SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Manga
  • All Ages
  • Young Adult
  • Interviews
  • News

March 3, 2022 by Johanna

Unicorn Playlist | Review

March 3, 2022 by Johanna   Leave a Comment

Unicorn Playlist cover

Unicorn Playlist: Another Phoebe and Her Unicorn Adventure
by Dana Simpson
Andrews McMeel Publishing, $11.99
Ages 10 and up

For a comic strip on its fourteenth volume (as this one is), it’s amazing to me how good it still is. Settling down with a new Phoebe and Her Unicorn book means a satisfying read. The familiar characters — unusual young woman Phoebe, her magical best friend Marigold the unicorn, her frenemy Dakota, and her goblin minions — have challenges, but they make it through with humor and good will.

This particular volume felt like a timely read, as it opens with Phoebe depressed about the state of the world. There’s no great answer, but her friend is there for her, and her parents watch out for her.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Comedy comes from the unicorn version of things such as mail service or Robin Hood. Dakota struggles with the idea of a goblin popularity contest, and Christmas comes around again with the question of what one gets a magical creature as a gift. Marigold asks her sister for information about their family and meets a non-binary cousin. Phoebe teaches Marigold how to be distracted (as she’s a master at it).

The concepts on display here are clever and imaginative and surprising. Simpson’s ideas are never predictable, and the cartooning supports them with charm and silliness. For example, I loved it when Phoebe had to give valentines to everyone. What do you give a unicorn who has to take humility lessons to avoid thinking they’re the best of everything? A square of reflective aluminum foil, of course.

There’s meaning, too, as when Phoebe tries to share her favorite song with Marigold. When the unicorn doesn’t like it as much as the girl does, she asks “If you don’t like it, how can you like ME?” (She’s reassured and eventually shakes off the mood.) These are deep questions, but they’re the kinds of things people of all ages wonder about. Learning that you can be friends with someone without sharing everything they like is a significant lesson. Plus, we get to see the unicorn playing a Beatles record by spinning it on her horn.

It’s a better world these two live in, just because they have each other. I’m grateful for the wonder that such an entertaining comic strip also has such heart and meaning.

Filed under: All Ages, Graphic Novels, Reviews

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments
AMP KidsAndrews McMeelDana Simpsonphoebe and her unicorn

About Johanna

Johanna Draper Carlson has been reviewing comics for over 20 years. She manages ComicsWorthReading.com, the longest-running independent review site online that covers all genres of comic books, graphic novels, and manga. She has an MA in popular culture, studying online fandom, and was previously, among many other things, webmaster for DC Comics. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

April 2023

Berrybrook Middle School by Svetlana Chmakova | Series Review

by Johanna

April 2023

Call the Name of the Night, vol. 1 | Review

by Johanna

January 2023

Andy Warner's Oddball Histories: Pests and Pets | Review

by Johanna

January 2023

My Sister, the Cat, vol. 1 | Review

by Johanna

January 2023

History Comics: Rosa Parks & Claudette Colvin | Review

by Johanna

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

Listen to Gene Luen Yang on TED Radio Hour

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Anatole by Eve Titus, ill. Paul Gadone

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Suee and the Strange White Light | This Week’s Comics

by Lori Henderson

Heavy Medal

More Mock-Newbery Titles Needed: Share June Suggestions Now

by Steven Engelfried

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Book Review: Code Red by Joy McCullough

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

Trying Something New: SPEED ROUND w/ Marla Frazee, Doug Salati, Dan Santat, and Amina Luqman-Dawson

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

First-Person Graphic Memoirs Bring Events to Life for Students

Eight Essential Isekai Manga for Beginners | Mondo Manga

Eight Graphic Works that Offer Fresh Perspectives on the Past | Stellar Panels

Summer Camp and Beyond: 24 Middle Grade Graphic Novels | Summer Reading 2021

Manga, An All-Ages Starter List | Mondo Manga

Commenting for all posts is disabled after 30 days.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Follow This Blog

Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News & Features
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • School Libraries
  • Public Libraries
  • Age Level
  • Ideas
  • Blogs
  • Classroom
  • Diversity
  • People
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Book Lists
  • Best Books
  • Media
  • Reference
  • Series Made Simple
  • Tech
  • Review for SLJ
  • Review Submissions

SLJ Blog Network

  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal
  • Neverending Search
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn

Resources

  • 2022 Youth Media Awards
  • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
  • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
  • Summer Reading 2021
  • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
  • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
  • Summer Programming Survey
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies
  • School Librarian of the Year
  • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
  • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

Events & PD

  • In-Person Events
  • Online Courses
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Content Submissions
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Diversity Policy
  • Careers at MSI


COPYRIGHT © 2023


COPYRIGHT © 2023