bob is a unicorn

"Bob is not a unicorn. Everyone can see that. Everyone but Bob." These are the opening lines from Bob is a Unicorn, written by Michelle Nelson-Schmidt. The premise of this one is simple: Bob approaches various friends, asking them to play with him in different ways. Each one dismisses him, though, until Bob finally finds the perfect friend to play with him.

This is a pretty subtle book. You don't even see Bob until the end of the book; the story is told through dialogue as Bob approaches each animal, and all you see is the animal he is talking to and the conversation they have. By the time you reach the end of the story, you come to see that Bob is (SPOILER ALERT :) an elephant pretending to be a unicorn, and the friend who plays with him is a little girl pretending to be a fairy. 

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The power of this book is in the different ways Bob's friends dismiss him. Here's one example: 
   Hey, Bob. 
   Hey, Ted. 
   What's that thing?
   It's my horn. I'm a unicorn. See?
   No, not really.

And another: 
   George, I don't suppose you --
   Bob, don't you have more important things to do?
   I'm being a unicorn today.
   It looks like you're wasting time to me.

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As with many of Michelle Nelson-Schmidt's books (she is author of Cordelia and Jonathan James and the Whatif Monster, among other powerful picture books), this is one that seems to be written as much to the adults as to the children. It's hard to read this as a parent and not hear myself in some of the dismissals... I'm too busy. What are you doing? Don't you have something better to do? Well, sometimes we just need to set our work aside and embrace the power of make-believe.

Now, I will say, the set-up of this story is a little off-beat because it is written completely in dialogue - I've seen a few reviews that marked it down because the style is "awkward". But I would say, embrace it; the simplicity of the dialogue is part of what makes the message stand out. Each time I have read this book with my four-year old, he asks to read it again as soon as we get to the end. I think that's because he, too, is unaccustomed to that style of storytelling... but as soon as you see where the story ends up (the contrast of the friend who is willing to play along), everything falls into place. So just read it twice! And besides, it's a great opportunity to pull out all your character voices. :)

​It's that book that gently reminds us all to be both playful and accepting.​

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Book benefits:

• The story teaches an important lesson about playfulness
• Illustrations are simple, but sweet - with a meaningful change in style to highlight make-believe (see the fairy, above)
• Book is valuable for kids and adults alike :) 

Buy Bob is a Unicorn here! ($6.99, paperback)

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