Phoebe and Her Unicorn by Dana Simpson

This graphic novel (which means it’s a giant comic book) follows a little girl, Phoebe. After accidentally rescuing a unicorn from her reflection, Phoebe is granted one wish. She wishes for her and the unicorn to be best friends. The entire book is made up of vignettes about Phoebe and Marigold Heavenly Nostrils, or Marigold for short, trying to figure out what being best friends looks like. They have a slumber party, pillow fight, and gossip together.

Phoebe brings Marigold to show and tell, but because of the “Shield of Boringness,” no one thinks it’s amazing. Phoebe has an arch-enemy, Dakota, who is a popular girl. Dakota steals Phoebe’s pencil topper and after Marigold makes her go bald and then reverses it, she gives it back. Marigold comes to dinner to meet Phoebe’s parents. Marigold helps Phoebe with her piano lessons. Phoebe gets paired up at school with a boy named Max that she ends up liking. Phoebe gives her advice on how to get Max to like her. They go trick-or-treating together. In the end, it is clear, Phoebe and Marigold are best friends.

The premise of this book sounds adorable and age-appropriate. However, this book is so filled with negative language and sarcasm that I felt a “Mom Stop” was necessary. My daughter received this as a gift, but after the first couple of pages, we decided this wasn’t a book for our family. Frankly, I find sarcasm funny, but there’s something about pervasive sarcasm for children that rubs me the wrong way. I don’t want my children to speak to me or others with sarcasm, so giving them a book that models that negative behavior didn’t seem wise. Phoebe also has a  desire to be popular which I feel isn’t the message I want to send to my kids. Overall, this book doesn’t redeem itself enough in any other area that I feel I would want my children to read it.

Language: Phoebe says she wants to rub something in Dakota’s “stupid, snotty face”. Phoebe is called “freak”. She says “I suck”. She calls unicorns “Stupid-corns”. The words “poo”, “idiotic”, “bossy”, and “stupid butt” are used.

Questionable behaviors: Phoebe talks about how being older than someone makes you better than them. Marigold says she assumes she is better than everyone. Phoebe and Marigold gossip about people at their slumber party. Someone picks their nose. Marigold describes her own loveliness, “Seasons come and go, mountains rise and then crumble, but my beauty shines eternally.” Phoebe’s mom tells a joke that after Phoebe brought Marigold home it was “the first time I’m glad I made her.” While “meditating”, Marigold tells Phoebe “Because you are superior, you need not worry about what others think.

Sexual content: None, except that Phoebe admits to wanting a boy to like her.

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