A perfect gift for the unicorn lovers in your life, this lovely and utterly transporting picture book tells the story of what every little girl wishes would happen to her: a girl finds and takes care of a lost baby unicorn. The story ends well, although if I’m honest I was a little disappointed with how things finished in the end for the Margaret and the unicorn. Margaret’s Unicorn’ is a bigger than A4 in size and is filled with thick matt pages of some lovely illustrations and text. Briony May Smith is a British illustrator who specialises in children's books, concept art and character designs in Animation and Advertising. Her Author-Illustrated picture book, 'Margaret's Unicorn,' publishes this year with Schwartz and Wade Books.

She also both wrote and illustrated Imelda and the Goblin King , which the Wall Street Journal described as "enchantingly illustrated. She has also illustrated numerous picture books in the UK, including Little Bear's Spring , T he Giant's Necklace , and Grab That Rabbit!

Now I know what the author was going for, but the way it was written sounded an awful lot like the unicorn ate Margaret's hand off. It's an important message for children that wild creatures are never "ours" -- they deserve their freedom -- but we can have a special connection with them, nonetheless.

Margaret, lonely and in need of a friend, brings him home and cares for him through the autumn and winter. It’s not a bad ending at all, and in fact Margaret grows through the story and I like how she ends up making a new friend, but I felt like that last page with Margaret and the unicorn ended a little sadly, and if I’m honest, it felt like the author wasn’t really sure how to finish the story so just ended it too fast and in a way which could have been more magical. Margaret's Unicorn is my first encounter with British author/illustrator Briony May Smith's work, but I certainly hope it will not be my last! I love what happens in the story with Margaret’s grandma telling her all about how she used to spot unicorns when she was a girl and what the unicorns eat and drink. Margaret feels like a kindred spirit and I adored everything about this book, the illustrations, the storytelling, and the magic.The illustrations are beautiful, a book about unicorns makes you fear the worst, lilac, pale pink, sparkly stuff, none of that to be seen here thankfully, lovely scenes of Scottish rural life. I bought this as a gift for my niece, but I was so disappointed by the story that I don't even think it's worth being gifted.

edible chestnuts), especially since Horse Chestnuts are currently under siege by a species of Pseudomonas which causes deadly 'bleeding cankers', as well as by leaf-blotch fungus and a leaf-mining moth. The story has some real magic to it with the unicorn looking so cute, the secret to its glowing horn being told, as well as what happens as Margaret bonds with the cute little creature over the autumn and winter months. Luckily, Margaret's grandmother knows all about unicorns and the entire family makes sure both Margaret and her new friend enjoy a cozy, memorable winter together. They vanish as quickly as they’d appeared, but accidentally leave behind a baby, tangled in the weeds.Scotch broom also flowers year-round in British Columbia, where it has naturalized as an invasive species, but this didn't bug me as much as the wrong species (conkers vs. I love some of the pictures like Margaret and the unicorn together during the winter and snowy period, asleep together at night and the lovely picture of the two a little later on in the book.