Overview

A moving story about unity and inspiration in the face of destruction, by the 2003–2005 Children's Laureate. Tomas hates school, hates books and hates stories. Forced to visit the library, he stops to listen to magical tales that the Unicorn Lady spins. These tales draw him in and are about to change the course of his life for ever... Set against the backdrop of war-torn Europe, I Believe in Unicorns explores the power of stories to transform lives. Produced in association with the Unicorn Theatre, the first purpose-built professional theatre for children in the UK, located on London's South Bank.

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9781406302042

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I Believe in Unicorns needs to be bought for every library, school and home... to share with as many children as we can so that they can experience its magic for themselves. The Bookseller

In a fictional episode inspired by several true ones, people band together to save their library after a sudden attack leaves their small town in flames. At first, young Tomas, who narrates, has no interest in going to the village library, but that attitude changes completely after he hears the new librarian tell stories from a wooden seat shaped like a unicorn. Eventually, she invites Tomas himself to read from a battered copy of The Little Match Girl that, she explains, had been rescued from a book-burning in her youth. Then an attack by air and land shatters the mountain valley's peace, and when Tomas hurries into town afterwards, he joins his father and other survivors in braving the fire to carry the library's books-and, finally, its unicorn-to safety. Buildings they can destroy. Dreams they cannot, the librarian proclaims. Modeling forms with scribbly lines, Blythe alternates black-and-white vignettes with wordless full-spread scenes in color; like Morpurgo, he suggests a European setting but no specific locale for the story. And like Jeanette Winter's The Librarian of Basra (2005), the idea that saving literature is as heroic as saving lives comes through loud and clear. (Fiction. 9-11) (Kirkus Reviews)

Author Information

Michael Morpurgo was 2003–2005 Children's Laureate, has written over 100 books and is the winner of many awards, including the Whitbread Children's Book Award, the Smarties Book Prize, the Blue Peter Award and the Red House Children's Book Award. His books are translated and read around the world and his hugely popular novel War Horse is now both a critically acclaimed stage play and a highly successful film. Michael and his wife, Clare, live in Devon. Visit Michael's website at www.michaelmorpurgo.com. Gary Blythe has illustrated many picture books for children, winning the Kate Greenaway Medal for The Whales' Song, his first book. He lives near Liverpool.

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