
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