Books about unicorns?

[nyssaneala]

My 4 year old DD is looking for books to read about unicorns. I'm looking for suggestions of both picture books and chapter books. TIA!
 

[ollyoxenfree]

If you haven't already found it, search out Where Have the Unicorns Gone? by Jane Yolen, with gorgeous illustrations by Ruth Sanderson. It's a beautiful picture book that re-tells the myth that the unicorns have all fled to the sea and they can be spotted in the foaming waves. It's also a commentary on the industrialization of our world, if you were looking for something with a bit of a message. 

Hm, I just checked on Amazon to link that picture book and it looks like Yolen has a treasury of unicorn stories, Here There Be Unicorns. It would be worth checking out. If you scroll down those pages on Amazon, there are a few other books about unicorns - Bruce Coville is another terrific author so I would check into his work too. 

For chapter books, there is The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. It was NOT written for children but it is a terrific fantasy story. I haven't read it in decades but I recall there are some scenes that might be distressing to a young child - lots of tension, some chases and captivity and battles. You may want to pre-read and decide if it's appropriate. 

[nyssaneala]

Originally Posted by ollyoxenfree 

If you haven't already found it, search out Where Have the Unicorns Gone? by Jane Yolen, with gorgeous illustrations by Ruth Sanderson. It's a beautiful picture book that re-tells the myth that the unicorns have all fled to the sea and they can be spotted in the foaming waves. It's also a commentary on the industrialization of our world, if you were looking for something with a bit of a message. 

Hm, I just checked on Amazon to link that picture book and it looks like Yolen has a treasury of unicorn stories, Here There Be Unicorns. It would be worth checking out. If you scroll down those pages on Amazon, there are a few other books about unicorns - Bruce Coville is another terrific author so I would check into his work too. 

For chapter books, there is The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. It was NOT written for children but it is a terrific fantasy story. I haven't read it in decades but I recall there are some scenes that might be distressing to a young child - lots of tension, some chases and captivity and battles. You may want to pre-read and decide if it's appropriate. 

Sounds perfect!

Do you know if The Last Unicorn book is the same story line as the 1980's movie by the same name? That movie did not go over very well in our house, DD is a rather sensitive child, and there was too much darkness and tension...it really distressed her and we turned it off about halfway through. I'm definitely looking for the more upbeat, happy unicorn stories!

[ollyoxenfree]

Yes, there is an animated version of The Last Unicorn. It was not well done. That's probably the movie you saw because I think it is targeted as a "family film". 

Yolen and Coville are both authors who write extensively for children and have won awards for their work. Probably best to stick with them for now. It looks like Coville has an entire series about unicorns written for the elementary school-aged reader (age 8 to 12). I'm not sure how I missed them before, lol!