Learning to Fly

September 16, 2024
Young Claudia’s whole life changes upon learning that unicorns and magic are real when she and her parents move to Unicornia. After her first, disastrous day attending the Unicornia Academy of Magic, however, Claudia worries she can’t keep up; her initial attempt at potion-making ends in a spontaneous eruption and she has to talk her way out of flying on the back of a unicorn in front of her entire class and instructor because she’s too nervous. She has a flying exam in two days, and if she doesn’t pass, she’ll be moved down a class. But her new friends Pippa and Sara assure Claudia that they won’t let that happen. They show Claudia around school, help her with her lessons, and encourage her to seize the opportunity to experience new and wonderful things. Empathetic first-person narration and quippy dialogue by Punset (the Best Friends Forever series) pairs symbiotically with thickly lined, pink-accented comic drawings by Spanish illustrator Vicedo. The result is a fast-paced series opener about the power of friendship that encourages a willingness to try new things, even when one is scared. Character skin tones match the hue of the page. Ages 5–7.

November 15, 2024
Welcome to Unicornia, a hidden city founded to protect unicorns, once on the brink of extinction. Here, cars run on cotton candy syrup, traffic lights "play music and spray fireworks," and the local theme park boasts a roller coaster made of strawberry chewing gum. Translated from Spanish, the book follows Claudia, a young girl who's just moved to town, as she excitedly describes everything that makes Unicornia special. But the city isn't perfect; Claudia still has to go to school--carrying her magic weightless cloud backpack. After a few bumps along the road at the Unicornia Academy of Magic, Claudia quickly befriends Pippa, Sara, and a pink crow named Nibbles. The conflicts she encounters are fairly minor; she experiences another letdown when she fails to leap onto a unicorn's back during a flying lesson, but chocolate croissants quickly improve her mood. "Believe in yourself," "give it a try," "friends make everything better," "maybe we're more alike than I thought": Readers who need to hear any of these truisms, or who just want a tale that's full of smiles and sugary desserts, will gobble this one up. Vicedo's line art, blushing with pale pink, bedecks every scene with bows, beads, blooms, stars, curlicues, and hearts. It's a full-length valentine; some may find it cloying, but others will salivate for sequels. Characters have skin the white of the page. A fantasia to please Candy Land fans.(Early chapter book. 6-8)

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