AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Dallas Clayton
Publisher: Harper Collins, 2014
Intended Age: 3-87
Themes: Friendship, Fears
Opening lines: MY NAME IS LILY! I'M A UNICORN. I LIKE TO MAKE THINGS.
Synopsis: An exuberant unicorn tries to convince a penguin to go on adventures with her.
What I like about this book: The author nails the voice. She may be drawn as a unicorn, but Lily represents any (well-rested!) preschooler. Full of energy, optimism and viewing life through rose-colored glasses, Lily believes she can do ANYTHING. And that anyone can join her in her fun. She doesn't convince Roger the penguin as much as wear him down! The hand-lettered billowy text and illustrations look as if they could have been drawn by a very talented child. A maze of almost random objects placed next to each other on each page, linked by the vaguest threads just as a child's thoughts bounce from thing to thing. At first, the visual "noise" is a bit overwhelming if you try to read quickly. But the key is to slow down! The overall effect is charming. (I wasn't familiar with his books before, but the author successfully sold 50,000 copies of his self-published picture book, The Awesome Book before hooking up with Harper Collins.)
- View the first fifteen pages on HarperCollins website.
- Watch the video (above) where Clayton tells how he eventually decided to put his first book online for free.
- Talk about things a child can do. Things they'd like to do. Things they are afraid of. Compare the lists--any similarities?
- Ask a friend (or or new!) to join you on an adventure.
Thanks again for stopping by!
