Thelma dreams of being special. She wishes to be a unicorn and one day she gets her wish. Covered in pink paint and glitter with a carrot for horn, Thelma's simple life is thrust into the spotlight as she is transformed into a unicorn. At first she loves the attention of being famous, but soon the glamour begins to fade. Thelma misses her old life and just wants to go back to her friends in the field. What will Thelma do?

 

A great read-aloud for kindergarteners and a useful text for students to start predicting.

Lexile: AD520L

The Bad Guys by Aaron Blabey originally had me quite frustrated because I felt that the labeling (the library's call number) misrepresented the content of the book. [Essentially The Bad Guys was labeled as a Young Reader meaning that the intended audience was anywhere from 2nd-4th grade depending on the reading level of the child. I feel that it was more accurately categorized as an Easy Reader (1st-2nd grade) which is quite different and generally means there are less words and more illustrations per page. I'm mentioning all of this because while it might not matter to some (like if you're not picking up books for your kid(s)) it may have an impact on others.] This is the first book in a series (6 so far) which follows a crew of 'bad' animals: a wolf, snake, shark, and piranha (who is the funniest and fartiest). The wolf decides to round up fellow bad guys to change their image and reform their behavior. He is initially met with skepticism but throughout the book the other members of the club start to come around to his side and become quite enthusiastic about the enterprise. Their first mission is to break 200 dogs out of an animal shelter but from the outset there are large obstacles in their path...mainly how 4 dangerous animals are going to get in the front door of an animal shelter. Cue the shark coming up with a rather camp solution... The appeal of this book rests mainly in its silly humor and quick pacing. Young audiences will surely gobble this up and ask for the next in the series immediately. 7/10 because it didn't totally blow me away but I could see myself reading more for a quick palate cleanser (I may or may not have read the #6 already).

 

Blabey's website with the total list of books in this series (as well as his Pig the Pug series which is great fun): Aaron Blabey books.

 

What I'm Currently Reading: Unruly Places: Lost Spaces, Secret Cities, and Other Inscrutable Geographies by Alastair Bonnett & When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

 

"Thelma the Unicorn", by Aaron Blabey is just plain precious! This is another book about learning to love yourself for who you are and not trying to change just because others think you should or because you think you need to be different. The more children hear stories like this, the better in my opinion. Thelma is a sad pony who wishes she was someone special and glamorous. She finds a carrot on the ground and ties it to her head to make it look like a horn. This is enough to trick a truck driver who just happens to be hauling a truck full of pink paint and glitter. Needless to say, the truck driver wrecks and Thelma is now covered in that paint and glitter. So guess what? She became famous! But, guess what else? It wasn't all it was cracked up to be. She was miserable and missed her friend. Her solution was to clean herself up and go back home where she was happy just being herself. With "Thelma the Unicorn", you can use the rhyming words to show how they make the story have rhythm. You can also have a lesson on rhyming words and other vocabulary found throughout the story. This is a great book for reading comprehension activities and for numerous writing prompts. Endless activities for this book.

 

Lexile: AD520L

Guided Reading Level: L

 

Today We Did

Thelma is a small pony with big dreams. She dreams of being a unicorn, and when the opportunity for change presents itself, she takes advantage of it. She becomes Thelma the Unicorn, living an exciting and adoring fan-filled life, but something is missing.

A beautiful picture book suitable for preschool and lower primary school children, Thelma the Unicorn is about just being yourself because that’s the best thing you can be. Your real friends will accept you just as you are, imperfections and all. It takes Thelma a little while to discover this, as she finds that pretending to be something that she is not isn’t easy, and it isn’t necessarily fulfilling either.

My kindergartner daughter initially picked this book out because it has a pink unicorn on the front with sparkly glitter! Now she wants to read it because she likes the story, and she likes Thelma. It rhymes too, which is great for reading aloud and sharing, and the illustrations are lovely. I particularly like the truck driver of the truck carrying the pink paint and glitter, and my daughter likes Thelma on the red carpet. An amusing read and re-read!