A Brief History of Unicorns complied by Selwyn Phipps and illustrated by Aitch, Oana Befort and Rae Ritchie is a charming treasure of unicorn lore told in eight different stories detailing the sightings of these magical creatures. The book puts forth eight unicorn classifications including The Golden Unicorn, Water Moons, Shadow Nights, Woodland Flower, Ice Wanderers, Storm Chasers, Mountain Jewels and Dawn Spirits and the newly discovered Desert Flames.
The stories are full of enchantment. They are set in a wide range of times from the 14th Century to the present. One of the most interesting of these stories takes place in Manhattan where Lizzie Elms, twelve years of age, sees a Woodland Flower unicorn while she is volunteering at the community garden in Central Park. Lizzie finds the Woodland Flower to be gentle and to have the power of both healing and telepathy.
The art is full of lovely details throughout including the raspberry pink cover with its gorgeous white unicorn in the foreground and a dazzle of flowers, stars, clouds, teardrops and plants in the background. The pages are beautiful to both the touch and the eye.
The back material features a clever Magic Unicorn Society Riddle, The Society’s Oath and a reminder that “all you have to do to find a unicorn is keep your eyes peeled and your ears alert.”
A Brief History of Unicorns complied by Selwyn E. Phipps with illustrations by Aitch, Oana Befort and Rae Richie is a particularly charming book of unicorn sightings designed for readers 8-11 years of age (Feiwel and Friends, an imprint of Macmillan, 2019).
Activity Questions for A Brief History of Unicorns
Which of the eight types of unicorns presented in this book do you find most interesting? Why? If that magical creature were your pet what name would you give it? Why?
Try to imagine a new classification of unicorns not presented in this book. Use your imagination. What would it look like? What special powers would it have? Where would it live? Now, draw a picture of your imagined new unicorn using lots of interesting details. You can use any materials you like. Some examples are pen and ink, colored pencils, watercolors and collage.
The author of this book has included portraits of each unicorn classification at the back of this book along with the traits of each. Read all eight traits and find one, or any part of one, that best describes you. Then write a paragraph or a four-line poem about how this trait relates to you.
