Read an Excerpt
1
Welcome to Unicornia Claudia
Guess what! In the land of Unicornia, buses have wings instead of wheels, and if you look up at the sky, you don’t just see birds . . . There are unicorns too!
Yes, you heard right: unicorns! Colorful, wonderful unicorns, galloping and cartwheeling between the clouds.
I should introduce myself: I’m Claudia. I don’t come from Unicornia—or at least, I wasn’t born here. I moved here with my parents two weeks ago. The city is tucked away at the edge of the map, where barely anyone can see it. To be honest, when they told me we were coming to live here, I thought it was a dream! But if it is, then I guess dreams really do come true, because Unicornia is real!
A long time ago, when unicorns were in danger of going extinct, someone decided to bring them all here to save them. That’s how Unicornia came to be. It’s the most magical hidden city in the entire universe.
Here, traffic lights don’t flash colors: they play music and spray fireworks to tell all the cars when to take off. Then there are the cars themselves. In Unicornia, they run on cotton candy syrup instead of gas, so the air always smells like sugar and you can drink the cotton candy syrup like fizzy soda! It’s almost, almost as cool as the theme park on the hill with its roller coaster made of strawberry chewing gum and—
“CLAAAUDIA! DINNER’S READY!”
When I hear Dad’s shout from the kitchen, I go flying out of my bedroom for dinner. Well, not actually flying—here, the unicorns are the ones that fly—but you know what I mean. I move so fast I’m basically flying.
I’m about to take a spoonful of soup when Dad turns to me and asks:
“Are you all set for tomorrow?”
“What’s happening tomorrow?” I blink, totally stumped.
“What’s happening? Tomorrow’s your first day at the Unicornia Academy of Magic!”
“Tomorrow?!” I half ask, half gasp, jumping up from my chair and accidentally tugging the tablecloth. My soup goes spinning through the air and splashes everywhere!
I can’t believe it. How could they forget to tell me I start school tomorrow?
That’s life: Unicornia is great, but it isn’t perfect—you still have to go to school, just like everywhere else.
After dinner, we get out everything I’ll need the next day. There’s so much stuff! It’s lucky I have my fluffy cloud backpack. I bought it from a magical shop when we arrived in Unicornia, and every time you touch it, it feels like you’re stroking a cloud. Because it’s a magic backpack, it doesn’t weigh anything, even when it’s full.
I get into bed ready to dream about tomorrow. What will school be like here?
How I picture the Unicornia Academy of Magic
-Tables and chairs aren’t a thing—all the lessons are taught on swings!
-There are no exams to take, only games to play and friends to make!
-The teachers sing in every lesson, with a magical orchestra in full session.
-The classes are on Potions and Sweets, and “spelling” means spells and treats!
-There’s no such thing as a boring day, just magic and fun all the way!
