The Great Unicorn Rescue
For ages 3+
A journey through a fearful moment, that assures a young child that they can find bravery from within just when they really need it.
BIG FAN of Diane Ewen, and I have had ‘The Great Unicorn Rescue’ (Macmillan, 2025) on my Wishlist for months, ever since Diane teased her Instagram followers about it last year. Diane has illustrated Children’s books for some awe-inspiring authors these last few years including Dame Floella Benjamin, Malorie Blackman, Rashmi Sirdeshpande, Dapo Adeola, Patrice Lawrence and more.
‘Welcome to the enchanted forest…’ it says on the magical, colourful cover artwork with a sign saying ‘Unicorn Forest’ next to a young brown-skinned girl with afro hair and her cute and cheerful purple unicorn with a big disco-sparkly black afro hair style. It’s already a winner to fly off bookshelves in bookshops and libraries from the get-go.
This is an adorable tale of Louella and her unicorn Norrie. In this enchanted world, every child has a unicorn friend and it’s lovely to admire Diane’s illustrations filled with children of all skin-tones, children with glasses, a child who wears a safety helmet. Miss Tulip is Norrie’s school teacher takes the children and their unicorns on a school trip into the forest one day, and with the comfort of knowing Norrie is going to be by her side, Louella feels she’s going to be ok… her fear of the dark shouldn’t be a problem. She was really looking forward to yummy marshmallows by the fire with her classmates.
When Norrie goes missing, Louella has to put her magical unicorn best friend first, and she goes searching for her. Her overcomes her anxiety with bravery and determination. As soon as she finds Norrie tangled in a bush, Lou is so relieved, and Norrie lights up the enchanted forest with bright sparkly warm light from her unicorn horn. Now reunited, they enjoy some hot, sweet gooey marshmallows and a delicious hot chocolate with Miss Tulip, the rest of the class and unicorns.
‘The Great Unicorn Rescue’ is a journey through a fearful moment, that assures a young child that they can find bravery from within just when they really need it. Whether your child or children have a fear of the dark, or separation anxiety, even going to school or nursery, this is a comforting read with a happy, hopeful and positive message (and ending).
I got in touch with Diane to celebrate the publication of ‘The Great Unicorn Rescue’ and I am delighted to let you know that there will be at least one more book in this series. I can’t wait! It’s a bestseller at my Happy Reading Children’s Bookshop and I love it.
About the author:illustrator
Diane Ewen was born in Walsall, in the West Midlands. She has always loved art, and graduated from the University of Wolverhampton with a B.A. Honours Degree in Illustration. Diane likes to create illustrations that are hand-drawn in pencil, which she paints in watercolour and acrylics before embellishing them using Photoshop, but she also enjoys working directly on the computer screen to create her characters and designs. Diane loves the fact that the artwork is often the first thing that draws children into a book, and is inspired by the use of vibrant colour.
Published: 30th January 2025
Format: Paperback
