I Believe in Unicorns by Michael Morpurgo illustrated by Gary Blythe

"Unicorns weren't actually real, I knew that much. Of course I did. It was quite obvious to me now that this was in fact a wooden unicorn. He had been carved out of wood and painted. But even as I came closer he seemed so lifelike. He looked so much how a unicorn should be, so magical and mysterious, that if he'd got to his feet and trotted off I still wouldn't have been in the least surprised."

Tomas Porec lives in a small town with his parents. One day his mum insists he wait in the local library while she completes her shopping. Tomas is sure he is way to old for the library story time but, in spite of his reservations, he does listen in from behind some shelves.

The library lady tells the story of Noah's Ark and how the unicorns were left behind and after struggling to find land during and after the flood, they transformed into the creatures we call Narwhals. Tomas is totally swept up into the story as are all the children. 

"For some time after she finished speaking a word. It was as if we were all waking up from a dream none of us wanted to leave."

Over the coming weeks Tomas goes to the library nearly every day. 

"Every story she told us, even it was one we'd heard before, held us enthralled. It was the way she told them, I think, as if each of us was the only one she was talking to, and as if each story must be real and true, however unlikely, however fantastical. You could tell she believed absolutely in her stories as she told them."

At one story session the library lady brings out a book that she says is her most special one.

"She held it up so we could all see. It looked rather old and tatty. The spine of the book was heavily taped, and the cover so stained that I found it difficult to read the title. And it was blackened too, at the edges, I noticed, as if it might have been scorched a long time ago."

I gasped when I 'heard' the library lady (now known as the Unicorn Lady) say the title - The Little Match girl. I hoped someone reading the book had not experimented with matches and caused all this damage. No that was not the story she told the children. The Unicorn Lady was a child during the holocaust. The Nazi soldiers burnt all the books from her town and library but her father heroically saved this one. 

All of that was in the past but then the story shifts to the present and war has come again. Tomas sees a plane dropping bombs. His family rush to safety but the library, his precious place, is on fire. Once the planes fly away everyone rushes to help forming a human chain to save the books and last of all Tomas and his father and the Unicorn Lady are able to retrieve the library unicorn. 

This novella sure does 'pack a punch'. Sadly, though, it was published in 2005 and is now long out of print. I do hope you can find a copy in a library. You can read the first few pages here. If you can find a copy of I Believe in Unicorns it would be a fabulous book to read aloud in a family to your children aged 8+. 

Michael Morpurgo pulls on the heart strings in a short book into which he has packed a number of strands, richly woven together. Tomas lives for the outdoors: he hates books, reading and stories. But one day, his mother forces him into the library and everything changes. Tomas hears the magical story of the unicorn and is soon spell bound by its power. Soon, reading and the wonderful stories that unfold before him become central to his life. But things are changing around Tomas too as the distant rumble of war is suddenly brought close to home. When his village suffers a direct hit, he realises what really matters to him. Morpurgo keeps on the right side of sentimentality and creates a sensitive boy hero. Love Reading for Kids

Companion book:

Nour's Secret Library

A few days ago I talked about another book by Michael Morpurgo:  This Morning I met a Whale. My book today - I believe in Unicorns - has a similar format (not quite the same as the cover image at the top of this post) so I wondered if these two books might be part of a series. Alas I cannot find the name of the series I only know they were both published by Walker Books in the UK around 20 years ago. 

This Morning I met a Whale has illustrations by the wonderful Christian Birmingham. My book today is illustrated by the equally wonderful Gary Blythe. Here are three of his books:

The Whales' Song

Other editions of this book have the title Under the Moon

The Other Ark by Lynley Dodd

Here is another book you could use in your exploration of the CBCA 2020 slogan 

Curious Creatures, Wild Minds

Lynley Dodd certainly has a wild mind. These curious creatures are wonderful:

• Candy-striped camels with comical humps
• Armory dilloes
• Mad Kangaroosters in bow ties and spats
• Butternut bears with polka-dot puffles 
• Blunderbuss dragons
• Mongolian sneeth
• Alligatigers with too many teeth

• Elephant snails
• Pom-pom palavers with curlicue tails
• Marmalade mammoths
• Sabre-tooth mice

What is going on here?  Buckets of rain are falling.  There is no time to to lose. Noah fills his ark with the usual animals including the New Zealand kiwi bird. The ark is jam packed.  As he looks over the forest he sees more and more animals waiting to come on board so Noah asks Sam Jam Balu for help:

"Sam,' he said kindly,

'you've nothing to do

and I really need help 

with this two-by-two zoo.

My problems are solved

if you're quick off the mark-

you can take all the rest

in my second-best ark."

Sam Jam Balu works hard to load these assorted animals onto Ark Two but instead of floating away into the flood waters this ark is firmly stuck to the ground.

It would be fun to use the illustrations from this book for a display of curious creatures and then you could ask the children to create some of their own composite critters.

Go back and look at the title - why would there be "another ark"?  Do the children know the story of the original ark? Take a really close look at the cover - do see see animals you recognise? 

The Other Ark was published in 2004 but the paperback edition is still in print. Lynley Dodd is an author and illustrator from New Zealand. She is most famous for her Hairy Maclary books. She has written over thirty books. Here are some notes about her work written for an illustration exhibition held in 2017.

Noah's Ark Picture books

The Curious Creatures Noah took in the Ark

When I was thinking about the 2020 CBCA Slogan - Curious Creatures, Wild Minds - I thought about the story of Noah's ark and all the curious creatures who were mentioned in that story.  I have been collecting different versions of the Noah's ark story in a Pinterest - literal bible stories and alternate versions. Here are four that interpret the bible story.  In a later post I will look at some alternate versions along with Australian picture books and retellings from other cultures.

Why Noah chose the Dove by Isaac Bashevis Singer illustrated by Eric Carle (1973)

First lines: "When the people sinned and God decided to punish them by sending the flood, all the animals gathered around Noah's ark."

In this version each of the animals boast about their own virtues because they hear a rumor Noah will only take the very best of all the living creatures.
Animals: Lion, elephant, fox, donkey, skunk, monkey, cat, bear, squirrel, tiger, sheep, wolf, snake, bee, giraffe, camel, hippo, crocodile, bat and cricket.
It is the dove who offers the best advice:

"I don't think of myself as better or wiser or more attractive than the other animals ... Each one of us has something the other doesn't have... "

Why read this version?  It has wonderful collage illustrations by Eric Carle. The boasting animals are actually quite funny. You might discuss the pairings such as snake and bee; horse and fly; chicken and cow. This book uses a rich vocabulary: rumor, vied, belittling, a fawning flatterer, protested, midgets, and imitate.  And if you need other words for 'said' this text is a great model:  blared, yapped, yipped, brayed, snarled, bellowed, and chortled.

Of interest Isaac Bashevis Singer won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1978. This book is still in print.

Final lines: "The truth is that there are in the world more doves than there are tigers, leopards, wolves, vultures, and other ferocious beasts. The dove lives happily without fighting. It is the bird of peace."

Noah's Ark by Heinz Janisch illustrated by Lisbeth Zweger (1997)
Translated by Rosemary Lanning

First lines: "It came to pass in the days when giants strode the earth and were heroes among men, God saw that His people had grown wicked. They thought only of war and destruction. And God was angry."

In this version the animals are presented in a form that might remind you of a biology book or a museum exhibit. If you look carefully you will find a unicorn, two koalas, lots of birds, fish and a pair of red kangaroos. Here is the Kirkus review.

Why read this version?  I would use this book with a group of older students as an art or visual literacy stimulus. The inclusion of animals from mythology is also interesting.

Of interest - A new edition (hardcover format) of this book was published in 2018. It has a different cover. This book was first published in Switzerland under the title Die Arche Noah.

Final lines: "They all looked up, and saw a rainbow linking heaven and earth. And Noah went away from the ark. in hope and trust, and his offspring peopled the earth."

The Story of Noah retold by Stephanie Rosenheim illustrated by Elena Odriozola (2006)

First lines: "Many, many years ago the people on earth grew tired of each other and became cruel and unkind. When the sun rose into a cloudless blue sky, it shone down on a people who snarled as they threw back the bed covers, cross and unhappy with life."

The text here is easy to read but again I would use this book with an older group of students as a way to talk about styles of illustration and visual literacy. The page where the ark is tossed around in the water is especially powerful.

Of interest: Elena Odriozola is a Spanish illustrator. The paperback edition of this book was published in 2013 and it is available.

Final lines: "And to show that he meant this God placed a beautiful rainbow in the sky. So now, when a rainbow appears and spread its colours across the sky, everyone should remember God's promise to His people on Earth."

Noah and the ark retold by Michael McCarthy illustrated by Giuliano Ferri (2001)

First lines: "God made the world all fresh and new, 
Each tree, and field and hill. 
But folks were not like me and you. 
They learned to fight and kill. 
The world was soon so stained with blood 
That God was very sad.
God thought, 'I'll send a mighty flood
To wash out all things bad."

You can hear/read/see this text is in rhyme which is interesting but not quite perfect. Here is the Kirkus review. The animals listed include: badgers, mice, hummingbirds, razorbills, gulls, centipedes and bumble bees. I like the way they are grouped - mammals, domestic, birds, reptiles, and insects. The page filled with pouring rain and wild waves is fabulous.

Of interest:  This book contains an excellent author's note where Michael McCarthy explains his research process. Make sure you take time to explore the end papers. Giuliano Ferri is an Italian illustrator and animator.

Final lines: "For when the sun shines through the rain
The rainbow's arc appears again.
Reminding me, reminding you,
God's words to Noah are still true."

Image Source: Why Noah chose the Dove - US Macmillan

Meet at the Ark at Eight by Ulrich Hub illustrated by Jörg Mühle

Not for every reader, but sweet in its own way. Kirkus

I think I smiled right through this little quirky book but here is a warning some people might find all the questions about the existence and role of God quite confronting and yet I would say the questions are probably the same ones all humans (young and old) have had at some time.

Three penguins are living in the land of ice and snow and snow and ice and ice and snow. A butterfly arrives and the three begin to ponder the existence of God. 

Here is an abridged version of their conversation :

"So who is God?
Oh, God ... that's a difficult question
Well, God is great and very, very powerful. He came with with all sorts of rules and can become quite grumpy if you don't stick to them. Other than that, he's very friendly.
There's just one small disadvantage to God
What's that?
God is invisible.
Well, that's a huge disadvantage ... If you can't see God, you can't be sure whether he really exists."

As this dialogue continues a dove arrives with news of Noah and his ark.  He tells the penguins to meet at the ark at eight.  The problem is God and Noah only want two penguins. The first two decide to take their friend in their suitcase. The are worried about drowning and are in a rush to get over to the ark. (Take a minute to think about this).

Hiding the third penguin on the ship gives rise to a hilarious series of events. Of course the flood eventually subsides after the obligatory 40 days. The three penguins are saved but what about the dove. She kept having a niggling thought that she was missing something :

"I've got it, at last! The whole time, I've had this funny feeling I'd forgotten something!"

Read an interview with the publisher here.  Here is a review by a young reader. Try to find some books by Nicholas Allen if Meet at the Ark at Eight tickles your funny bone.  You could also read Meet at the Ark at Eight to a class familiar with the story of Noah's Ark then you might look for these other odd ball versions too.

I think kids will enjoy this version of Noah’s Ark, if not for the questions it will raise, then  for the humorous story of three best friends trying to help each other through life. KidLit reviews