Unicorn, by Maggie Hutchings and Cheryl Orsini

I have developed a deep-seeded, firm aversion to the onslaught of unicorn flavoured toys, clothes, underwear, stationery, bedsheets, bags and even books. I swear I have never bought a unicorn-ed item, but they still exist in my household.

When I saw that Cheryl Orsini had illustrated a new book and the book was called Unicorn! every anti-unicorn molecule melted away and I straight away reserved it at the library. I think we must have been first on the reserve list, because when we bought it home and opened it, the 3 yr old heard the crack and knew that it was new. Exciting!

This is such a lovely book. The story is about a determined girl who is trying to help her sick friend by getting her a unicorn. It seems that reading about a child in hospital long term is not something we come across very often in picture books, but it opened up a couple of important little conversations for us regarding disabilities.

The story is sweet and helps kids see kindness and friendship in action. But with Cheryl Orsini doing the illustrations, the entire book is a real visual treat. The colours are amazing, not a sickly pink-splosion that some unicorn-y books can be, but a more sophisticated palate of pastels and also bolds. I love the way Cheryl’s artwork is refined, but still whimsical and childlike. I loved every page – it is absolute perfection.

We have had this book for a few weeks now and every child who has read it loved it. It would make an awesome gift for a birthday or Christmas. I know you’ll now be thinking of a daughter or niece, but honestly my little almost 2-yr old loves it, he can’t say unicorn but likes to point out all the horses – “Horts, Horts!”