The Dragon and the Unicorn

by Lynne Cherry

Valerio the dragon and Allegra the unicorn have always lived happily amid the majestic trees of the Ardet Forest, and in harmony with the animals that call the forest home. But one day Valerio discovers King Orlando cutting down trees to build a shelter. Only the king's young daughter, Arianna, seems sympathetic to the animals who are losing their homes. But can she save them all before it is too late?

Genres: Picture Books, Fantasy, Dragons, Childrens, Unicorns, Nature, Fiction

36 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1995

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lynne Cherrys The Dragon and the Unicorn is really rather too heavy-handed with regard to its environmental message (often reading more like an infomative but dry lecture on environmental protection than the original environmentally themed fairy tale it is supposed to be). And while I appreciate and wholeheartedly support the message of environmental responsibility demonstrated (and truly love the luminous and lushly descriptive accompanying illustrations), that very same message could be and should be a bit more elegantly and subtly presented (if I want to read an environmental lecture, I will read a non fiction book on the same, as with a fairy tale, as with fiction, I primarily desire a story, and any ulterior messages should be a bit hidden and not so in one's proverbial face). Also, I do NOT at all appreciate that the dragon and the unicorn actively seem to lure and entice the little girl into the forest (as it feels somewhat like a child being abducted). It would be far less creepy and uncanny, if Arianna were to venture into the forest by herself and then get rescued by the dragon and the unicorn (the same environmental message could be presented, but without the for me almost inappropriate child-luring aspect). Maybe I am being a bit harsh here, but that whole sequence of events feels unnerving, and in fact, rather majorly frightening.

I also have to wonder and question why Lynne Cherry has Arianna eating wild asparagus and wild carrots in the forest. Yes, they are considered delicacies by avid naturalists and foragers, but wild carrots especially look so confusingly similar to the extremely toxic (and often lethal if ingested) water and poison hemlock, that even in field guides which actively promote and encourage wild gathering, it is generally mentioned that wild carrots should ONLY ever be harvested and consumed by experts, by those who know what they are doing and can distinguish wild carrots from lethally toxic look-alikes (not to mention that touching wild carrot plants can also cause severe photo-sensitivity in some people). I truly think it would be much safer for Arianna to be eating wild berries and other less potentially problematic plants (as you most certainly do not want a child trying to collect and consume wild carrots in the forest).

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

The gentle dragon Valerio and the wise unicorn Allegra live in friendship and harmony with one another, and with all of the creatures of Ardet Forest, in this ecological fairy-tale from Lynne Cherry, an author/illustrator who has explored similar themes in such titles as The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest and A River Ran Wild: An Environmental History . When the expansionist King Orlando finds his way into their peaceful world, however, the forest soon becomes an unsafe place for all those who call it home. Can Allegra and Valerio alter the course of events by convincing the king's daughter, Princess Arianna, that the forest is worth preserving...?

One of our April selections, over in The Picture-Book Club to which I belong, where our theme this month is "mystical/magical creatures," The Dragon and the Unicorn was clearly selected because of its titular characters. The story is sweet, although a little too wordy, and self-consciously didactic for my taste. I agree with its message, but found the delivery of that message rather awkward and heavy-handed. The artwork, on the other hand, was lovely! I really appreciated the fact that Orlando and Arianna were African in appearance - it's nice to see a fantasy picture-book featuring non-European characters! - and thought the overall effect of the larger paintings was beautiful. The decorative borders, around the paintings, and the smaller inset illustrations, within the borders, were also lovely.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story about a dragon and a unicorn who live harmoniously in a beautiful forest. One day, humans arrive and start destroying the forest to create their own home. But, the young princess does notice and care that other creatures also live in the forest, as she helps rescue bird nests from fallen trees and comes to form a friendship with the unicorn and dragon.

A very important subject and the illustrations are very nice if not quite to the level of, say, a Laurel Long. However, I also found the story a bit too heavy-handed and it just didn't sparkle in the storytelling aspect for me. Oh well.

I liked that the king wasn't BAD, just frightened and ignorant. I think that's so much more representative of many people who do "bad" things.

I did find it interesting that Cherry drew so much inspiration for the illustrations from the forests of the Pacific Northwest. Could be a neat tie-in for children who live in that area, or are planning to visit.

[Julianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed for THC Reviews
The Dragon and the Unicorn is a fun fantasy story that also tells a morality tale about caring for the environment. Valerio the dragon and Allegra the unicorn are best friends who live in a beautiful, pristine forest over which they keep watch. But one day, humans arrive. They begin cutting down the ancient trees to build a castle for their king, leaving Valerio and Allegra sad and worried for all their forest friends. Then the king’s knights come into the forest and nearly trap Allegra, who they believe has magic in her horn. With Valerio’s help, she escapes and they hide. Allegra is wise, though, and knows that the humans are afraid of them and the mysteries of the forest, so she takes a chance on befriending the young princess, showing her all the wondrous and magical things there are amongst the trees and teaching her how important it is to care for all of them.

I’ve always loved animals and nature, including mythological beasts like dragons and unicorns, so The Dragon and the Unicorn was a truly enchanting tale for me, as I imagine it would be for most children as well. I love that it gently teaches children about caring for the plants and animals around us and about the magic that can be found in all of nature. I also appreciated the diversity represented in the story by having a Black royal family. Valerio and Allegra are gentle creatures who watch over the other inhabitants of the forest. The young princess Arianna is kind and caring, while her father, King Orlando, is simply frightened and misguided. The illustrations are stunning and rich in details with intricate vine-like borders around the pages that make the reader feel like they really are in a forest. I could’ve spent a great deal of time just perusing all of the pictures. This is a truly beautiful book that would make a great addition to any child’s library and which has found a spot on my own keeper shelf. This was my first read by Lynne Cherry, but I now very much look forward to checking out her other works.

[Adrianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was drawn to this book because of the title: The Dragon and the Unicorn. I've always enjoyed fantasy books about dragons and unicorns, and this one looked like it might have an unique spin compared to more traditional stories. I was not disappointed.

This children's picture book is about a dragon named Valerio and his friend the unicorn Allegra. Their relationship and peaceful life in Ardet Forest is interrupted by the arrival of humans. King Orlando is changing the forest and only one person cares, other than the creatures that live there: the young Princess Arianna. Can Ardet Forest be saved? Can the humans learn to live in harmony with the magical creatures all around them? These and many more environmental questions are asked as children are taken on a ecological fantasy journey.

What makes this book so interesting is that the author researched every aspect. Lynne Cherry dedicated the book "to the over one hundred authors and illustrators of the Center for Children's Environmental Literature and to Dad, who taught [her] to love the forest, and to Mom, who encouraged [her] to paint it." On the copyright page, I read some of her acknowledgements and was very happy to discover the resources that inspired the beautiful illustrations (I've only listed a few):

**Photos from Secrets of the Old Growth Forest
**Photos from Cascades and Pacific Northwest forest
**Willamette National Forest

Not only did she use real photos and information about national forests to create her artwork and story, real people embody the characters. Patrick Ukata posed as King Orlando, and Lena Jackson posed as Princess Arianna. Even Allegra, the unicorn, was inspired by a horse, Bahim Hisan of Ba-HI Black Arabians. These details add realism to a seemingly fantastical piece.

So, the setting for Ardet Forest is real, which makes sense because the illustrations look like real places. Every waterfall, tree, plant, and animal is based on photos that Lynne Cherry painted. Eventually, the setting transforms thanks to the development and industrial progress of humans, namely King Orlando and his knights. Rather than living in harmony with nature, the people fear the unknown and mystical elements of the forest, which leads them to believe tearing it down is the safest course. A magical forest can't hurt you if you conquer it's magic.

This setting transformation feeds directly into the plot. All the humans are happy about the changes except Princess Arianna, who tries to save the animals from the destruction. The animals themselves are afraid; they are being displaced. The dragon and the unicorn are especially in danger because they are hunted by the knights, the unicorn for her horn and the dragon because the humans think he's dangerous. Thankfully, because this is a children's picture book, parents can be assured that there will be a happy ending to all this destruction.

There is essentially no character development, not even during the reconciliation of the humans and the animals. The book is too short to have any character development, and the focus is really nature, not the humans.

The themes and motifs of this short picture book are quite obvious: Protect the environment and live in harmony with nature and its creatures. There is a less obvious theme of learning from nature; there is much in nature that can save us. Allegra explains this to the princess:

"Many, many years from now a disease will come to humans that only the bark of this tree can cure. But what if you have cut down all the yew trees? And your people will be visited by other illnesses. The cures may be in this golden mushroom or this flower or this vine or this moss hanging from the branches above us. You must not destroy the forest. Your life is tied to the life of the forest." (21)

Unfortunately, a lot of the themes and motifs are too preachy for my tastes. There is no subtlety, and perhaps there can't be when addressing these issues to children. Being blatant and to the point might help kids understand the purpose behind the writing/story.

There are no literary elements used in this picture book. Instead, the author alludes to the fact that dragons and unicorns used to exist until humans tore apart their habitats. Lynne Cherry indirectly implies that magic is inherent in the forest, and that creatures like dragons and unicorns rely on the forest to survive. So, she combines fantasy with ecological fiction in order inspire children to save the natural resources of the world.

The message/purpose behind this book is to save the national forests and beauty of nature. Lynne Cherry says that humans and technology/industry can live in harmony with nature, although she doesn't allude to how. In the book, King Orlando orders a decree where no more trees will be cut down. The forest will be preserved. I do think this type of a decree would be important to pass in our modern society, especially in regards to rainforests around the world. Unfortunately, I don't think it will be that easy since so much of the world is run by capitalists and businesses that are trying to make money.

I can't compare this book to many others of the genre except for The Lorax, which I prefer over The Dragon and the Unicorn. The rhymes in The Lorax mark it as a classic; who can say no to the talented Dr. Seuss? Plus, I don't recall the ecological focus being shoved down the reader's throat. It's more of a journey, and the child reader learns to make their own judgments based on what happens. The Dragon and the Unicorn is the first children's picture book I've read with such a blatant agenda and environmental focus. I've read adult eco-fiction, fantasy, and sci-fi reads, but it's like comparing apples and oranges because the audiences are completely different.

What makes this book a great children's read are, surprise...surprise, the illustrations! Lynne Cherry is more talented as an artist than a storyteller. Each page is beautiful and extremely detailed. She gives the fantasy/fairy tale appeal by including a border around every page. The border is complex patterns of vines intertwined with smaller photos of animals and nature. The details are absorbing, and I could see a lot of children not even reading the book and instead letting the illustrations tell the story, creating their own fantasies with just the images. The only negative thing about the illustrations is that the binding of the book gets in the way. A lot of the images between the two pages, located in the border section, gets cut off by the hardback binding. The images are sucked into the middle of the two pages, and the only way to view them would be to break the binding.

Overall, The Dragon and the Unicorn was just ok. I didn't like the blatant agenda pushing, even though I completely agree with the author's assessment and perspective. It took too much away from the story, and it was less enjoyable for me. The second aspect that really bothered me was the fact that Princess Arianna essentially gets kidnapped by the dragon and the unicorn. You can dress it up all you want, but she was missing for over two weeks. I couldn't imagine how scary that would be for any parent. This is when it's important to remind yourself that it's a fantasy read. Like most fantasy reads, we suspend reality for a bit. It just unnerved me that the author took a predictable course.

Another disappointing aspect of the picture book was the father. Why did he take so long to search for his daughter? King Orlando relies on his lackeys, the knights, to search for his daughter even when his wife advises otherwise. He's lucky that this was a peaceful dragon who protects unicorns and princesses rather than eating them. In fact, I was surprised that the dragon ate the same food items as the unicorn, "on the hill they ate blueberries, strawberries, huckleberries, and raspberries" (3). Every creature in this forest is gentle and peaceful. Somehow, they all live in harmony despite the fact that, realistically speaking, you have herbivores and carnivores. Nature can be quite vicious. Still, I enjoyed the different take on dragons. It's nice to see them as protectors rather than fire-breathing monsters. In fact, the only time this dragon breathes fire is when he gets upset over how the unicorn is being treated. The fire and smoke was an accident. It's a good message for children-- violence and anger do not solve problems.

I recommend this picture book to all readers, although adults might enjoy it more than children because the pacing is slow. It's recommended as a forest conservation picture book for children ages 3-7. I agree that this book is perfectly suited to that age group and even an older one. I imagine, though, that the younger children will get more excited from simply looking at the pictures than from reading the story.

[Megan Wagner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely story and illustrations!!

[June · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit didactic and heavy handed. Valerio, a dragon, & Allegra, a unicorn, have always lived in harmony with everyone in their forest home; until one day humans arrive and begin cutting down the trees. The King sends his knights after Allegra because he has heard that unicorn horns contain magical powers. When Valerio rescues her from the knights the King offers riches to the knight that slays the dragon.

I do agree with the Children's lit picture book reviewer that was disturbed by how Allegra and Valerio lure the princess into the forest; it struck me as pretty creepy and could have been handled in a different way.

The King's knights are unable to find his daughter. Her mother suggests that he "should go quietly into the forest and try to find Arianna." In searching for her he begins to see the beauty of the forest and is finally able to listen to Arianna when they find each other.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book features a combination of mythology about dragons and unicorns, along with a heavy-handed environmental message.

The illustrations are very nicely detailed, with lots of smaller pictures and decorative borders surrounding the main illustrations. The narrative feels a little forced in places, but on the whole, it's a nice story. We enjoyed reading it together.

This story was selected as one of the books for the April 2012 - Mystical/Magical Creatures reads at the Picture-Book Club in the Children's Books Group here at Goodreads.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a very cute book and I loved the cause it was made for. If only there were magical creatures in which help save the forest.. And that people would actually listen..

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two of my favorite mythical animals are fast friends in this plea for preserving the forest environment. Interesting story; very nice illustrations in watercolors.

[Cassandra Gelvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nauseating amount of visual detail. Sickeningly heavy-handed writing.

Apparently Lynne Cherry can only write preachy books. Humans are bad. Anything we do is terrible. Okay, maybe not quite, but seriously. You would think that a book with a dragon and a unicorn in it would be more imaginative than this.

It's just basically a regular forest that happens to have a dragon and unicorn living in it. Then some people come, and unicorn who is ancient and unbelievably wise, says, "They are humans. Beware of them." The daughter of the king is kind to animals and when they chop down trees in the forest, she somehow takes the bird nests and puts them in other trees. I'm not sure how the bird nests survive being in a tree that was chopped down without the eggs breaking, but hey.

And in my personal experience, I dug up a tree from my yard (to be re-homed elsewhere, I'm not a savage tree-chopper!) that had a hummingbird nest with eggs in it. I cut the branch with the nest off, without even touching the nest, and left it on a bush less than ten feet away. The mother hummingbird promptly abandoned the eggs. So basically, what I'm saying is, birds are stupid.

Back to the book. The people are building a huge fortress in the forest. In winter, the people want to hunt the unicorn because she's magic. They have her tied up, but her dragon friend comes and burns the ropes to release her. The unicorn and dragon hide from the humans, and then... they kidnap the princess. The little girl, approximately twelve years old, comes into the forest, interested in the unicorn. The unicorn and dragon "lure her into the depths of [the] forest." "By the end of the first week, the king's daughter had lost her desire to return to the castle." It doesn't detail how they must have been keeping her there against her will prior to that change of heart.

So she just lives in the forest, for who knows how long, and then "one day" mentions how her father must be worried about her. The story then changes focus to the king, who has been sending people into the woods to search for her with no luck. "Then one day, after weeks had passed, King Orlando rode his horse to the edge of the woods, dismounted, and walked into the forest." So he's finally getting off his royal butt and looking for his daughter himself. "For several days, King Orlando wandered through the forest." "So the unicorn, with her magic, was drawing him toward" the hidden waterfall where they had been keeping his daughter. And then he just goes, "Wow! This place is so pretty!" And then his daughter comes and says, "Oh my gosh, hi father," but doesn't want to go back to the castle. The king says, "I never realized what peace, silence, and beauty lay within the darkness of the forest. I had no idea that it was so full of life—and so many different kinds of living things!" And then he decides, you know what, we're not going to hunt the unicorn anymore, we're just going to listen to her spoken wisdom. That's her true magic anyway. And the king declares, "We will learn to love and respect this forest, and it will tell us its secrets."

And they decide they're never going to cut down any more trees, or dig any more earth, whatever that means. And it says, "As years passed, houses were built, and the village became a town." How did they increase the size of the village without clearing new land? The fortress is clearly portrayed as in the middle of the forest, surrounded by trees. How could they expand their town? I mean, I know that fortresses and castles are built with a wall around them, and usually the citizens live inside that wall, but you can't say "the village became a town" without explaining where these extra people are going to live. Who knows? And also, what did they build the houses out of? Leaves? The construction of the fortress implies that this takes place in a quasi-medieval era. People built houses out of wood! If your village turns into a town, that doesn't happen without adding more buildings. Which need both space that is flat without trees in it, and wood to build the buildings. I don't know where they're getting that from. Magic? Is it the unicorn's magic that is making everybody able to coexist in harmony? Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Also, the unicorn says, "Many, many years from now a disease will come to humans that only the bark of this [yew] tree can cure. But what if you have cut down all the yew trees?" I can only guess that she must be referring to the 1971 discovery that a compound in yew bark is very effective in chemotherapy treatments for many types of cancer. That chemical is now made with cell culture, so we don't even use trees anymore. And it's not like cancer didn't exist in ancient times. Hippocrates in ancient Greece gave the disease the name "karkinos," meaning "crab" or "crayfish." Cancer is the Latin translation of the word.

So this book is pretty, but you can barely go a page without it preaching about how humans are destroying the natural world. I mean, clearly, that's bad. Like her other book, "The Great Kapok Tree," the message it gives is a good message. Clearly, people shouldn't destroy the natural world. That's why we have things like national parks. But the way that it gets its message across is so didactic that it's skin-crawling. I'm also surprised that this book was written after "The Great Kapok Tree", given the apparent decline in art quality. Maybe it's a stylistic choice. But every single page reminds me of illuminated manuscripts. There's no white space in this book. So not only does it not let up on the heavy-handed message of "humans are destroying the world; we're evil," it also doesn't let up on visual clutter. There's no breathing room in this book. Every page is crawling with vines and flowers, and little tiny inset pictures of people doing things, or part of the description from the text that wasn't shown in the larger picture, and little tiny animals, and peacocks (which wouldn't live in the kind of forest that has yew trees). When I first opened the book, it almost hurt my eyes. The amount of detail crammed into every corner makes it seem like she spent more time on the decorative borders than the central larger pictures. Which is kind of a metaphor for the text as well: it seems like she spent more time on the trivial bits than crafting an interesting story and telling it in a relatable fashion.

Message: Humans are evil and are destroying the world.

For more children's book reviews, see my website at http://www.drttmk.com.

[Jo ☾ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Valerio the dragon and Allegra the unicorn find their forest and their lives in danger when humans start cutting down trees in order to build houses. Together they work with princess Arianna to convince the King and his knights that the forest is a magical, peaceful place that must be preserved.

Well meaning story with an environmental theme best suited for older children as the story is fairly long and wordy.

[Christopher Obert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a wonderful children’s short story written by Lynne Cherry. Ms. Cherry also the illustrator for the book and I will say that she did a very good job. The story is simple and easy to follow and one that any child would like and learn from. The illustrations follow the story perfectly and have so much detail that children will look at them at length. I look forward to reading this book to my granddaughter.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

PICTURE Cherry

Environmental moral to the story. Fun, multicultural (the father looks African, and the daughter is a bit lighter skinned, both gorgeous), fantastical (the main characters are the dragon and unicorn, best friends, of course), and a good message.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations of the forest - very fairy tale! Disappointed in the story of the book. I felt it was too long and very repetitive. There is a nice environmental theme to the book but was we didn't find it merited a second read with the other library books we'd checked out.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

An ecological fairy tale? What will this woman come up with next? This was a very well told story and the lesson was rather simple to pick out, don't you agree? All well constructed and very interesting. Good book. And the illustrations? Perfection, plain and simple.

[Eden Silverfox · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a great story about how important it is to take care of our planet. Arianna has to help the dragon and the unicorn to save their forest. It is a very nice story and has beautiful illustrations.

[Alia · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a beautiful story, and beautifully illustrated.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

fantasy - story of a unicorn and drag that save the forest from a king who fears them and must some to them when his daughter disappears.

[Skye Lewing · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Dragon and the Unicorn is a wonderful book. I would recommend this book for young children. It is written beautifully and has wonderful pictures to go along with the story.

[Kim Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

4 stars for the story, bumped up to 5 for the beautiful illustration.

[Dominique · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t expect to almost cry over a children’s book but this one really got me. This story is all about a dragon and a unicorn who love their forest. One day humans come and start destroying it. The two friends must go into hiding and try to figure out how to save themselves and the forest that they love. This story is also about a little girl who is unlike everyone in that she loves everything about they forest. The dragon and unicorn with the help of the girl show the other humans that the forest is something that is important and that needs to be protected because the forest is not only beautiful but if we listen it will tell us all the unknown secrets of the world.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was so ahead of it's time? it's entirely a critique of deforestation and the need for balance in the relationship between man and nature. our human leads are a princess and king who are both black. I didn't think anything of this when I was a kid because it was about unicorns and dragons and the truth is, kids will accept most anything as normal if it's presented as such but for the early 90's when I was reading this, all of that would have been pretty controversial. and on top of that, it's filled w just beautiful little illustrations. it's very classic storybook style, w the main story's illustrations in the center framed by smaller little drawings. the little frames are just beautiful, I took the time to study them on each page because they had their own little story to tell. each one was filled w thoughtful illustrations highlighting to beauty of the woods. one page would focus on different trees' bark, the next on different types of birds, the following different berries you'd find. I'm very glad I still have our copy from when I was a child because this is definitely a story I'd want to share w my own kids some day and it's old enough, it's very likely out of print by now.

[Bunny · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dull & unimaginative. This book is about a unicorn & a dragon which its in the name so it Should entail a story that intrigues the senses an whisks one away into a world unbeknownst to its reader however, this book barely touches on that an doesnt keep the interest of children. This author has no idea how to write a book directed at children let alone one of fantasy. I had high expectations when i saw the llustrations, colors an fairy tale designed pages but this book had no follow through & is a 'childrens' book that - lets be honest - no child will ever remember

[Ember Air · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing fairy tale with an important and modern message! The words and the artwork snagged me from the very start. This will have a wonderful place on my classic fairy-tales shelf and is everything I needed in a book and never realized! While you are following the friends Unicorn and Dragon, we also learn about environmentalism, and the importance of protecting what we have. So wonderfully amazing!

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, the story wasn't anything earth-shattering, but this was lovely. Mostly the illustrations, holy cow, what a wonderful classic art style (and all of amazing medieval fantasy landscapes and castles, with vine filigree around the borders of the pages. Swoon). A dragon and unicorn befriend the king's daughter and they all teach the king how to "live in harmony with nature." I wish I could get this illustrator to do murals all over my house.

[Maeve · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the magical Ardet Forest, Valerio the dragon and Allegra the unicorn live in harmony with the flora and the fauna. But a king enters the forest and builds his castle which disrupts the balance. Valerio and Allegra, worries for their forest and friends, persuade the king's daughter to convince him to protect the land, and he agrees to after experiencing the magic of the forest.

A fantasy-story introduction to environmentalism.

[Robert Shupe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a solid and engaging read about respecting our environment while set it a fantasy setting.
It is a sweet story about the observations of a unique friendship between a unicorn and a dragon.
The left side pages tell the story while the right pages are beautifully illustrated. Smaller illustrations are found on both pages creating a frame for both pages together.
Well worth your time with a good environmental message

[Kristy McRae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book! I loved the story, and the message it conveys, but the illustrations simply blew me away! It was like looking at an illuminated text from long ago. So many details--I found myself studying each page spread, looking for all the tiny creatures and images. Excellent all around!

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations. Heavy-handed story, but would have appealed to me when I was the target demographic age-wise :) Love that the human characters are POC.