The book was excellent! You have got to read it! It had an awsome plot and great characters in it! I loved the author and can't wait to read another one of her books!

It was an awsome book that you've gotta read

We heard this book at Storytime at our local library and fell in love with it. The kids loved the boy and the monster teaching their Moms that there is "such a thing", and all the mothers in the room were laughing at the familiar nightime ritual of little boys-- with a surprise ending. It is my favorite children's book and I think every kid should have it. Let them go to bed laughing about monsters under the bed, instead of being afraid of them.

This is so funny, it had four adult women laughing out loud! A little boy on top of the bed and a little monster under the bed are both told by their mothers not to be afraid--there's no such thing as monsters/boys! But the boy hears a snurkle and the monster hears a sneeze, and they KNOW! Delightfully written, with a surprise ending that's perfect. Wonderful pictures, too.

Annie lives on an Australian farm with her mum and dad. There is a drought, and her parents are constantly arguing. Then one day her dad has an accident and ends up in hospital. When she goes home she finds a letter from her mum, saying that she has left. Keeping the secret about her mum, Annie decides to look after herself on the farm. This is a book by the great Aussie author Jackie French.

I will be happy to recommend the Mole and Shrew books to the kids in my library! It's nice to see good friendship stories for younger kids - something with a little heart (not total fluff). Mole and Shrew are simple, genuine, fun critters, and readers will wish to visit them again and again. Adults will enjoy the "classic" quality of the fine illustrations!

I read The Promise as a chapter book to my children (ages 3 to 7 yrs) at bedtime, around Christmas this year. I have never seen my children more anxious to get to bed than that week or two that it took to finsih the story. I was as interested as they were to find out how Sara, Jamie and Matt would make out on this Enchanted Christmas Eve. Great Story!

Short stories by Jackie French are great to read. These stories are about horses through time the first story set around 4,000 BCE to the last story set in the 1950's/1960's. Margaret Power illustrated my edition of the book, and i just love her work! My favorite story in the book is called "Strangers on horseback". It's about a slave boy in ancient Greece. Check it out if you like stories of people and horses interacting. :)

I really liked it because it fun reading about a dragon and a kid tht found a dragon and he cared about the dragon. well if you like a dragon as a friend you should read this book it is a good book just read and find out what happens to the kid and the dragon.

The Dragonlings series is excellent. We first learned of the series through an Accelerated Reader list. My seven year old son was so excited about the book that we quickly located the rest of the books in the series. The characters are very appealing. The themes in the book are important for children (i.e. dealing with conflict, dealing with differences in people, questioning why things are always done a certain way), and they are conveyed through humor, questioning characters, and interesting action. We are hoping that the author and publisher will agree to do more. My son was very sad when we got to the end of the final book.

If you want to introduce the fantasy genre to a younger reader, I can't imagine a better starting place than this book. A lot of story is packed into this beginning chapter book. Although some profound issues are raised, I think what will appeal to most young readers is the adventure and the relationship between the boy and the new pet he brings home - which, in this case, happens to be a dragon! Readers will no doubt want to read the rest of the books in this series which, though not as good, are certainly entertaining.

Being an avid fantasy reader I grabbed this book from the children's section at the library to have a browse, impressed by the blurb that listed several awards that author Jackie French has picked up. Within this book are six stories, and contrary to the title, most of them merely *feature* unicorns rather than centre around them - however the strength of the stories and the simple, descriptive writing style compensates for this. As well as this, in my opinion only the first two of the stories - 'Warts' and 'A Present for Aunt Addie' could be classed as 'short stories'. The next three - 'Amfylobbsis', 'Spots' and 'The Taming of the Beast' are more prose/poetry exercises and the sixth 'The Lady of the Unicorn' is lengthy enough to nearly be considered a novella (a short novel).
'Warts' is a sweet, simple story of healing and though it has a rather ambiguous ending (I think Sam has a dream of his future self) it is clever is the way that it never specifically states that the strange foal Sam's grandma rescues is in fact a unicorn.
'A Present for Aunt Addie' is likely to become most readers favourite even though the unicorn is barely featured - Harry is directed by his father to a strange valley to deliever an unseen 'gift' to his great-great-great aunt who lives by herself in the wilderness. Confused as to how such an old lady could survive out in the harsh land Harry does as he's told and finds himself in an incredible garden...
'Amfylobbsis' (I have no idea how to pronounce that) is a very short story on a blind woman in hospital who gets a visit from her grand-daughter who claims a unicorn named Amfylobbsis has accompanied her. Though the grandmother initially thinks this is impossible, a few startling things happen that make her think otherwise.
'Spots' is a fascinating story that may be lost on younger readers: although it doesn't elaborate very deeply, it implies that surviving victims of the plauge were cured by people (From another dimension? From another time?) who have created a 'unicorn' by the magic of DNA switching and deliever antibiotics in the form of sweeties. It ends far too soon and leaves far to many unanswered questions.
'The Taming of the Beast' is the shortest story and merely describes the events that happen when a young female approaches a 'beast' - but is it described from the girl or the unicorn's point of view?
'The Lady of Unicorn' is the last and longest story - longer in fact than all the previous stories put together! Once again the unicorn is only a co-star, as the action centres around Ethel, the young girl who was chosen to the be the Lady of the Unicorn, a young mascot of the community who has no power but all the appearence of it. Desparate to do something by herself, Ethel investigates Giant's Hill and meets the not-so-scary giant Alice, who introduces her to other creatures, cast out from their place in society because of their differences. The story creates some very poignant images of those outcast from the community - Alice and her friends because they scare people, and Ethel and the unicorn on the other end of the scale - alone and friendless because of their privileges. The two bands must work together though if they are to defeat the maurading troop of invading T'manians.
All in all, this is a well written book that's sure to be a great success as a present for unicorn-crazy young girls, and its simple but descriptive prose is enjoyable to read aloud (I read 'A Present for Aunt Addie' to the kids I babysit for). Rather than being celebrated creatures, unicorns are portrayed more as outcasts, abandoned by their mothers and violently treated by other horses, a refreshing change from the majority of books who hold unicorns in great esteem. Jackie French creates some lovely descriptions of the harsh beauty of her country Australia, and on the whole has put together a thought-provoking collection of stories.

The Book Of Unicorns is quite a good book, Each chapter is about a different story. It is not a book that I found I couldn't Stop reading but I advise andbody under 11 to buy it. It is a very enchanting book and makes you picture some lovely scenes of streams and trees with water flowing gently over pebbles that have been smoothed by the water, so verybody should just go and grab it!

A very good book by a very talented author! I disagree with the reveiw above, becouse I read it when I was 10. I think it is a breath taking book for all ages, from 3 to 333! I strongly belive in unicorns, and so this book rules.

This book is beautifully illustrated capturing the attention of both my 8 year and my teenager. The advanture of this little dragon and his companion is fanciful and delightful. The characters are sweet and interesting. A lesson is learned in the writing this book and it is easily written for those 4 - 8 year of age to understand and possible read themselves.

We have already purchased Vol. 2 of this whimsical series. We hope Jackie French Koller continues this wonderful adventure and we look forward to Vol. 3. If you want to read a fun and interesting story to your child this is the book for you.

This book is helpful for young writers, with exercises in between page after page of Jackie's dazzling stories!