A Unicorn Named Sparkle and the Perfect Valentine

A Unicorn Named Sparkle #5

by Amy Young

The fifth book in A Unicorn Named Sparkle series is about finding out there's no perfect way to say I love you.

Lucy and a unicorn named Sparkle are back for another funny and sweet adventure.

Valentine's Day is when you tell the people in your life how much you love them. There's no one Sparkle loves more than Lucy. He decides to make her the perfect valentine. Except, instead of hands, Sparkle has hooves. He can't write and he can't cut. So how is he going to show Lucy that he loves her best of all?

Genres: Picture Books, Unicorns, Friendship, Childrens, Storytime, Holiday, Love

34 pages, Hardcover

First published December 14, 2021

About the author

Amy Young trained as a fine artist at Yale and received an MFA in painting from Indiana University as well as a law degree from Harvard. She lives in Spring Lake, Michigan.

Reviews

[Flossmoor Public Library (IL) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

Sparkle and Lucy are back in this Valentine's Day-themed story. Lucy is making valentines for all of her friends before the big Valentine's Day party, and Sparkle wants to make her a valentine to show her how much he loves her. Sparkle can't cut shapes or write, but he does his best to make Lucy a valentine anyway. He's very proud of his valentine until he sees how lovely Lucy's valentines are and feels his does not compare, so he throws it away. What happens next is lovely for any day of the year, not just Valentine's Day.

This story is wonderful for Valentine's Day (obviously), but it is also a fantastic story about friendship and showing those you care about that you care about them in any way you can. Recommended for fans of unicorns, Valentine's Day, or anyone who wants a happy story.

~ Miss Anna

[Thomas Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think it would be a better story if it wasn't a unicorn but an actual goat just pretending to be a unicorn. But it was great nonetheless.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lucy and her best friend Sparkle the unicorn return in this fifth picture book devoted to their adventures, this time preparing for Valentine's Day. As Lucy sets out to create beautiful handmade cards for all of their friends, complete with rhyming Valentine's Day poems, Sparkle longs to make Lucy a card—a card expressing all of his love for her. When all of his efforts only produce a somewhat tattered heart with some hoof prints on it, Sparkle thinks that he has failed. Lucy, on the other hand, sees his loving intention, and adores her card...

Having read and (mostly) enjoyed author/illustrator Amy Young's earlier picture books about this pair—I didn't care for A Unicorn Named Sparkle's First Christmas , but I found the others titles heartwarming and entertaining—I picked up A Unicorn Named Sparkle and the Perfect Valentine with anticipation, and I was not disappointed! In fact, it ended up being my favorite so far, of all the books. Like its predecessors, it pairs a sweet story about friendship and love with cute cartoon-style artwork. I appreciated the idea, implicit in the story, that it is the thought behind gifts and cards that matter, rather than how fancy they are. When Lucy looked at Sparkle's card, and the narrative tells us that she "didn't understand what the car said," but that "she understood what it meant," that really struck a chord with me, highlighting all the many non-verbal and non-textual ways we communicate our love to others. Recommended to fans of Lucy and Sparkle, and to picture-book readers looking for unicorn and/or Valentine stories.

[Tayler K · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hated how Lucy treated Sparkle in the first book and the Christmas book. I wasn't going to pick this up but I sort of wanted to hate-read it. I forgot that I'd read the Halloween one and liked it better.

I did not think we were going to be off to a good start when on the second page Lucy says "Don't worry. No one expects a valentine from a unicorn, so my cards can be from both of us." I thought that was very condescending and dismissive of her best friend.

Sparkle LOVES Lucy, so he wants to make her a valentine and tell her all the things he loves about her. Using his hooves and his horn, he does his very best to make her a valentine. He even writes a poem the best he can once he realizes all of hers have a poem.

The whole time, I was scared that sweet, sweet Sparkle was going to get his heart broken! I was dreading the idea that Lucy would get mad at or make fun of Sparkle's valentine, but thankfully that's not what happened. When Lucy sees Sparkle self-consciously throwing his valentine in the trash, she looks at it and realizes he made it for her because he loves her! And Lucy gave Sparkle a valentine too. Yay, a happy ending--with cupcakes and magic!

I still just want to give Sparkle a hug.


As always, I love the endpapers!

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sparkle makes a special valentine for Lucy.

Lucy is making valentines for her friends, and Sparkle wants to make a special valentine for Lucy. He manages to make a paper heart, but ashamed of how rough and primitive it is compared to the other valentines at the party, he loses his nerve and doesn’t give it to her. Lucy sees him throw it away, fishes it out of the trash, and tells him it’s “perfect.” Then they both enjoy the Valentines Day party.

This book shows how people appreciate things given with love even when they are not perfect.

Sparkle is continuing his evolution — glow up — to full fledged unicorn. In the first book in the series A Unicorn Named Sparkle, he is basically a one-horned goat, but in this installment he can shoot rainbows from his horn and “poop glitter.”

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I jumped from the first book to the fifth, so I'm not sure if it's better to read the series in order. However, the Valentine's Day edition is a great stand-alone. It's a sweet Valentine's Day story that celebrates love and friendship, and the illustrations are still adorable as the first book. Young readers will enjoy the funny Sparkle antics and the friendship between Lucy and Sparkle!

[Lisa D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Cute book!

[Elizabeth]

Sparkle is so cute and thoughtful! I just love the illustrations of Sparkle!

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt bad for Sparkle when she said no one expected a valentine from a unicorn, but I thought the ultimate message worked well.

[Suzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute! Doesn't matter what kind of Valentine you make as long as you show your love.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter wanted me to read this. She and her younger sister got a real kick out of it and now want to read the rest of the series. Cute goat/unicorn story.

[Paula Greenfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great story about a unicorn and his friend on Valentine's day.

[Irena · Rating 3 out of 5]

perfect read aloud story for 1-2 graders, lots of laughs and ooooh's from little readers

[Jeimy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I borrowed this because I thought Sparkles was a goat, but he is, indeed, a unicorn.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

sweet

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was just another cute story in this series.

[Pug · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book feels like a call-back to the original: Sparkle is cute, and Lucy isn't totally horrible. (Although, as Sparkle is able to shoot rainbows from his horn, he appears to be closer to a unicorn than a goat now... too bad.) Nevertheless, Sparkle's Valentine card was so heart-warming and precious! I think we all expected Lucy to criticize it, based on her past history, but even she couldn't deny its sweetness (even though it was far superior to her terrible Valentine poetry).

Two years later...
The sentiment is the same. Sparkle is charming and Lucy is cringe-worthy.