Four Bad Unicorns

by Rebecca Patterson, Rebecca Patterson (Illustrator)

Overview

Frankie and her sister are unicorn crazy! Today, they're playing their favorite unicorn game, but when their bossy friend Ada arrives with her brother to play, she takes over the game—and takes over Frankie's wheelchair—putting them all in unicorn prison. There is only one thing to do—it's time to be bad unicorns!

The author deftly handles the subject of childhood play and disability from her own personal experience of growing up with a sister with a disability.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798765625286
Publisher:	Andersen Press USA
Publication date:	03/05/2024
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	10.05(w) x 10.50(h) x (d)
Age Range:	7 - 8 Years

About the Author

Rebecca Patterson grew up in Bolton. She has an MA in Children's Book Illustration from the Cambridge School of Art and is the 2012 winner of the Roald Dahl Funny Prize. She lives in Cambridge.

Rebecca Patterson grew up in Bolton. She has an MA in Children's Book Illustration from the Cambridge School of Art and is the 2012 winner of the Roald Dahl Funny Prize. She lives in Cambridge.

Editorial Reviews

"Patterson's wash-filled line drawings accurately channel childhood exuberance, energy—and happily focused interest."—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

2023-12-06
A child’s bossy behavior threatens to spoil a game.

Narrator Connie, who uses a wheelchair, and her big sister, Frankie, have gone “UNICORN CRAZY!” They can’t wait to play Unicorn Farmers. Then the doorbell rings: Ada and Colin Beswick want to play, too. But Ada has her own ideas and assigns roles to everyone: First, Connie is a wall in the Unicorn Palace of Wonder; next, she and Colin are sleeping unicorns. Ada dubs herself the Queen of Unicorns—and takes Frankie’s twinkle high heels and then Connie’s wheelchair for her Throne of Rolling Power. Finally, after they’re sentenced to prison for “very BAD” dancing, Ada’s subjects revolt. Ada tearfully protests they’ve been bad unicorns; Colin counters that Ada’s been a bad queen. When Frankie opines they’ve all been bad unicorns, Connie proposes that they all be good unicorns together. The bright, expressive, unicorn-cluttered cartoon illustrations are inviting, and the matter-of-fact portrayal of Connie’s disability is refreshing. However, although Ada learns to be a better playmate, the author never makes clear that taking Connie’s wheelchair is a far greater misstep than taking Frankie’s high heels; the scene is a missed opportunity to emphasize that wheelchairs are not toys, but necessities that many users consider extensions of their bodies. Readers may also take issue with Frankie’s statement that they’ve all been “bad unicorns,” as the rebellion seems fully justified. Connie and her family present white; the Beswicks are brown-skinned.

A well-meaning but flawed take on conflict resolution. (Picture book. 4-6)

Kirkus Reviews