The Unicorn Mix-Up

by Kirsty Applebaum, Sahar Haghgoo (Illustrator)

Princess Minna loves to sort out mix-ups and mishaps in the kingdom! In this full-colour, illustrated chapter book, join her on another adventure to tame a unicorn and much more - all in time for tea.

Princess Minna lives in Castle Tall-Towers with the King and Queen, Raymond the Wizard and her best dragon friend, Lorenzo. There are often mix-ups and mishaps in the kingdom and Princess Minna loves to sort them out!

She can tame unicorns, kiss frogs and fight dragons (apart from Lorenzo) and she is very good at fixing things before it's time for bed.

In The Unicorn Mix-Up, Princess Minna is so tired she gets a bit muddled and fights a unicorn, kisses a dragon and tries to tame a frog - which won't do at all! Can she sort it all out and make a new friend along the way?

Full of colourful illustrations, these short, funny stories are perfect for readers just moving on from picture books and visual readers.

96 pages, Paperback

Published May 5, 2022

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be perfectly frank, I haven't read this chapterbook myself YET, but since my 8-y-o laughed out loud SO MUCH as he read it, it felt wrong to wait to pass on the enthusiastic 5-star rating from its actual target audience. :)

[Lois · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a sweet story about Princess Minna, who lives in a Castle Tall-Towers with her parents, the King, Queen, and Raymond the wizard. This has mostly simple language and is a perfect transition for newer readers to chapter books. My grandkids read the words they knew, and we worked on the larger words they needed help with. They really liked the way the words of the story were part of the illustrations. It was cleverly done, and they seemed to really enjoy reading the word illustrations. This incorporated elements of other fairy tales, like kissing frogs that my grandkids enjoyed. The focus on unicorns was a hit with my unicorn obsessed granddaughter.

The illustrator of this picture book is Sahar Haghgoo. I love how bright and engaging the images are. My youngest grandson kept taking my tablet from me so he could point at the pictures. He's too young to read, but the illustrations were a hit with him.

Thank you to Kirsty Applebaum, Nosy Crow Inc., and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ebook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Princess Minna has not slept well, and she awakes with the terrible premonition that something is wrong in her kingdom. Luckily, Princess Minna has strong skills in taming unicorns, kissing frogs, and fighting dragons, so she is confident she can solve whatever problem she finds. As Princess Minna investigates the countryside, however, her increasing fatigue makes it difficult for her to use her abilities properly. With each new mistake, however, Princess Minna finds that her perceptions are not as accurate as she once thought, and things may not always be as they seem. This early chapter book is well designed to support children who are becoming more confident, independent readers. Short chapters, brief sentences, and varying font sizes help to make the narrative engaging for young children. Jokes and phrases in British English give the narrative a distinct personality that will resonate with some readers, as well. The primary feature of the book is the chunky, richly colored imagery that adorns every page. Bright oranges, greens, blues, and pinks saturate the landscape and enhance the visual appeal of the book. While the colors can be overwhelming at times, they vary enough from one page to the next to reduce this sensation. One in a series of titles featuring Princess Minna, this short novel tells of one adventure Princess Minna experiences in her life and is best read first. Young children who are transitioning to short chapter books will enjoy the success they feel after completing this enjoyable story. This is a fun addition to library series fiction collections for newly independent readers.

[Olivia]

See my full review here: https://www.yabookscentral.com/prince...

PRINCESS MINNA: THE UNICORN MIX-UP is a colorful chapter book read. Minna has not slept well, so when she is called to help with a unicorn, frog, and dragon that are causing trouble, Minna mixes up what she needs to do. Can she fix it all before bedtime?

What I loved: Every page of this chapter book is in full color with loads of fun illustrations. It feels like reading an extended picture book, which makes it a great option for children who are moving in between picture and chapter books. While the story uses simple words and sentences that will work well for independent reading, it is also fun to read aloud with a caregiver. The chapters vary in length, but none are too long, without any pages being allocated purely to text.

In terms of the story, the overall message is one of the importance of sleep. Minna is learning the value of this as she has some unfortunate mix-ups when she tries to help with the animal problems in town. The story has plenty of humor and heart, as Minna finds a way to sort things out and help the people in her kingdom. She's a very fun character and has a great personality that shines through the story with lots of kindness, bravery, and determination.

Final verdict: PRINCESS MINNA: THE UNICORN MIX-UP is a colorful and charming chapter book about the importance of a good night's sleep and helping others. Recommend for children who still love picture books but are moving into chapter books.

[Emma Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Nosy Crow for sending advance copies of Princess Minna in return for an honest review.
And I can honestly say, I loved these books! As well as being bright and colourful in tone and style (the illustrator, Sahar Haghgoo has captured the world perfectly) these short chapter books are funny and a delight to read. I almost wish my children were young enough to appreciate them - these are the kind of books you don't mind reading over and over!
A perfect segue from picture books to chapter books, the text is easy to read with a lot of variation in layout to capture the eye. The pages also feel like picture book pages, which I think will help early readers feel confident in picking these books up.
Princess Minna is a fantastic character - she loves sorting things out, which I just know will appeal to plenty of young readers, and she always finds a solution, even if it's not the one you were expecting!

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Princess Minna barely sleeps at night, and she knows something must be wrong with the kingdom. Princess Minna has some very special skills; she is good at taming unicorns, and kissing frogs, and fighting dragons. She goes out into the kingdom and finds that there is a unicorn emergency! A wild unicorn is trampling through the town. Princess Minna is so tired from getting no sleep that she gets all mixed up, and tries to fight the unicorn instead of tame it! When she is called on to kiss a frog, she gets mixed up and tries to tame the frog instead. What will happen if she sees a ferocious dragon? Will she try to kiss the dragon instead of fight it?

This chapter book is so hilarious and cute! I love the colorful illustrations on each page and the wild shenanigans and adventures. The story is really funny and clever, and Princess Minna is completely adorable!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review.

[Jessica]

This is a fun twist on the Princess and the Pea that reminds kids (and adults) the importance of getting a good nights rest in order to be able to effectively completely tasks. My kids love the silliness of Princess Minna getting the tasks wrong and we enjoyed the fun Alphabet themed shops that popped up. The illustrations were vibrant and colorful and kept both my six and three year old engaged. We’ve read this one a couple times now because they enjoyed it so much. Some books can be tedious to read aloud but this one was fun and I think will be a good practice book for my daughter as her reading skills increase.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy to review.

[ThatBookLady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love love loved this book! My kids are 7 and 5 and they adored this story. The story was fun, the illustrations were EXCELLENT, and the length was perfect for a two night read. It feels like you are reading a picture book, but with more depth, so my younger non-reader was entertained by the pictures, while my eldest (reader) was able to easily follow along and enjoy the colorful and hilarious pages. We will absolutely read another Princess Minna chapter book!! (*immediately checks for Princess Minna books at local library*)

[Bailey Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first two books in the Princess Minna series: The Unicorn Mix-Up and The Enchanted Forest are adorable, captivating, action-packed, colorful, and fun reads! This series is recommended for ages five to seven. I love that it is written in a chapter book style but each page is illustrated to bring the story to life. I adore Minna as a character and the phenomenal references to fairytales. Minna is fierce and fun adventuring on her dragon to fix her kingdom's problems. She is the epitome of girl power! This is truly a lively series. I couldn't recommend it more!

[Federica · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s veryFUNNY! Yea. Yea. Yea. Yea and Very. YOU!and. Very nice. Good Happy…. :) ;)bye!??? [;)!?.]

[Tee Pegg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story, my daughter loved it!

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chapter book so I would take this to JF. This is #2 in the series. Will need to find the first one and the others that are out. Review to come to the blog

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 6yo loved this book. It's a super cute story with lots of colorful pictures. The pictures helped keep her attention through the chapters.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

mom *blink blink*

kid I LOVED IT 10 MILLION STARS