Sophie Johnson: Unicorn Expert

From Sophie Johnson: Unicorn Expert by Morag Hood, illustrated by Ella Okstad (Simon & Schuster 2018) | Illustration © 2018 by Ella Okstad

“Magic is more important than mess.”

— Sophie Johnson: Unicorn Expert

I love the ability children have to slip in and out of reality at the drop of a hat (or wave of a wand).

Both my kids had very active imaginations - Noah’s, in particular, was off the charts! He spent most of his early years dressed up and in character, to the point of often refusing to answer to his own name. Thanks to them both, I got to enjoy the company of Virgil Tracey, Captain Scarlet, Jane the Diver, Tina Turner, Dinosaur Jack, Little Eagle (native American brave), Police Dog Handler man and a multitude of cowboy personas.

So I have a natural affinity for this week’s recommendation: Sophie Johnson: Unicorn Expert by Morag Hood, illustrated by Ella Okstad (Simon & Schuster 2018).

Written in the first person, it’s a masterclass in portraying the depth of a child’s imagination. In this case, Sophie Johnson (an ‘earnest girl in oversized spectacles’) - who is obsessed with unicorns! Everyone has unicorn potential - baby brother, dolls, teddies, the dog - and each receives a makeshift horn - even the goldfish.

(Well, everyone apart from the cat. Remarkably, it manages to escape humiliation and remain aloof. How very cat-like of it! I love the way Okstad added this incidental character, which enriches the text. Her illustration showing the smug cat, side-eyeing the affable dog, speaks volumes.)

 

From Sophie Johnson: Unicorn Expert by Morag Hood, illustrated by Ella Okstad (Simon & Schuster 2018) | Illustration © 2018 by Ella Okstad

 

It was Okstad’s delightful unicorn that initially drew me to this story. It’s not, perhaps, the typical unicorn of picture books, looking like a mash-up of a Thelwell pony, a Moomin, Barbapapa and a hippopotamus! We meet it right at the start, strolling through a magical landscape of pink cotton candy, candy canes and rainbows, carrying a suitcase in its mouth.

 

From Sophie Johnson: Unicorn Expert by Morag Hood, illustrated by Ella Okstad (Simon & Schuster 2018) | Illustration © 2018 by Ella Okstad

 

Rotund and placid, with rainbow mane and tail and, the wide-eyed unicorn wanders into the world of Sophie Johnson: unicorn expert (and keeper). But Sophie’s way too busy lecturing her unicorn trainees to notice the benign, wide-eyed presence sneak in and join her class. The unicorn’s suitcase suggests it was on a mission - perhaps to find out how to be? I like to think of it as a sponge, absorbing everything a unicorn needs to know about magic, hunting for food - and the dangers of balloons.

 

From Sophie Johnson: Unicorn Expert by Morag Hood, illustrated by Ella Okstad (Simon & Schuster 2018) | Illustration © 2018 by Ella Okstad

From Sophie Johnson: Unicorn Expert by Morag Hood, illustrated by Ella Okstad (Simon & Schuster 2018) | Illustration © 2018 by Ella Okstad

 

In contrast to the undemonstrative unicorn, Sophie is a tutu-wearing, twirling ball of energy! Okstad does an excellent job of capturing the chaotic mess that Sophie’s games create. She could have chosen to introduce a majestic, strong-willed unicorn who stands tall and proud above the chaos. So it’s rather lovely that Okstad decided instead to depict a ‘small, round, white but sparkling with magic’ unicorn. Which, as Books for Keeps notes, ‘provides a small patch of unmissable quiet in the proceedings’.

  

Sophie Johnson: Unicorn Expert is gently humorous, and the joyful illustrations are often allowed to tell the story by themselves. This was a deliberate choice on the part of the author, Morag Hood (herself an illustrator):

 

One of the things I like most about the format [of picture books] is the tension that can be created between the words and the pictures. I’ve always especially enjoyed books where the reader knows what is going on better than the characters themselves. I think I am probably quite in touch with my inner four-year-old and I seem to remember relishing that feeling of being in on the joke and being smarter than the characters in a book. ... [W]ith this in mind ... I started playing around with the idea of the main character being oblivious to what is going on around them, and Sophie started to emerge.

-  Morag Hood does A Little But A Lot: Sophie Johnson edition

 

Sophie Johnson is exuberant and confident - too busy Being an Expert to ever notice the unicorn in her midst. At the end of the story, it leaves just as quietly as it arrived: sedate yet wiser, trailing a flurry of rainbow magic behind it.

 

From Sophie Johnson: Unicorn Expert by Morag Hood, illustrated by Ella Okstad (Simon & Schuster 2018) | Illustration © 2018 by Ella Okstad

 

A few years back, my nephew Isaac couldn’t get enough of unicorns. I’m glad my sister just went with it. I wonder how many parents have discouraged their sons’ interest (the same goes for books on fairies and mermaids)? My advice would be: Let kids be kids. Follow their lead. If your daughter wants nothing but pink princess and unicorn books, that’s cool. But don’t be concerned if your son does too. Likewise, if he wants to read about trains and diggers and warrior knights, go with that.

Something tells me that Sophie Johnson has a fair few of those titles on her own shelves, too.

Squeezed in between Unicorn Volumes 1 - 12.

 

From Sophie Johnson: Unicorn Expert by Morag Hood, illustrated by Ella Okstad (Simon & Schuster 2018) | Illustration © 2018 by Ella Okstad

 STORIES WORTH SHARING: Sophie Johnson: Unicorn Expert by Morag Hood, ill. by Ella Okstad

This book is Good to Read because:

Sophie Johnson is a creative role model - brimming with self-confidence and imagination!

It’s a celebration of being an individual.

It’s open to interpretation, so encourages creative thinking:

what would the land of unicorns look like?

What do unicorns eat?

The story relies heavily on the illustrations to tell the story, this is a great one for supporting visual literacy.

It helps breaks down gender tropes - Sophie may love unicorns and wear a tutu, but she’s also a badass princess warrior!

Good to Read

Characters who believed in themselves

Olivia and the Fairy Princesses by Ian Falconer

Limelight Larry by Leigh Hodgkinson

Sophie Johnson: Unicorn Expert by Morag Hood, illustrated by Ella Okstad

Anton can do magic by Ole Konnecke

BUY THE BOOK

'The story will undoubtedly be loved by all young unicorn fans and might even inspire some creative unicorn making.'

- Kids Book Review

'Perfect for unicorn lovers of all ages, this is a clever and funny book where the text and pictures work together harmoniously, providing an extra layer of humour on each page.'

- Book Trust


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 SOURCESSophie Johnson: Unicorn Expert by Morag Hood, illustrated by Ella Okstad (Simon & Schuster, 2018)Sophie Johnson, Unicorn Expert (Kirkus Reviews, 2018)Ella Okstad – Expert Unicorn Illustrator - Interview (Picturebooking.com, May 05, 2019)© 2020 BY TIM WARNES(UNLESS OTHERWISE ATTRIBUTED)**** USE OF THIRD-PARTY COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL FALLS UNDER FAIR USE/FAIR DEALING PRACTICE.