Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great (book review)

Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great by Bob Shea (2013)

Shea is back with his unique sense of humour and illustrations. Everybody knows that unicorns are magical creatures who poop rainbows and glitter. And goats? Don't. So when Unicorn comes to town, Goat is decidedly put out by all the ways that he feels Unicorn one-ups him. All he sees is how much better Unicorn is than HIM, meaning everyone else will like him better as well.  

Until, that is, Unicorn starts to notice that Goats have some pretty cool features. The ability to make goat-cheese? Yes, please! Cloven hooves? Check out those bad boys! Soon, Goat is feeling pretty proud of himself, and Unicorn is the one who's down.

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You see where this is going?

It's not a book about body image, per se. It's just a great story for kids - and fun adults! - about learning to accept all the parts of yourself and to see how great they are. Whether anyone else has them, or not. Or, perhaps, BECAUSE they are unique features. Everybody has their strong points, and if it's something you can't change, like cloven hooves or a pointy horn, then you might as well make the most of it. Celebrating differences instead of comparing and competing is the essence of a positive body outlook.

With whimsical and colourful illustrations, and a text that just begs to be read out loud with vigor, this is not only a story about self-acceptance, it's about accepting others as well. Goat and Unicorn discover that they are stronger working together than when competing against each other. "With your magic and my awesome-ness, we'd make an unstoppable team!"

You know, we can't all be unicorns.
Which is a good thing, because even as a kid, I was always partial to goats.