The Dragon and the Unicorn - Lynne Cherry
Unicorns are my daughter’s favorite animal. She’s five and when anyone tells her they aren’t real (jerks) she says (very confidently) that she still believes in them – it’s just that not many people get to see them. I think this is adorable and therefore I try to seek out all the unicorn books I can. Sadly, I’ve been mostly disappointed. It seems that unicorns have become a device used in a genre that Publisher’s Weekly dubs the ‘eco-fable’. Why are there no more unicorns? Because we humans have screwed planet so horribly they all died! Take that kid! I love the environment and I love unicorns, but I don’t like a preachy disaster of a picture book. Okay, this one isn’t that bad. If you want bad check out Jane Yolen’s Where Have All the Unicorns Gone Ick! In this story Princess Arianna must protect the mythical creatures from her father, King Orlando’s deforestation plans. It’s a fine story and the illustrations are okay-ish.