Home > Categories > Books > Kids - General > Thelma the Unicorn review
Thelma is an ordinary pony who longs to be more. One day, she spots a carrot on the ground and comes up with a brilliant idea. She ties it to her head, just before a skidding truck spills pink paint and glitter all over her! Presto! Thelma is a unicorn. Thelma quickly rises to fame, but does she really want all the attention? Or would she be happier as her old self again?
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I don't think I can think of a better read for any child. This story is about a pony who dreams of being something more. Then one decision on her part and a happy accident later, and she is everything she wished for. And she gets everything she wants. But then the cracks start to appear. Things aren't as great as they seemed on the outside and she is left still feeling empty.
As a kid I use to dream of being the next pop star. I wanted it all, and reading this book really made me smile and say thanks to the universe that gave me little in the way of singing ability. Who would want to be chased everywhere, to have cameras everywhere. To never have a bit of quiet and for every nice fan, to have a troll lurking waiting to hurt your feelings.
Reading this with my older daughter, I was able to open up that dialogue about being happy with yourself. It's an important message, especially at the moment when bullying is starting to become an issue. She needs to embrace and get the message from several different sources, that being herself is okay and even preferred. So I was very happy to share that with her.
For her younger sister, she just loves a story. She loved Thelma so much and poured over the pictures for hours. She can often be found tucked up on the bed or couch with this book. She loves the pictures, as do I. They are fun, and rather sweet. Thelma looks great as a pony or a unicorn. At one point her dad was wearing a teeshirt with a unicorn on it. She pointed to the tee and said "unicorn" which impressed her dad a lot. And then she ran to get the book for him as well, and said "unicorn" again. So she was taking in the story and learnt a new word too.
I think this book will be very popular at our house for a long time. Its message is so important, I think it needs to be a once a week kinda read, at least. Thankfully it's a good read so I'm more likely to enjoy doing that. I'd recommend this for any parent who wants to start those conversations about self-love and embracing your own uniqueness.
Who doesn't love unicorns? They are certainly a hit in this house. Thelma the Unicorn was an instant hit with both myself, my daughters and my homebased carekids ranging in age from 3 to 6 years. It is important when looking at the price of this book to consider that it is a hardback which at $21 makes it excellent value for money.
Looking at the front cover you would think this is a story about a unicorn but look at the back cover and you will see the truth. Thelma is not really a unicorn she is a pony that dreams of becoming one . I thought the story was very cleverly written. Firstly it was in rhyme which made it adorable. Thelma finds a carrot and ties it on her nose to become her unicorn horn. Then a truck covers her in pink paint and glitter which completes the transformation. She becomes famous which was fun to start with but she soon discovers that she misses her old life with her friends.
There is a lovely message in this book about how it is better to be yourself than to pretend to be something else. Also that fame comes at a price and true friends will there for you whatever happens. These are messages that even as adults we need to remind ourselves.
This is a book that will stay on my bookshelf for many years. It is such a sweet story that I enjoyed read to the children and they enjoyed listening to even more.
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"Character - the willingness to accept responsibility for one's own life - is the source from which self respect springs."
Joan Didion (1934 - ), 'Slouching Towards Bethlehem'