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Reviewed by:
  • Unicorn in New York: Louie Lets Loose by Rachel Hamilton
  • Kate Quealy-Gainer, Assistant Editor
Hamilton, Rachel Unicorn in New York: Louie Lets Loose; illus. by Oscar Armelles. Scholastic, 2017 [128p] (Unicorn in New York)
ISBN 978-1-338-05508-5 $4.99
Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 2-3

Story Land, where Louie the Unicorn dwells, is shiny and happy and perfect, but it’s also So. Totally. Boring. When a request comes from the New York School of Performing Arts for artsy magical creatures, Louie packs his glitter, cake, tap shoes, and super acting skills and sets off for the Big Apple, where his relentlessly cheerful [End Page 363] obliviousness helps him maneuver the NY streets with ease (he takes annoyed carhorn honks as praise). At school, he finds himself dorming with similarly happy, determined, aspiring performers (including a troll interpretative dancer), but rest of the student population is in thrall to the very competitive Arnie the Unicorn, who is particularly perturbed by Louie’s presence. Louie could be a relative of Marigold Heavenly Nostrils of Phoebe and Her Unicorn (BCCB 10/14) fame, with his wildly entertaining lack of self-awareness and total confidence in his own wonderfulness. His roommates are just as amusing (Miranda the mermaid sings for Frank the troll’s interpretation of a growing flower). Mixed-media art (black and white with red accents) has cartoonish Louie and pals set against photographic backgrounds of some of NYC’s most iconic places, making for some excellent set design. A wacky plot (that includes, among other things, Louie leading a parade of grocery store vegetable buyers to a local cake shop) and delightful cast of characters come together in a performance that will leave readers wanting an encore—which, fortunately, they’ll get, since this is a planned series.

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