Set against the backdrop of war-torn Europe, I Believe in Unicorns explores the power of stories to transform our lives. Eight-year-old Tomas hates school, hates books and hates stories. Forced to visit the library, he stops to listen to magical tales that the Unicorn Lady spins – tales that draw him in, making themselves part of him and changing the course of his life forever, making him believe in unicorns. By the end of this story, you will believe in unicorns too.
Reviews
“This truly inspiring tale tells the story of a boy who becomes captivated by the stories he hears from a local librarian . . . an enchanting read.”
The Good Book Guide
“As usual Michael Morpurgo has managed, in this attractive little book, to interweave several strands – his recurrent children in war motif, the redemptive power of storytelling and an original take on one of the oldest, best loved and most familiar of myths . . . it’s vintage Morpurgo, sensitively told and full of interesting ideas, such as the priority given to rescuing the books (and unicorn) from the burning library.”
School Librarian Spring 2006
“With simple sentences, an endearing storyteller and a captivating storyline, this makes a great book for children who have just started to feel confident reading on their own.”
Junior
“Michael Morpurgo’s I Believe in Unicorns . . . brings us back to art. A boy in war-torn central Europe attempts to rescue the books from his town’s library after soldiers have torched it. He also saves a wooden unicorn, which, for local children, symbolises the power of the imagination. As Lester, the curator in Framed [the previous review], says (in this case, perfectly accurately): ‘Isn’t that what art is about? Rescuing beauty from the ravages of time. To save one moment from eternal silence.”
The Observer (featured in Geraldine Bedell’s choice of children’s fiction for 2005)