Frank the Unicorn Alpaca

by Gavin Puckett, India Joseph (Illustrations)

Now here's a tall tale (in fact it's a cracker)
all about Frank, a curious alpaca.
Although Frank's daily life appeared simple enough,
Frank was soooo nervous, it made things quite tough!
Frank lives in a petting zoo, full of wonderful cuddly animals and the children who visit them. But he feels like he doesn't fit in and he hides so the children can't laugh at him and his silly ears.
But one day he discovers a book about unicorns . . . and wakes up to a horn (ice-cream cone) on his head! His dream has come true - he is a fabulous unicorn and feels loved and confident in himself. And when he performs a daring rescue he comes to see that he is perfect just the way he is.
Adorable black and white illustrations on every page from debut illustrator India Joseph.

112 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 30, 2024

Reviews

[Alyce Hunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t often review books I read with my children on Goodreads, but the fact that Frank the Unicorn Alpaca doesn’t have any ratings yet is, quite frankly (excuse the pun!), ridiculous!
This is a charming story about learning to embrace who you truly are, defeating anxiety and all of your worries to be able to enjoy life to the fullest. The illustrations are gorgeous (although I wish they were in colour, as I think that would add a lot to the story, and it’s the only reason I’ve given this 4 stars instead of 5).
The rhyming throughout is impeccable, and I’d love to see Gavin Puckett receiving the same recognition as authors like Julia Donaldson - he’s one of the best modern children’s book authors I’ve encountered. Looking forward to reading more of his work ASAP!

[Alina Ng · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like it because it is interesting to read it.

[Kitchen Sink Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unicorns, I think they are now synonymous with fantastical stories for children. They are probably found scattered throughout adult stories too, after all these most elusive of creatures are an unending source of fascination. This is exemplified by Gavin Puckett’s latest story. Frank the Unicorn Alpaca takes two creatures, one very much real, the other more questionable and brings them together as one in a brilliantly rhyming story. To add to the wonder, and for me this was a reason to go back and read again, the black and white illustrations add a certain humour-filled wonder. I had to go back as I wanted to read the story, the words, then go back and look at the illustrations and then, yes there was a third time, put the two together. Its simply magical and perfect for newly emergent readers too, gentle language, nicely sized text and a short, very absorbing story. Prepare yourself for an unusual, funny story and a new character to fall in love with!

Frank didn’t start life as a unicorn alpaca. Once upon a time he was simply an alpaca, living in a petting zoo full of wonderfully cuddly animals, visited by plenty of children. There is one little problem though. Frank doesn’t like his ears - he thinks they are silly and that they make him stand out, so he tries to hide when the children visit. Then the day comes when he discovers a book all about unicorns which leads to him waking up to find a horn on his head. No, of course that isn’t an ice cream cone, it’s a horn… Frank knows his dream has come true. Now he is a fabulous unicorn and that means he feels loved; he feels confident in himself. But we must wonder if Frank needs to be a unicorn to feel this way and when an incident leads to Frank performing a daring rescue, he learns that he is perfect just the way he is. The unicorn horn may have helped Frank see who he really is, but he learns not to let it define him. Warm, funny, clever and an important story.