Sarah's Unicorn

by Bruce Coville, Katherine Coville

Although she tries to keep her friendship with Oakhorn a secret, Sarah's wicked aunt finds out and is determined to rob the unicorn of his magic.

Genres: Fantasy, Picture Books, Unicorns, Fiction, Childrens, Middle Grade, Classics

48 pages, Library Binding

First published October 30, 1979

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sarah was a young girl who lived on the edge of a forest with her Aunt Mag, a formerly kindhearted witch who had been transformed into a terror by a spell gone wrong. One night, while seeking toads for one of Aunt Mag's awful spells, Sarah met and befriended Oakhorn the unicorn, and the two became close companions. Then Aunt Mag discovered their friendship, decided to kill the unicorn, in order to gain his powers. Would Sarah and her woodland friends be able to save Oakthorn...?

Husband and wife team Bruce and Katherine Coville, who also collaborated on the beginning reader fairy-tale, The Foolish Giant , deliver an engaging work of fantasy here, one suitable for children just getting going with independent reading. Sarah's Unicorn is part of Lippincott's I-Like-To-Read collection, and pairs a simple text with black and white pencil drawings on each page. Recommended to beginning readers who enjoy fantastic stories, particularly those involving unicorns.

[Austin Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short but charming children's book with great illustrations. I love Bruce Coville's work and I could see myself reading this to my future children.
3.5 / 5

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I have been a fan of "The Unicorn Chronicles" I have never heard of this particular book from the Covilles. Although both this and the series revolve around unicorns while holding magic within the pages of the plot I don't think this one belongs to the same series but is instead a standalone book directed to young readers who are just trying to comfortable with novels.

The writing is very simple and easy to follow along while the formatting is nicely done so the reader isn't having any problems with seeing the words. The story drifts along quite smoothly so there is no question about what is going or trying to find your way out of a dead-end.

To help the young reader there are black-and-white illustrations that appear in the book thus giving the tone of the book another prop. Although I wonder about the talent of the illustrator with some of the pictures since the bird looks a bit on the cartoonish side and the girl sometimes has the weirdest face while doing things they otherwise hit it on the nose.

Although the protagonist is a girl I cannot see why a boy may not also enjoy the story. All in all it is a good start to young readers looking at fantasy books and for older readers who just need a quick read to pass the time.

[Julie G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely story and inspiring illustrations! Perfect for the 5-8 year old crowd, especially for kids who are still invested in the possibility of a unicorn appearing in the backyard.

[D.T. Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely picture book.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sarah lives with her Aunt Mag on the edge of the forest. Aunt Mag is a witch, and, when one of her spells goes wrong, she turns into a mean witch. Life is harder and sadder for Sarah until she meets a unicorn named Oakhorn. And then she befriends a lot of other forest animals, who will prove very helpful by the end of the book.

B&W illustrations. Kept my 4yo interested for the whole book. It wasn't too scary for her, but she clearly felt tense.

[Tricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe I forgot about this book! One of the best Unicorn books EVER!!!! It has beautiful illustrations and a good story and a unicorn (OF COURSE!!). I read this book several times a day (during "reading hour") in my third grade class and then I was very sad when I had to go to fourth grade.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh goodness this is just lovely. I would have treasured it, and also reread it until it fell apart, when I was young. The reading level is between leveled readers and Ruth Chew's stories about witches. The illustrations are pretty, but not twee. The themes are important. The ending is perfect, and the route by which we get there makes it not only plausible, but mandatory, in the way the best folktales work. There are bits that are dramatic, bits that are melancholy, and funny bits, too.

Absolutely worth using InterLibrary Loan for (my copy came from Texas). I will read it several more times before returning it.

[Capn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A vintage classic worth tracking down on the secondhand market. While the b&w illustrations were not too much to my liking (more realistic, warts-and-all, than the previous trends support. No beauty filters!), the story was a short, snappy, accessible fairytale. The four stars is really for the approval it received from the read-to audience. (Should mention that the woodland critters garned "AWWWWWs" of approval. So it's just the slightly caricature-esqe human faces I found a bit unappealing).

I'm increasingly of the opinion that a good writer can write a good 'early reader' book. A litmus test, maybe? (There are so many horrendous I Can Read books out there... please, please don't outsource this task to AI. I'm convinced that some of the school readers are AI-generated.. or at least I hope they are, because they're mindless pap. Semantically correct, sure, but unimaginative, soulless drivel. We want to raise a new generation of readers, not bore them stiff, ffs!).

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although written very simply, and housed in our library among the beginner books, this story is definitely one that is written for elementary grade students. The plot is interesting and engaging and well-supported by the wonderful illustrations. It is not a book that would be appropriate for really young children, because there is a threat of violence and even death.

[Jamie Jonas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming, fast-moving and picture-rich fantasy tale by prolific YA author and his wife, Katherine Coville. This would be a great one to read as a bedtime story. The age-bracket indicated on the book is 4 to 8, and I agree with that estimate. I'll probably be reading it to my new grandson in a couple of years!

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute story. Friendship, bitterness, forgiveness and caring. And the ladybug is by far my favorite character. So loyal! I enjoyed the drawing. The forest is beautiful and the expressions shown add depth the the characters.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

SARAH’S UNICORN by Bruce and Katherine Coville
Working together to defeat evil, would be a good addition to an anti-bullying program.
“She used to be nice. Can’t you fix her?” Perfect bedtime picture books.

[Tracy Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the illustrations

[Rosina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has always been one of my all time favorites from childhood. I am looking forward to sharing it with my daughter.

[Jessica Tanner · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite stories growing up. Still have my copy - with a few crayon colorings :)

[Mica · Rating 5 out of 5]

A childhood favourite about the magic of love and healing a heart. Very beautifully illustrated.

[Screamforme]

for children, great to learn English as a early reader.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

2026 ReRead of a childhood fav.

[Aubrey White · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is simple but lovely and the unicorn makes it just the kind of thing I would have treasured as a girl, so when I saw it at the library I was quick to grab it. Since we brought it home each boy has personally asked to read it multiple times. It has the perfect amount of text per page for Josiah and me to take turns reading pages, while still enthralling Nat & B. Even better, it whispers hope: a hero bent on revenge can be persuaded to act with mercy and a witch who acts out of evil ought to be healed, rather than shoved into an oven or run over a cliff.

[Mari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was brave to let my 2-year old Stephanie read this book (it has paper pages), but she loved the graphics and was intigued by the story. This is the book that I used to first teach Stephanie how to read. By age 2 she could read the entire book and identify the same words from the book in a variety of contexts. Smart kid!

=^..^=
mb

[Lorna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book with charming illustrations. It worked on several levels in our house both as a read-aloud for our almost 4-year old and a book that challenged our beginning reader, who is six. It's great that such a short book can create a suspenseful story, with a happy fairy-tale like ending. Very enjoyable!

[Sarah A · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was found to be the only book on unicorns in our local library (we could order others but we needed one like TODAY!!).
We checked it out and my daughter did struggle with some of the words but we really enjoyed the story - just the right amount of excitement, fear, anticipation and joy! A really nice early reader unicorn book!

[LizthePrude · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great adventure fantasy book for kids. I think this was my favorite book when I was like in 3rd grade. I love Mrs. Bunjy (the ladybug) and Oakhorn (the unicorn). I always wanted a pet unicorn when I was little. If you were the same then you'd love this book!

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

All the elements of a good fantasy book are here -- witches, unicorns, an orphaned child... Good and evil clash (with good triumphing, of course) and transformation takes place. Pretty slick for a kids book! Good choice for transitional readers moving from picture to chapter books.

[Darah Herron · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember reading this book when I was very young, and just recently went looking for a copy to buy for my niece. I loved reading through it again as an adult... It brought back so many great memories and is probably responsible for my lifelong interest in fantasy literature.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

ha! i still love this book...i even have my original copy!! i don't know if it's still in print, but if you can find it, read it!

[Whittney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and sweet.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of my daughter's favorite books when she was little! I read it to her again and again.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember loving this book when I was little! I've been wanting to buy this book, but couldn't remember the title, I'm excited to find it again!