Uni the Unicorn and the Dream Come True

July 17, 2017
The question of what a double rainbow means has dogged humans since time immemorial (or at least since a 2010 viral YouTube video). Readers get an answer in this companion to 2014’s Uni the Unicorn. Persistent rain in the land of unicorns has led to a lack of magic and many depressed unicorns. It’s up to Uni, “the one unicorn who believed that little girls were real,” to save the day, joined by a small girl whose belief is just as strong. The late Rosenthal’s enthusiastic narration almost hums with the promise that magic exists, and Barrager’s retro graphics are the stuff of unicorn fantasies. And that double rainbow, a “bridge between Here and There,” will leave some readers dreaming about their own trips to the land of unicorns. Ages 3–7. Author’s agent: Amy Rennert, Amy Rennert Agency. Illustrator’s agent: Kirsten Hall, Catbird Agency.

June 15, 2017
Uni and the little girl from their first outing (Uni the Unicorn, 2014) finally meet.Things are not well in the land of unicorns. Endless rain has meant no sun, no rainbows, and no sparkle for the horned, cloven-hooved creatures. They stand pale and forlorn, huddled under umbrellas. But one unicorn still has a twinkle left: Uni, who truly--and magically--believes that little girls are real. That deep spirit of believing gives Uni strength to fight the gloom. Somewhere far away (but of course "not that far away"), the blonde, fair-skinned tot with mismatched socks from the previous work looks at the rain and wonders. She feels that she is needed. On the very same clap of thunder and the very same zap of lightning, the girl and Uni make a wish. Suddenly, they are together! When the other unicorns see a real, true girl, they gain strength from the magic of believing as well. Luckily, during the course of wishing the rain away, a double rainbow appears linking Here to There. Uni can now come home with the girl to meet her family. Alas, that is one sequel the dearly missed Rosenthal will never get to write. A sweet story for anyone who needs to find a little sunshine and sparkle. (Picture book. 3-6)

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July 1, 2017
Preschool-G This is the sequel to the best-selling Uni the Unicorn (2014), which offered a clever fantasy twist with its premise of a unicorn that believed in little girls. Here Uni and the little girl work together to try and help the unicorn world, which has been plagued by rain. In fact, so much rain has been falling for so long that there hasn't been any sunshine or rainbows, and without these, the unicorns lose their strength and magic. At the book's beginning, Barrager's illustrations show elongated unicorns standing among tear-shaped, lavender trees and blue-gray drops of rain, looking very much like the stylized, two-dimensional unicorns in medieval tapestries like the famous The Lady and the Unicorn. Once Uni and the little girl are introduced, however, the illustrations become My Little Ponylike with eye-popping colors, stars, and flowing manes. As the pair frolics through the land of unicorns, the creatures' spirits lift with magical results. The over-the-top cutesy factor is high, and the story is cotton-candy light, but unicorn fans will be enchanted. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The combination of Rosenthal and unicorns has already proven to be a best-selling one. Demand may be even higher for this posthumous offering, as fans seek out Rosenthal's final works.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2018
On a rainy day, Uni and the little girl (who dreamed about each other in �cf2]Uni the Unicorn�cf1]) finally meet after wishing to be together. They lift the spirits of the forest animals and other unicorns, before they stop the rain through their combined wishing. While the odd plot and twee, color-saturated art overshadow the book's message about belief, fans of the first book should be satisfied.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)