“Margaret's Unicorn” by Briony May Smith.
Walker Books, London, 2020, 32 pages, Preschool-Kindergarten.
Children have vivid imaginations that make life magical for them. The sense of wonder has not been driven out of children and they have little trouble imagining fanciful creatures such as unicorns dancing across the sky. This mindset causes excitement for children and brings joy to their families.
Recently, while visiting family, Ryan, our 4-year-old niece showed us her unicorn collection. They were her playmates and friends and gave her great pleasure. My wife and I were absolutely charmed by her. This led me to look for a book on unicorns and I was pleased to discover a beautiful tale by Briony May Smith. The name of this delightful picture book is “Margaret’s Unicorn.”
Margaret’s family moves from their comfortable home to a rural community where her grandmother lives. The child takes a walk through the windswept hills near her house and sees a strange configuration of clouds sweeping over the meadows. The clouds look like horses at first, but then Margaret realizes they are unicorns. As the girl runs home to tell her family of this wonderful sight, she sees something struggling in the weeds.
Looking down into the thick grass, Margaret discovers a stunning baby unicorn tangled in the brush. The little girl carefully frees the baby unicorn and then wraps him up and takes him to her home. Grandmother opens the door and is pleasantly surprised to see the tiny unicorn and tells Margaret that unicorns once were common in the area but had become less so as time passed on.
Since unicorns only eat flowers, Grandmother tells her granddaughter that they must go to the florist and buy more flowers. All the people in town are stunned to see the little unicorn and Margaret is thrilled to take care of the little fellow at her home.
Grandmother also relates to Margaret that unicorns only drink water that has been touched by moonlight. So the child and her dad go to moonlit streams and gather buckets of water. After drinking the water, the little unicorn’s one horn glows in the dark.
But the good times can’t last forever. Grandmother tells Margaret that the unicorns return each spring and they always leave together. The girl knows that the now half-grown unicorn will soon join the others. One spring day, Margaret sees the unicorns in the sky. She presses her beloved pet close to her heart and says: “Please don’t forget me.” Then she lets go. What happens next?
Does the little unicorn join the other unicorns? How does Margaret feel when she sees the unicorns in the sky? Why does loving someone mean allowing them to be free to make a choice to go away? To find out, go to the library and check out this delightful story, “Margaret’s Unicorn” by Briony May Smith.
I am sure that our 4-year-old niece will be thrilled with this book, but I did not expect to be so moved by the story myself. It is a charming and captivating story filled with innocence and wonder. The illustrations are wonderful and adults reading the book will enter into an enchanting world of wonder. Since adults get so little of this these days, they will likely get as much out of the book as children. A great book to be shared with the children you love. Enjoy!
