Pictures by Walker Books UK
Margaret's Unicorn
from Briony May Smith
40 Pages
Hardcover |
1st. published 15.September 2020
ISBN 9781406399882
Published by
Walker Books UK
A warm-hearted story about change (move)
and a special friendship
for children + 4 years
Informations from the Publisher
A perfect gift for the unicorn lovers in your life, this lovely and utterly transporting picture book tells the story of what every little girl wishes would happen to her: a girl finds and takes care of a lost baby unicorn.Margaret's whole world changes when her family moves to a cottage by the sea to be near her grandma. One evening, Margaret spots a mist over the water. No, that's not mist...clouds maybe? No, they're unicorns descending onto the shore! They vanish as quickly as they'd appeared, but accidentally leave behind a baby, tangled in the weeds. Margaret, lonely and in need of a friend, brings him home and cares for him through the fall and winter. Together, they chase the waves, stomp on frozen puddles, and build snow unicorns. When spring finally comes around, and the other unicorns return, Margaret's takes her small friend back to his family... but these two won't forget one another. And though Margaret misses him, she has made a new friend, and her new cottage is starting to feel like home. With all the feel of a classic, here is a picture book young readers will want to revisit again and again.
"Isn't it cute, the little unicorn baby?" says little Mia to her mother, who rolls her eyes annoyed without looking at the cover. "Not this unicorn theme again, I don't want to hear about it anymore!"she says and pulls Mia away from the book. So, or similar, parents react more and more often and admittedly I am not immune to thinking so similarly. Yes, unicorns have been fashion animals, just like llamas and sloths, and always one hype ebbs after a while and is replaced by the next. But if you expect a unicorn book that tells a story in a modern way just to serve the hype, you are completely wrong. Briony May Smith book is different. Quite different, because this is about little Margaret, who .
Far away from her moves with her parents home, where her grandmother lives. The house is foreign to her. Everything smells different, nothing is the same as before. The parents respond sympathetically to their little one, try to make the new beginning easy for her by quickly furnishing her room as beautifully as her old children's room. Meanwhile, Margaret goes on a journey of discovery. The nature around the house has a lot to offer. This is where the mountains meet the sea. The wind blows lightly and seems to push the clouds on the horizon through the fog, but on closer inspection Margaret discovers that they are neither fog nor clouds. They are unicorns that move away. Just as she wants to set out to tell her parents about it, she makes a noise in the grass and discovers a baby unicorn shortly afterwards.
She carefully picks it up and carries it home, where her grandmother opens the door for her. Grandma knows a lot about the unicorns. She takes care of Margaret and her new boyfriend. They get something to eat for the little one and build him a cozy basket. Margaret's parents are also enthusiastic about the addition to the family. From then on, Margaret and the unicorn are inseparable. It came to the little one at just the right moment, and helps her to settle into the new environment. 
What the two of them experience is this sensitive and tender story, which also tells of how Margaret has to say goodbye to her boyfriend next spring.Margaret knew it was a temporary life together, because the unicorns are coming back and so is the little one's mom and this time it is strong enough to pull with the herd. A farewell is never easy, but in the meantime Margaret has settled in and she knows it is not a farewell forever but only for a while. The unicorn will come back in the spring, she is sure and so it is. Margaret is still not alone. We see her playing with a friend. Margaret has managed to settle in the new environment and feel at home. Was it coincidence or fate that she met the unicorn baby on the day she moved in? We don't know and basically it doesn't matter, because anyone who knows about unicorns knows about the magic and the legends that surround them. Here, however, it is simply the story of a special friendship.A friendship in which Margaret gives the unicorn child all her love and care. At the same time, the unicorn makes it easier to settle in. In a crucial phase of life, Margaret is not alone. The fact that she is supported and taken seriously by her grandmother and parents also contributes a lot to Margaret quickly feeling comfortable in the new environment. And so we see that this unicorn story is really quite different from most, which is also made clear by the incredibly intense, atmospheric illustrations. Already when looking at the cover it becomes clear, here we do not have a kitschy unicorn story in bright rainbow colors but a story that is very close to nature. The drawings reflect the harsh climate of many areas in England, Scotland or Ireland, but the illustrator has inspected by the Scottish landscape. Briony May Smith captures a landscape and its moods that remind us adults of Exmoor or Wales. It could also be Ireland or the Scottish Highlands. The rough nature with the wind from the sea, paired with the most different shades of green and brown, the meadows, hills, stones and plants reminiscent of the flowering heath, seem magical, as if from another time. It is exactly the right setting for a story about a mythical creature that has always enchanted and empathized with people, that it is not easy for a child to settle in here.It is lonelier, it is more contemplative, more rude and this peace also captures the viewer. Briony May Smith's illustrations are an open plan, they convey a sense of the area and are magical at the same time. They are kept in earthy tones and yet bright and cheerful. The play with light, which once warms, once enchants and then again makes coolness and wind feel fascinates not only the adult viewer. In a predominantly brightly colored, striking world, even in a picture book, a book like this immediately catches the eye of even children. If you talk to them about the story and the illustrations, then especially the preschool and primary school children can explain very precisely what makes this book so special and how it affects them, or what it does to them. Even if the plot is an important part, much more attention is paid to the landscape The magic of the unicorn, on the other hand, plays less of a role. The unicorn baby is primarily perceived as a vulnerable creature cared for by Margaret. The friendship aspect is clearly in the foreground here. The children also mention again and again how great they think it is, how the parents support Margaret and are there for her. The fact that the unicorn returns to its herd in the course of history makes many children a little sad, even if they understand that the little one belongs to his mother. But since it returns, even if only briefly, and Margaret has found a friend in the meantime, they only leave the story with some melancholy, which in their opinion could have lasted a little longer. This is also the point at which the children's imagination is awakened and they try to tell it in their own way.
In the minds of the children it goes on, maybe the unicorn will come home with one or the other?
If stories encourage you to dream and tell, it is the most beautiful thing there is and shows how intensively the viewers have gone along with the plot.
In the minds of the children it goes on, maybe the unicorn will come home with one or the other?
If stories encourage you to dream and tell, it is the most beautiful thing there is and shows how intensively the viewers have gone along with the plot.
