With all the feel of a classic, here is a picture book young readers will want to revisit again and again. At one point Margaret says something about picking a sprig of heather, holding out her palm, and letting the unicorn eat it off her hand. I loved the use of color and light here - the setting feels like the Scottish Highlands to me - and I thought Smith's changing depiction of the unicorn - speckled as a baby, and pure white when grown - was beautiful. I don’t expect this to be a five star for everyone – like I said, it just happened to be a kindred spirit read for me and one of my favorite books I’ve read this year! Her Author-Illustrated picture book, 'Margaret's Unicorn,' publishes this year with Schwartz and Wade Books.

It's an important message for children that wild creatures are never "ours" -- they deserve their freedom -- but we can have a special connection with them, nonetheless. The illustrations are beautiful, a book about unicorns makes you fear the worst, lilac, pale pink, sparkly stuff, none of that to be seen here thankfully, lovely scenes of Scottish rural life. A perfect gift for the unicorn lovers in your life, this lovely and utterly transporting picture book tells the story of what every little girl wishes would happen to her: a girl finds and takes care of a lost baby unicorn. As the author's “About” blurb said she still looks for unicorns, it also seems to contradict her own personal belief. A heart-warming story of friendship and kindness brought to magical life by Briony May Smith’s enchanting characters and breath taking coastal landscapes.

Since then, she has been shortlisted for the British Comic Awards and has twice been highly commended for the Macmillan Children's Prize. I bought this as a gift for my niece, but I was so disappointed by the story that I don't even think it's worth being gifted.

There’s a bit of an ache, as you sense that the unicorn herd will come back for the lost baby when they migrate through the area as the days grow long again; but the ending is so beautifully written, it left me with a smile instead of a tear. Margaret, lonely and in need of a friend, brings him home and cares for him through the fall and winter. She brings it home, and everyone in the family has a hand in helping to raise it during the year the unicorn herd is gone--Grandmother, Mom, and Dad, besides Margaret. There are many books out there aimed at unicorn-loving little girls, but this book is so much more and so much better than that. Margaret, lonely and in need of a friend, brings him home and cares for him through the autumn and winter.While looking out to sea, Margaret sees a roiling mist that isn't mist, it's cloud, only it's not clouds, it's a herd of passing unicorns. One autumn, young Margaret moves with her mom and dad to a stone cottage out in the faraway mountains so they can be close to her aging grandmother. The story is very touching and would be great for a child who is adjusting to a new environment/situation, struggling to make friends, or simply loves unicorns / stories with a touch of magic. Two minor disappointing details, the text for one illustration tells you they are picking up and feeling a horse chestnut but the whole page illustration shows you a sweet chestnut tree and sweet chestnut, which looks very different and one is edible and the other isn't.

This is a definite must-read for unicorn lovers, as well as those looking for stories about magic, friendship, and adapting to a new home. It’s not a bad ending at all, and in fact Margaret grows through the story and I like how she ends up making a new friend, but I felt like that last page with Margaret and the unicorn ended a little sadly, and if I’m honest, it felt like the author wasn’t really sure how to finish the story so just ended it too fast and in a way which could have been more magical. Margaret’s family is sensitive and loving as she struggles to adjust to life in a new town and it made me so happy that they accept the magic that Margaret encounters in her life when she finds a baby unicorn accidentally left behind when the herd passed through their quiet countryside. Margaret’s whole world changes when her family moves to a cottage by the sea to be near her grandma. Briony May Smith is a British illustrator who specialises in children's books, concept art and character designs in Animation and Advertising.

A little girl finds and takes care of a lost baby unicorn in this beautiful and utterly transporting picture book. Margaret’s Unicorn’ is a bigger than A4 in size and is filled with thick matt pages of some lovely illustrations and text. The use of light in these illustrations is so beautiful that you can almost feel the sun on your skin. Margaret and the unicorn are there for one another when they both feel alone and friendless, but they both grow through the year and new relationships await.

By submitting a review you grant us the right to display and use it in any way; please read our General Legal Notices for full details. She also both wrote and illustrated Imelda and the Goblin King , which the Wall Street Journal described as "enchantingly illustrated. edible chestnuts), especially since Horse Chestnuts are currently under siege by a species of Pseudomonas which causes deadly 'bleeding cankers', as well as by leaf-blotch fungus and a leaf-mining moth.This is probably the best picture book I've read all year, and the strongest unicorn book I've ever read. So disappointing, these two things would have literally taken a few seconds to google and these sort of inaccuracies are very confusing for children. She has also illustrated numerous picture books in the UK, including Little Bear's Spring , T he Giant's Necklace , and Grab That Rabbit!