Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn

by Shannon Hale, LeUyen Pham (Illustrator)

Overview

A New York Times bestseller!

"[Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn] has a big heart." —New York Times

From bestselling superstar duo Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham comes a delightful kitty and unicorn story that celebrates the magic of friendship—and being exactly who you want to be!

Kitty thinks she might be a unicorn.

She feels so perfectly unicorn-y! “Neigh!” says Kitty.

But when Unicorn clop clop clops over, sweeping his magnificent tail and neighing a mighty neigh, Kitty feels no bigger than a ball of lint.

Can this unlikely pair embrace who they are, and truly see one another?

In their first picture book together, the magical, bestselling team of Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham put their horns together for the most heart-bursting, tail-twitching, fuzzy-feeling, perfectly unicorn-y story imaginable.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419750915
Publisher:	ABRAMS
Publication date:	03/23/2021
Series:	Kitty-Corn Series , #1
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	47,534
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 12.10(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	AD490L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham are the team behind the bestselling graphic novels Real Friends and Best Friends, and, with Dean Hale, the early chapter book series The Princess in Black. They’ve made a bunch of other books, too. They are also both moms of genius kids, wives to book-creating husbands, caretakers of cats, and believers in unicorns. LeUyen lives in Los Angeles, Shannon lives in Utah, and they visit each other as often as geographically possible. BFFs 4EVA.

Editorial Reviews

★ 01/11/2021

This picture book by collaborators Hale and Pham (Real Friends, the Princess in Black series) unfolds on a field of bright white space, a wide-open world tailor-made for a cast of vivid and strong personalities, all rendered in can’t-miss colors. Accordingly, a pink puffball kitten who feels “so perfectly unicorn-y” ties a paper horn to her head, where it points “up, up, up to the sky.” Looking in the mirror, she sees a marvelous horned steed with a luxuriant purple mane. But two household naysayers—a bright green parakeet and an orange gecko—insist that their reality is immutable. “You’re never going to be a unicorn, funny-foo,” says Parakeet. “You meow in your sleep, miffy-mew,” adds Gecko. Then a unicorn appears, confides to Kitty that he admires her “fuzzy ears and silver whiskers,” and, donning a pink cat-ear headband, declares himself a “kitty-corn,” too. What ostensibly starts out as an almost criminally cute tale of pretend play transforms into something much more: a celebration of claiming and naming one’s identity and having it affirmed by others—even if it’s a community of two. “I knew that another kitty-corn like you would see,” says the unicorn. “Yes,” says Kitty, “I see you.” Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Jodi Reamer, Writers House. Illustrator’s agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

**STARRED REVIEW**
"What ostensibly starts out as an almost criminally cute tale of pretend play transforms into something much more: a celebration of claiming and naming one’s identity and having it affirmed by others." —Publishers Weekly

"This newest Hale-Pham collaboration features appealing characters, laugh-out-loud humor, and clever plot twists."—Booklist

"Hale and Pham bring the charm and whimsy of their Princess in Black series to this picture book, conveying the same message of self-love and confidence with the candy-colored art and a wide-eyed, bushy-tailed feline who is the dream of cat meme makers everywhere." —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"There’s poignancy... A paean to self-perception, self-actualization, and finding one’s people amongst the neigh-sayers."—The Horn Book Magazine

"Unicorn fans will definitely identify with Hale’s protagonist and respond well to Pham’s bright cartoons... Likely to cause some imaginative prancing among unicorn and kitty lovers." —Kirkus Reviews

"A breathtakingly adorable picture book. . .capture(s) the poignance of the struggle to find oneself."

—Shelf Awareness

From the Publisher

"A breathtakingly adorable picture book. . .capture(s) the poignance of the struggle to find oneself."

Shelf Awareness

"There’s poignancy... A paean to self-perception, self-actualization, and finding one’s people amongst the neigh-sayers."

The Horn Book Magazine

"This newest Hale-Pham collaboration features appealing characters, laugh-out-loud humor, and clever plot twists."

Booklist

"Hale and Pham bring the charm and whimsy of their Princess in Black series to this picture book, conveying the same message of self-love and confidence with the candy-colored art and a wide-eyed, bushy-tailed feline who is the dream of cat meme makers everywhere."

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

2021-01-27
Is Kitty only a kitten? Or might she be a noble unicorn?

Inspired by the unicorn on her poster, Kitty crafts a perfect horn and admires herself in the mirror. She feels “unicorn-y.” Her friends disagree. “ ‘You’re not a unicorn, putty-pie,’ says Parakeet. / ‘You’re curled up like a cat, fluffy-fry,’ says Gecko.” So Kitty uncurls to prance and gallop, but her detractors point out her tiny tail. With some effort she plumps it up. They tell her she will never be a unicorn because she meows like a cat; this, of course, prompts her to let out a loud “NEIGH!” Parakeet and Gecko are having none of it, each time varying their mild name-calling. As the sun dips low, Kitty’s sure her long shadow looks like a unicorn’s—until a real unicorn clops into view. Gecko and Parakeet are impressed, and Kitty feels insignificant. But this unicorn has a secret…a pair of fluffy, pink kitty ears the same pink as Kitty’s. They can be kitty-corns together, best friends. Unicorn fans will definitely identify with Hale’s protagonist and respond well to Pham’s bright cartoons, laid out as spot illustrations that pop against the mostly all-white backgrounds. The way Kitty’s friends dismissively poke fun with their name-calling may give some readers pause, but the be-true-to-the-inner-you message and the expressive characterizations add appeal. (This book was reviewed digitally with 12-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 51.2% of actual size.)

Likely to cause some imaginative prancing among unicorn and kitty lovers. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews