Sparkly New Friends (Unicorn and Yeti Series #1)

by Heather Ayris Burnell, Hazel Quintanilla (Illustrator)

Overview

Meet magical best friends Unicorn and Yeti, in this series perfect for beginning readers!

Pick a book. Grow a Reader!This series is part of Scholastic's early reader line, Acorn, aimed at children who are learning to read. With easy-to-read text, a short-story format, plenty of humor, and full-color artwork on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and fluency. Acorn books plant a love of reading and help readers grow!Unicorn has a horn and can do magic.Yeti is big and furry and cannot do magic.Yeti likes snowball fights.Unicorn does not like snowball fights.But Unicorn and Yeti both love sparkly things, magic rainbows, and — most of all — being best friends! These laugh-out-loud stories with full-color artwork and easy-to-read text throughout are perfect for new readers!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338329018
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	04/30/2019
Series:	Unicorn and Yeti Series , #1
Pages:	64
Sales rank:	44,202
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 6.80(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	5 - 7 Years

About the Author

Hazel Quintanilla lives in Guatemala where she illustrates children's books, magazines, and games. She also has a secret:Unicorn and Yeti remind Hazel of her sister and brother. Her siblings are silly, funny, and quirky — just like the characters!
Heather Ayris Burnell lives in Washington State where she loves spending time in the sparkly snow. Heather is a librarian and the author of Kick! Jump! Chop! The Adventures of the Ninjabread Man. Unicorn and Yeti is her first early reader series.

Editorial Reviews

05/20/2019

An unlikely friendship is sparked in the first of the Unicorn and Yeti series. In the first of three tales, flying Unicorn—whose upturned snout and pinkish frame provide a look more porcine than equine—sees “something sparkly” in the snowy hills below. Yeti, who resembles a stocky, feathery snowball, also spies something sparkly—in the sky. “The sparkles are getting closer! And closer,” Yeti observes. After a Yeti-Unicorn crash landing and a sparkle debate (Unicorn insists that Yeti’s snowy environs are just as sparkly as Unicorn; Yeti is skeptical), the two become fast friends. In a second story, Yeti and Unicorn learn to accept each other just as they are (and occasionally use a bit of magic when they want to fancy up). And the third features an epic snow fight followed by rainbow-colored soup. Additional books in this whimsical, character-driven series are set to release later this year. Ages 4–6. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Sparkly New Friends (Unicorn and Yeti #1):

"It's impossible not to smile while reading about the fantastical pair gallivanting through this petite early reader, perfectly sized for small hands. This charming book is divided into three short stories about the friendship between a sparkly pink unicorn and a fluffy white yeti... the engaging characters and simple stories are made all the more amiable by Quintanilla's whimsical, candy-colored illustrator. Humor and positivity abound in this winning series starter that is a natural fit for Elephant & Piggie fans." —- Booklist

"Sparkly, innocent, feel-good fun for readers needing just a bit of extra support before moving on to early chapter books." — Kirkus Reviews


Praise for A Good Team (Unicorn and Yeti #2):

"Quintanilla's colorful, expressive art and Burnell's infectiously whimsical tone make their own good team... more sparkly, delightfully silly fun for Unicorn and Yeti fans." —- Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2019-01-15

In this new series debut, a yeti and a unicorn bond over sparkles and snow.

While flying over mountains, Unicorn spots the sparkly snow below and decides to take a closer look. Beneath, Yeti spots sparkles too—Unicorn's! The sparkles get closer and closer until—CRASH!—Unicorn collides with Yeti. Apologies pave the way for a newfound friendship, but Yeti doesn't see snow as sparkly and thinks Unicorn may be just a "tricky, sparkly horse with a horn." So Unicorn takes Yeti up into the clouds to see the sparkle Yeti couldn't see before. Two more stories follow—a grand total of three stand-alone chapters—that further delve into themes of friendship. The comic-book layout is a predictable mix of full-page panels and two to four panel spreads. Unicorn speaks in orange speech bubbles, while Yeti's are purple. This helps readers decode some fairly complex speech-bubble arrangements, such as when multiple bubbles connect during a long conversation. The (nearly) all-dialogue story is accessible, but the lack of repetitive vocabulary skews it toward more fluent readers. Quintanilla's distinct color palette mixes warm oranges with cool blues and purples, creating an expressive, inviting cartoon world. The final page includes instructions on how to draw Unicorn as well as a few simple creative prompts.

Sparkly, innocent, feel-good fun for readers needing just a bit of extra support before moving on to chapter books. (Graphic early reader. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews