I Am a Unicorn!

March 1, 2017
A frog can make itself into a unicorn--with a can of Magical Unicorn Sprinkles. Although stubborn Goat tells Frog that it cannot be a unicorn, Frog proves the skeptical animal wrong. Frog first tries to convince Goat by donning a party hat for a horn and a tail made of colored streamers and by carrying the special sprinkles. Frog boasts of living "on a fluffy cloud." (The cloud is made of cotton balls.) Frog can fly. (The illustration shows Frog perched on a swing.) Frog's "best friend is a fairy." (In reality, that friend is a cow.) In a spread that some children will find especially funny, Frog declares, "I eat flowers and toot rainbows!" and farts a smelly arc of colors in Goat's face. Angry Goat debunks the assertions, and sad Frog almost gives up the dream, taking off the horn and throwing away the can of Sprinkles. Goat unexpectedly apologizes: "Frog? I'm sorry. You made a really good unicorn costume." Even as Goat is apologizing, the container of sprinkles "boings" off the backs of many sheep and finally lands on Frog, and "POOF!" Frog is now an honest-to-goodness purple unicorn! The brightly colored, cartoonlike illustrations with lots of funny farm animals work well with the zany content. A joyful expression of wishes made true. (Picture book. 4-6)

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April 1, 2017
Preschool-K A frog dons a cone-shaped horn and sparkly tail and declares to his goat chum, I am a unicorn! Though the goat disputes this claim, the frog persists, claiming he has magical unicorn sprinkles, that he lives on a fluffy cloud (it's really cotton glued together), that he flies (on a swing), and that he has a fairy for a best friend (a dressed-up cow). The goat angrily denounces it all, until the dispirited frog removes the horn and tosses the jar of magical unicorn sprinkles awaywhere it cracks open and the sprinkles turn him into a unicorn. On the final page, the frog-unicorn emits a ribbit, indicating that it's not a total transformation. Although the text and illustrations are minimal, making this accessible for the youngest audiences, unicorn fans might be dissatisfied. While the impish frog is slightly amusing, the interplay between the two characters lacks the charm found in successful friends-at-odds stories. Many will likely empathize with the grumpy goat instead of the boisterous frog.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)