Do You Believe in Unicorns?

As coy as Jon Klassen, Murguia is a master of subtlety...Murguia's muted pen-and-ink-and-watercolor illustrations, presented almost entirely on double-page spreads, create a lush cartoon world. Careful readers might notice a final hint in the form of a lizard that just might be a dragon--a brilliant punctuation mark to this open-ended story. Spellbinding read-aloud gold.

"Hey, look—it's a horse in a hat," opens this irreverent picture book from Murguia (I Feel Five!). But what begins as a casual observation turns quickly into a guessing game, as the narrator invites readers to wonder what that hat might be hiding—perhaps a unicorn horn? As the horse trots off on a journey through various landscapes, the narrator poses plausible reasons for the smart red chapeau: it's hiding messy hair; it's providing a nice sun shade or rain cover. But doubt creeps in: wouldn't the horse take off its hat when it sits down to tea? Maybe there is something to hide after all. When the hat comes off, a parade of clever optical tricks position the horse in front of hornlike grasses, slender towers, and sharp mountain peaks, keeping readers wondering what creature they're looking at. With its minimal text and wry visual jokes, this playful offering offers good fun. Ages 3-7. (Sept.)

Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

This charmer of a picture book makes a strong case for the existence of unicorns by juxtaposing a skeptical narrator with the action of the story itself...A fun take on belief and magic.

The narrator's tongue-in-cheek obliviousness slides easily into an affirmation of the power of imagination...The musing text, with its questions posed to the audience, will be a hit at storytime or during a lapsit, and the invitation to believe the impossible makes this a wonderful segue into encouraging kids to make up their own fantasy stories.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review)