Looking at her with eyes of summer-sky blue, was a unicorn.
In his foot was a sharp bramble thorn.
Let's begin with the first sentence - read it slowly then read it again - these are simple words but they also set the scene for a powerful story.
"High on a hill, where the moors ended and the forest began, stood a lonely castle."
Annis shows great kindness to the injured unicorn and in return he takes her on a flying adventure. They find some fairies in need of a home. Annis offers hers but it is becoming quite squashed.
"That night it was more of a squeeze than ever in front of the great fireplace. But while Annis and her grandma, the unicorn, the chickens and the cow slept soundly, the fairies crept away from the hearth and set to work."
Do you recognise this theme? Help given in return for kindness. Think of the elves and shoemaker and have you guessed about the unicorn? Annis is transformed into a beautiful young lady and her castle is restored. This means suitors start to arrive from all over the kingdom hoping to win the hand of this beautiful girl before accepting she asks a simple question:
"Will you share our castle with the fairy folk?"
Finally she asks the unicorn (thank goodness) and so we have our happy and magical ending with a lovely surprise twist on the last page. Yes the unicorn is a prince as the title suggested but he can still be a unicorn.
I have mentioned the scrumptious work of Jane Ray previously and now we have a book about the very popular topic of unicorns! This book will be very, very popular with young readers.
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