Can’t get enough unicorn books for kids? Well, I have a collection of 23 picture books about these magical creatures that will make your young readers’ dreams come true! But first, I want to focus on one book that features these mythical creatures, but our main character is not convinced that unicorns are all that. In fact, he thinks, “Unicorns are the WORST!”
Unicorns are the Worst by Alex Willan is laugh-out-loud funny! The goblin in not a fan of unicorns until they display their collective magic of unicorns to save the day. These illustrations! DYING!
It is safe to say that Goblin is not a unicorn fan.
I will walk you through the 5 day reading comprehension work we do with this book as an interactive read aloud.
As I mentioned, Goblin is not enamored with his unicorn friends at the beginning of the book and the end of this little fairy tale.
On the second day with this book, we look at the details that are in the text. This comprehension strategy is skill that transfers over to other books we know.
Here is the prompt we used for this day. “Readers infer to help them understand what is happening in the story. Look at the page where the goblin is at the party store. There are rows of unicorn party supplies. How do you think he feels? Why does he feel this way?”
Students compare and contrast how the unicorns and goblins are the same and different. He is what our chart set up looks like. as we read, we are able to notice similarities and contribute to this chart. After all… they both have magical powers… right?
Here is the final question we used for our book discussion.
“Would you rather be neighbors with a dragon or a unicorn? Give reasons to support your answer.”
Naturally, we love a good craft! Here are a few unicorn craft pictures (and goblin.)
You can find all of these lessons including the craft by clicking on the link below:
Here are some more children’s books that will make your students unicorn experts!
Some of these books are simply fairy tales while others offer an important message to children of all ages.
Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great by Bob Shea
I love this book because it makes me laugh! This book will speak to those of us who are constantly trying to keep up!
Unicorn Day: A Magical Kindness Book for Children by Diana Murray
Did you know there is actually a Unicorn Day? Yep! April 9th! This book would be a perfect book to read for National Unicorn Day!
Unicorn Night by Diana Murray
Then at the end of the day, add this to fun story to the bedtime stories pile.
You Don’t Want a Unicorn by Ame Dyckman
This is one of those cautionary tales! HA!
Unicorn and Horse by David W. Miles
This is also a great book to examine envy (great for kids and adults… wink! wink!)
Publisher’s Synopsis: Horse is brown. Horse is plain. And Horse can’t stand the unicorn he shares a pen with. Unicorn dances. Tra la la! Horse does not. Blah blah blah. But when robbers kidnap Unicorn for a local circus, what will Horse decide to do?
I have some Emergency Sub Plans that go with this book:
Uni the Unicorn by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
This is a best friend fairy tale! Love it!
Thelma the Unicorn by Aaron Blabey
This is a sweet story and the first book in the series about Thelma.
This book has a follow up title: The Return of Thelma the Unicorn
The Worst Unicorn Book in the Whole Entire World by Joey Acker
This simple text would be a great mentor text to use to talk about the author’s voice!
The Unicorn Came to Dinner by Lauren DeStefano
Shine Like a Unicorn by Shelli R. Johannes
This book is about celebrating and embracing our unique selves!
Not Quite Narwhal by Jessie Sima
This is a book about fitting in and standing out! Is a unicorn a land narwhal or is a narwhal a sea unicorn. Does it even matter?
Never Let a Unicorn Wear a Tutu! by Diane Alber
Never Let a Unicorn Scribble! by Diane Alber
My Camel Wants To Be a Unicorn by Julia Inserro
Margaret’s Unicorn by Briony May Smith
Talk about a dream come true! This speaks to the 6 year old in me. This is such a lovely story!
Lily the Unicorn by Dallas Clayton
This would also be a great mentor text for writing. Lessons on labeling pictures and telling more come to mind.
We need more books like this!
I Turned My Mom Into a Unicorn by Brenda Li
A Unicorn Named Sparkle by Amy Young
Lucy gets a new friend!
How to Draw a Unicorn by
Lulu Mayo
Oh my GOODNESS! I can see this being a book that gets used… A LOT! Put this book in your writing center and I bet your students would love it!
Mythical Beasts 100 Fun Facts About Real Animals and the Myths They Inspire by Stephanie Drimmer
I saved this book for last because… HELLO? Non-fiction writing! This could really hook your young readers. While you might use this as a read aloud book, it would also appeal to older readers.
There they are! My favorite books on the magical world of unicorns. All 23 books you can bring into your unicorn-loving classroom! Don’t forget to grab the free set of classroom unicorn worksheets!
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My teaching career allowed me to experience teaching in different classroom environments and grades. My heart belongs to early childhood education. My job is to make teaching FUN, ENGAGING, and EASIER. Welcome!
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One Response
I was skeptical about how well this would go over with all the students. It was ‘rainbow-rific’, as one student said to me. I can’t wait to do this again next year.