Review - Fancy Nancy and the Quest for the Unicorn

Fancy Nancy and the Quest for the Unicorn (Fancy Nancy)
by Jane O'Connor
illustrated by Carolyn Bracken
Date: 2018
Publisher: HarperFestival
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 28
Format: e-book
Source: library

Nancy and Bree are unicorn experts. (That’s a fancy way of saying they know almost everything about them.) When they decide to go on an epic quest to find a unicorn, Freddy and JoJo want to play too.

Together, they follow trails of glitter—but after searching high and low, Freddy and JoJo complain that they are all quested out! The big sisters won’t quit, and take a guess at what they discover…

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This story about Nancy and her friends isn't one of my favourites. (I think part of it is that I'm not a huge fan of Carolyn Bracken's illustrations; they're close to Robin Preiss Glasser's and Ted Enik's takes on the characters, but... they're not quite the same).

In this book, Nancy and Bree decide to have a unicorn quest, and they let their younger siblings help. Dad hides one of Nancy's unicorn toys in the backyard, and the kids try to find it. But Dad hides it too well, and the younger siblings get frustrated and bored. So they quit. After Nancy and Bree find the unicorn, they retire to their tent for a tea party... and of the course the siblings want to join. But Nancy tells them it's a "questers-only tea party". (Eventually Dad comes in and manipulates them with flattery so the little ones can join in. Whatever works, I guess.)

The story is just okay. The illustrations are just okay. The message is just okay. I do like the amount of "fancy" words in this book. I just wish the whole thing had been as magical as the mythical creature the kids were trying to find! As it is, it fell a little flat for me.

Premise: 3/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall: 3 out of 5