Meet Sparkle!
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A Unicorn Named
Sparkle and the Perfect Valentine
Valentine’s Day is when you tell the people in your life how much you love them. There’s no one Sparkle loves more than Lucy. So he decides to make her the perfect valentine.
But how?
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A Unicorn Named
Sparkle and the Pumpkin Monster
It’s a lot of fun to get a little bit scared, right? Lucy loves everything about Halloween. Decorating pumpkins… Eating cider donuts… And getting scared! But Sparkle doesn’t like feeling scared. He doesn’t like it at all. Especially when Lucy’s the one doing the scaring… Read reviews
Ask for A Unicorn Named Sparkle and the Pumpkin Monster at your favorite bookstore, or you can buy it online at: Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Indie Bound, or Powell's Books.
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Available wherever books are sold
Also available as a board book!
A Unicorn Named
Sparkle's First Christmas
It's Sparkle's first Christmas and Lucy is showing him how to celebrate. Make a snowman. Check. Make a unicorn snowman. Check. Hang stockings, make cookies, and, of course—buy presents! (But don't eat them.) Check. In pure Sparkle fashion, nothing goes as planned, but Lucy ends up learning that love— not presents— is what Christmas is all about. Read reviews.
Ask for A Unicorn Named Sparkle's First Christmas at your favorite bookstore, or you can buy it online at: Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Indie Bound or Powell's Books.
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Available wherever books are sold
Also available as a board book!
A Unicorn Named Sparkle
When Lucy sees an ad in the newspaper for a unicorn, she sends in her twenty-five cents and waits four to six long weeks for her very own unicorn to arrive. She imagines the flowers that she'll braid into his beautiful pink mane, and she even picks the perfect name for him: Sparkle. But when Sparkle arrives, his ears are too long, his horn is too short, he smells funny — and oh, he has fleas. Lucy isn't pleased, but in the end she warms up to Sparkle and realizes that even though he wasn't exactly the unicorn she wanted, he might be just the one she needs. Read reviews.
Ask for A Unicorn Named Sparkle at your favorite bookstore, or you can buy it online at: Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, Indigo, Indie Bound, Kobo, Powell's Books or iTunes.
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Available wherever books are sold
A New Friend for Sparkle
A picture book starring Sparkle and Lucy about what happens when your best friend makes a new pal.
In A Unicorn Named Sparkle, Lucy found out that the unicorn she thought she didn't want was the exact right unicorn for her. In this new story, Lucy makes a new friend and Sparkle is worried that means she doesn't care about him anymore. What happens when two's company but three's a crowd? Read reviews.
Ask for A New Friend for Sparkle at your favorite bookstore, or buy it online at: Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Indigo, Indie Bound, or Powell's Books.
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Awards, Reviews and Notable Mentions
A Unicorn Named Sparkle and the Perfect Valentine
"The book’s text is charming and understatedly witty, and the illustrations are both humorous and sweet. The story’s message of self-acceptance is perfectly suited for young readers whose creative visions don’t yet match their abilities. A sweet and funny Valentine’s Day read." –Kirkus Reviews
The watercolor-and-ink cartoon illustrations delightfully depict brown-skinned Lucy, with her spiraling black curls, and her goatlike companion. Readers whose skills do not yet meet their expectations will resonate with Sparkle’s experience. VERDICT The message that one need not be perfect to be loved is an excellent one to share during Valentine’s Day story hours." –School Library Journal
A Unicorn Named Sparkle and the Pumpkin Monster
"In Young's fourth tale starring comically squat pet unicorn Sparkle, he and child Lucy visit a pumpkin farm on a day when "the air was crisp and Sparkle felt frisky." He immediately acts on those feelings, trying to eat his way out of the corn maze and consuming multiple treats before realizing that he isn't such a fan of the frightening. Sparkle's hijinks kick into high gear after he and Lucy arrive home with selected pumpkins—he carves a "cheerful and happy" face on his, but she creates a scary grimace. Terrified, the unicorn runs away, his fear escalating at nightfall when he hears a wailing sound that he mistakenly assumes is a "pumpkin monster." A rollicking escapade follows, and eventually a cozy reunion with Lucy that underlines Sparkle's strengths. Young's exuberant illustrations chronicle the unicorn's misadventures with abundant humor and heart—illuminating the two pals' endearing mutual affection." Ages 2-6. –Publisher’s Weekly
"Who knew a unicorn could be a scaredy-cat?
Lucy and her unicorn, Sparkle, anticipate fun at a pumpkin farm. They play games; eat treats, which Sparkle loves; and have spooky encounters, which Sparkle doesn't. Decorating pumpkins is the unicorn's least fun activity of all: His (carved with his horn) looks happy, but Lucy's is scary, frightening him so much that he races into the darkened pumpkin patch, a worried Lucy calling after him. Sparkle hides; hearing a terrifying wail, he concludes it's a "pumpkin monster." Opening a large pumpkin, Sparkle steps inside, creating a perfect new hideaway. It's perfect-except he still hears the monster's fearsome cry and quakes in terror so much the pumpkin detaches from its vine and careens down a hill. Just then, Lucy spies a large pumpkin hurtling toward her and believes she's within a monster's clutches—until the pumpkin breaks open and..all ends well. Children will enjoy this cute but thin Halloween story that offers some thrills, sweet good cheer, and reassurances that loyal friendship rises above all. Illustrations are lively, humorous, and expressive; onomatopoeic sounds in large capitals are incorporated into text and art to dramatic effect. Lucy has dark, curly hair and pale beige skin. Sparkle is white with a pink heart on his rump; his blue horn resembles a party hat. Holiday-themed endpapers feature Sparkle.
A unicorn, a pumpkin, and a monster make for light and entertaining Halloween fare." (Picture book. 3-6) –Kirkus
A Unicorn Named Sparkle's First Christmas
"The joy of giving permeates Lucy’s first Christmas with her unicorn in this series third after A New Friend for Sparkle (2017). Sparkle is back and is still more goat-like than equine, but little Lucy thinks he’s just perfect. She’s excited to teach him all about Christmas and explains that “best of all, it means Christmas PRESENTS! Lots and lots of PRESENTS!” Lucy gives Sparkle an allowance and her wish list so he can get gifts for her, and then she heads off to buy him presents. Readers are privy to the little unicorn’s failure to follow through on the task and then to how Lucy tirelessly gives him the benefit of the doubt. But when Sparkle knocks over the Christmas tree and eats the stockings, Lucy loses her temper. Her outburst makes Sparkle cry “big, magical rainbow unicorn tears.” Lucy feels terrible and apologizes, acknowledging that Sparkle “didn’t mean to hurt [her] feelings.” And then, lo and behold, there is a gift under the tree from Sparkle—a tiny golden box that on a wordless spread opens to release a rainbow and a flight of butterflies, birds, and (of course) sparkles and hearts. Readers will flip back to the vignettes that depict Sparkle failing to shop and reassess their lack of faith. Lucy is a little girl of color with light brown skin and springy black hair." –Kirkus Reviews, September 2018
"In Sparkle’s third book, the “unicorn” is getting ready for Christmas under the tutelage of Lucy, a vivacious girl with wiry black curls. Actually, Sparkle is eating the Christmas preparations because, despite his unicorn horn (it resembles a cone-shaped birthday hat), there’s a good chance he’s actually a goat. Lucy gets Sparkle presents at “the unicorn store,” but Lucy is disappointed to find no gift from Sparkle on Christmas morning, and he eats the stockings and pulls down the Christmas tree. After shouting and tears, it turns out Sparkle did get her a gift, and it’s the most magical of all. The relationship between Sparkle and Lucy remains perfectly enchanting. Ages 2–6." –Publishers Weekly, September 2018
A Unicorn Named Sparkle
"The pencil, pen, and watercolor illustrations, done in a simple, loose style, offer expressive, playful character poses. And Young hits all the visual beats, creating something likable and appealing... A tale about coming to love someone―or something―for who they are and not what one hopes them to be: a pleasant addition to the odd-couple shelf." –Kirkus Reviews, September 2018
“She had to admit: sometimes he made her smile and sometimes he made her laugh,” writes Young (Don’t Eat the Baby!), whose storytelling and watercolor cartooning are spot-on in their comic timing. Her message to readers is clear: self-awareness and finding a soul mate don’t always come easily." –Publishers Weekly, September 2018
The Children’s Book Review: Best New Kids Books | July 2016
Featured in The Children’s Book Review column “Inside the Studio,” July 31, 2016
School Library Journal list of “June 2016 Popular Picks” in the picture book category
Amazon July Best Books of the Month
Indie Bookstore top ten list
A New Friend for Sparkle
"Appealing illustrations, done in pen with pastel washes of color, are warm and inviting... A lively tale about the changing dynamics of friendship." –Kirkus Reviews, September 2018
"Sparkle and Lucy’s second outing is every bit as sweetly appealing as their first (A Unicorn Named Sparkle)...Tykes who’ve had their own troubles trying to turn duos into trios will see the full range of their emotions depicted while learning that sharing what we love doesn’t necessarily mean giving it away." ―Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
American Booksellers Association Summer 2017 Kids' Indie Next list