Book Review: Phoebe and Her Unicorn

Title: Phoebe and Her Unicorn

Author: Dana Simpson

Rating: ☕ ☕ ☕ ☕ ☕  (5)

Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time there was a little girl who fell in love with the movie The Last Unicorn. Fast forward 20 odd years and the now grown-up girl shared this love with her own daughter. Her daughter was even more in love with the movie than her mother and had several t-shirts featuring the beautiful unicorn. This past Saturday was the first day of the Summer Reading Program at the library I work at, so I brought my kids in to sign up and pick out some books. My daughter, Nora, was wearing her favorite “Last Unicorn” shirt. One of the Children’s Librarians saw her shirt and gushed to the point of frightening my very very shy daughter. To smooth it over she told us about this new graphic novel she had just read, Phoebe and Her Unicorn by Dana Simpson. Nora has found her new favorite librarian.

After waiting patiently for my daughter to go to bed the other night, I snuck into her room and grabbed the book to read it for myself. I knew I was going to like it when I opened to the first page and saw that Peter S. Beagle, the author of The Last Unicorn, had penned the introduction. At that point I was sold before even reading the first panel. After some mild internal fangirl screaming, I started reading.

The story begins with Phoebe skipping stones on a pond. One of those stones strikes Marigold Heavenly Nostrils the Unicorn on the head, freeing her from being held captive by her glorious reflection in the water – apparently this is a common problem for Unicorns. In return for saving her, Marigold offers to grant Phoebe any wish that is in her power to grant. Phoebe wishes that she and Marigold could be best friends, Marigold reluctantly grants her wish.

Marigold, like all Unicorns, knows that she is beautiful, intelligent, skilled….basically she’s perfect in every way. And she makes sure that Phoebe understands how amazing and wonderful she is. Phoebe knows that Marigold can do amazing things, but sometimes her attitude needs an adjustment, which Phoebe is more than happy to provide. Phoebe can be a little on the weird side, which baffles the perfect Marigold, but over time she grows to love her new friend, even if she is an ugly pink human.

To say I loved this is probably an understatement. Peter S. Beagle himself compared Phoebe and Marigold to Calvin & Hobbes, which in the beginning seemed like an overly ambitious statement. But after reading it, I can see why he came to that conclusion. The book is funny, sarcastic, and appeals to both children and their adults. There were plenty of moments where I would laugh out loud to the bewilderment of my husband. I can’t wait to read more of Phoebe and Marigold’s adventures! Lucky for me Nora, volume 2 was released on May 26th.