Fantasy

 

Summary of the book:

 The Book Uni the Unicorn is about a little unicorn named Uni, who is magical in every way that unicorns are. Uni believed and was absolutely sure that little girls were real, but no one else did. Her friends would laugh at her and tell her little girls were not real, and her parents would smile. Uni knew that far away (but not that far away) there was a little girl, the best little girl that she would become best friends (Barrager, 2019). Uni dreamed of all the magical fun she and the little girl could have, sliding down rainbows, exploring and helping forest creatures in need, and many other fun adventures. Uni did not know that there was a little girl who believed that unicorns were real, and even though her friends laughed at her and her parents just smiled at her, the little girl knew that far away (but not that far away) there was a unicorn strong, smart unicorn waiting to be her friend too(Barrager, 2019).  

 Evaluate Genre/ Illustrations:

The Book Uni the Unicorn does complete the checklist for quality in fantastic literature. The book's story takes place in a fantastic world where unicorns exist. It's believable that the world of unicorns exists, and the characters are believable because they live in the unicorn world and they question rather or not little girls are real, just like the little girl's world questions if unicorns are real. Unicorns in the story are believed based on how the magical unicorn is desired in appearance. When this book is read to children, their imagination may take over, and they may question if unicorns like Uni believe that little girls are real. The illustrator of the book is Brigette Barrager. The illustrations in the book offer sparkle and bright, vibrant colors that children would connect to with unicorns. Uni is illustrated precisely as the text describes her. The illustrations have many details about the unicorn world to draw the reader's attention. Emotion in the pictures matches the text, such as when Uni and the little girl were being teased about being believers or when expressing the fun of different things Uni and the little girl could do together. 

Motivational Activities: 

After reading this book:

1.     Include an activity where the student can write a short narrative describing how they envision the world of unicorns.

2.     Have the students present their envision by drawing what they have described.

3.     Have each student present their narrative and drawing. 

 

While reading the book: 

1.     Stop and have students pay close attention to descriptions given throughout the book.

2.      Before reading a page describing a setting or an item, have the students describe what they see and make a list on the board, then read the description and compare the two descriptions. 

 Personal comments/ Author background information:

 This book is a great way to introduce students to fantasy with great details of characters. This book also shows excellent visual details in the illustrations that use vibrant colors and draws a descriptive description of the words from the story. This book allows students' imagination to carry them to a land of fantasy where unicorns can make wishes come true. This book story would excite a little girl who believes in unicorns, it gives believable context that a world of unicorns exists, and a unicorn named Uni is out there searching for a little girl to be her best friend. Author Amy K. Rosenthal wrote the Book Uni the Unicorn. The book Uni the Unicorn is one book of a series of Uni the Unicorn books written by Amy (Wikimedia Foundation, 2023). Amy has published over 30 children's books and was the only author to have three children's books make the best children's book for family literacy list in the same year (Wikimedia Foundation, 2023). 

References:

Barrager, B. (2019). Uni the unicorn. Random House.

Galda, L., & Liang, L. A. (2016). Literature and the Child (9th ed.). Cengage Learning US. https://reader2.yuzu.com/books/9781305854987

 Wikimedia Foundation. (2023, July 21). Amy Krouse rosenthal. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Krouse_Rosenthal