Candice Ransom

Thinking of her human friend, Uni the Unicorn decides to visit the little girl in her own world. Zipping down a rainbow, Uni no sooner arrives than she is involved in the little girl's cake-baking contest. Although disaster continuously strikes the little girl's cake, Uni is encouraging, proving herself a good friend. Then, feeling that her little girl has worked hard, our unicorn heroine steps in, using her horn to improve the confection...

Part of Random House's Step Into Reading collection show more (Step 2: Reading With Help), Uni Bakes a Cake is one of a growing number of beginning readers to feature this unicorn character and her adventures. Having enjoyed all three picture books about Uni—the first two written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, and then after her death, the third written by her daughter Paris—I have been exploring other titles in the franchise, including board books and beginning readers. There really isn't much to these books, for the adult reader—they're really more for toddlers (in the case of the board books) and beginning readers—but I have enjoyed them for the most part, appreciating the sweet stories and cute artwork. Unfortunately, that was not the case here. I was surprised and dismayed to see that Uni's actions, while perhaps well-intentioned, were not addressed in the story. It would be one thing for Uni to use her magic to help the little girl, if she was baking on her own, but to do so in the context of a contest is clearly cheating. The most charitable interpretation I could put upon this is that perhaps Uni is not meant to understand about competitions, or what cheating means, given that she lives in the unicorn world. But if that is what was intended, it should have been addressed in the story. Instead, her actions are just accepted in the narrative, and while the little girl doesn't win the contest, the whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth. I'm not usually one to argue for more overt didacticism in children's books, but to introduce unethical and dishonest behavior in a title aimed at this age group, and then not address it, felt inappropriate to me. Not recommended. show less

• 3.5 Stars, rounded up

I recently discovered the Sunfire series of young adult historical romances that were published back in the 1980s. Quite the popular books in their time, from what I can tell.

After starting with the only novel in the series that features a Black American heroine, Corey, I decided that Nicole would be next for me. I read comments from multiple readers asserting that the romantic story in the iconic 1997 motion picture Titanic must have come from this YA romance show more published a decade earlier.

Whether or not that was true, I was curious to find out how the two stories compare.

Well! Not that I'm going to break down all of the specific events now, since I generally don't write spoiler reviews. But considering the movie's and the novel's similarities, their differences, and their individual strengths and flaws, I'd say that the romance in Titanic ’97 is, um, flawed to a lesser degree than the romance in Nicole the novel.

Nicole the heroine experiences instalove in such over-the-top fashion that even my daydreamy middle-school self wouldn't have bought into it, if I'd discovered the book back then. After a couple of meetings and maybe a half-hour total in each other's presence, enamored Nicole and her starry-eyed chosen young man commit to spending their future lives together. And then Nicole goes on to repeatedly think to herself and to declare to other people how she loves this guy so very much. She even says she loves him "More than anyone else in the whole world." (Yes. I'm quoting her directly.)

Not only does Nicole and the sudden love of her life have so little time together before they're all in with devotion, but the reader doesn't get to see the couple together that much. This love-triangular tale spends more time showing Nicole with the other guy. The one she only wants as a friend.

The read is just so imbalanced, on that score.

Yet, aside from the romance (which I wasn't expecting too much from anyway; I know what kind of YA series this is), the overall story still got to me as a lover of historical fiction and old novels. Although I noticed one significant development that I'm sure the author would have written differently if she'd had access to today's level of information on the Titanic, it's clear that she did her research. Granted, the book sometimes repeats details in a way that doesn't seem intentional, but that isn't a big deal.

Also, even though Nicole does her least sharpest thinking during a critical stretch of time, there's some key growth for her character in the story. That's doubly important in a novel that depicts such a well-known, massive human tragedy.

Overall, I found this read to be worth the few hours I spent with it. I plan on checking out a few more books in the Sunfire series.

Note:
• a few uses of a dated term for Romani people
• a bit of mild language, kept to a "PG" level
• the romance doesn't go further than kisses show less

This sweet story was a surprise love for me, and one I can't wait to introduce to my emergent readers.

In brisk, simple rhyme, the Tooth Fairy wakes up as the sun is going down, gets ready to go, and visits several houses. She collects three teeth from a sleeping white girl with blonde hair, a first tooth from a white boy (accompanied by an adorable first-tooth dance) and after a tea break makes her way to her next appointment. A dark-skinned, curly-headed girl is fast asleep but there's a show more surprise lurking under her blankets - a kitty! The Tooth Fairy's last appointment is with a little girl whose light brown skin and soft brown hair match the tooth fairy's own. Finally, it's time to go home and maker her own preparations for bed as the sun rises.

I really loved the pictures - they're softly colorful with many adorable details. The Tooth Fairy's pet mouse is a humorous nod to the cultures where a mouse acts as the tooth fairy and her house is full of little fairy details like a sink made from a shell and a cute button stool and thimble vase. The tooth fairy is perky and sweet, but strong and resourceful. She sprinkles sleep dust on an overly-friendly dog, zips out of the way of a cat, and is strong enough to dig teeth out of a welter of stuffed animals and dolls.

The bold, brief text is focused mostly at the top of pages, with a few words dropping to the bottom. It's a good beginning level, what I'd mark as a red dot (beginning level) in my library, although not low enough for a true emergent reader.

Verdict: This is one of those sweet, comforting reads that may not win awards but will be a staple in library collections and remembered fondly by children when they look back at their childhood.

ISBN: 9780399553646; Published 2017 by Random House; Borrowed from another library in my consortium show less

When Uni the Unicorn meets Pegasus—Peg for short—the two magical equines soon become friends and Uni tries to learn to fly. Unfortunately, she discovers that no matter what she does, and no matter what kinds of wings she tries to construct, she just can't get off the ground. But when a baby bird is in trouble, Uni discovers she has something even more valuable: magic that can be put to use helping others...

Published as part of Random House's Step Into Reading collection (Step 2: Reading show more With Help), Uni's Wish for Wings is the fourth beginning reader featuring Uni and her friends that I have read, following upon Uni's First Sleepover, Uni Goes to School and Uni Bakes a Cake. After having a strongly negative reaction to that last title, I was curious to see what I would make of this one, but on the whole I found it sweet and inoffensive, much like the first two titles. While I don't think these beginning readers are as engaging as the original picture books upon which they are based—original author and illustrator Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Brigette Barrager are credited on the cover, but the true author and illustrator (Candice Ransom and Marcela Cespedes-Alicea) are credited on the colophon—they will undoubtedly please young fans of Uni and her world. It is to such children, particularly those getting going with their own reading, that I would recommend this and its companions. show less