How The Unicorn Was Born by Charlotte Daniels. Illustrated by Hannah Marks. Published 25 November 2020 by On the Hop Books Ltd. Print length: 38 pages. Children’s fiction. Kindle Edition. 2 Stars.
Traditionally, unicorns could not fly. However, winged unicorns do exist (fictionally) and are often referred to as unicus, pegacorn or alicorn. As a writer, one does have license to depart from these mythical “facts”. In this story, the unicorn wants to fly. She first builds a plane, and then suddenly gains wings and is shown to have the power of flight at the end of the rhyming story. The message that ‘you can do anything’ probably should be qualified within these pages as children should not be lead to believe that they can actually accomplish the impossible with just their thoughts, or by making plans that are unrealistic. The examples within this book are not really positive thinking (the practice of focusing on the good in any given situation). An optimistic attitude combined with realistic goal setting is a process that starts with careful consideration of what the child wants to achieve, and is then followed by the sensible (cautious) effort to actually do it—providing that it is a goal that a child could actually accomplish. Preschoolers learn problem-solving skills from children’s books or videos that draw a clear boundary between fantasy and reality, the fantasy–reality distinction being actively constructed during the these precious, formative years. Children most benefit from stories that give them a true and realistic picture of the world through meaningful experiences and accurate information. This book seems to go off the deep end, encouraging impracticality which, by inference, could possibly lead to risky behavior in a young child.