Bob is not a unicorn. His friend George knows that. So does Stella. And Ted, and Larry. In fact, it's definite: Bob is not a unicorn. Or is he?
Bob is a Unicorn, by beloved author Michelle Nelson-Schmidt, celebrates both the power of imagination and the importance of always - no matter what anyone else says - believing in yourself.
I write and illustrate books for children. I love to laugh, I love to have fun. I do not have time for mean people. Life is too short to not do what you love for a living. Or deal with mean people.
I like smiling. It's my favorite.
“Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. --Christopher Robin to Pooh”
#readtothenibling I wasn't sure what I thought of this book at the beginning -- though the brief conversations with different animal friends offer an opportunity to do lots of different voices -- but the ending is ADORABLE! And the book jacket has an Easter egg if you take it off :)
I'm just not really sure how to review this book. It didn't seem to me to have much of an actual story, but the illustrations were cute, and the last couple of pages were ADORABLE. If that were all there is to it, I'd give a two. But it's not! It's a children's book, and so that needs to come into account.
If you do the voices for each character and have the plush to speak when Bob does (no, His name isn't why I bought it! Okay, partially.), your kid will still go WILD for it, my little girl absolutely loves it, and has me read it at least once a day, hence the bumping up of the rating
An amusing book about an animal who wants to be a unicorn. Somewhat reminiscent of Klassen's This Is Not My Hat, with its layout of one page illustrating the animal Bob is talking to with the opposite page containing their simple dialog. The large, clear illustrations and few words could lend itself well to reading aloud.
What a great book. I love that it is written in a dialogue format so that my daughter and I can read it together, back and forth. Makes it a lot of fun. Surprise ending and we both just loved it.
This was a really cute story and the illustrations were adorable. Michelle Nelson-Schmidt does it again and writes another story with the theme of being a little different, and having a big imagination and being proud of it.
My only reservation about this story is that because we never see the main character I got confused about who was actually talking at the beginning of the story. I thought Bob was the Moose at first! Once we got to the second and third pages though of course I realized that Bob is talking to the other animals.
While I wasn't sure if I liked this story as much as her other books, I do have to give credit to the author in that the illustrations are simple and cute, and the dialogue sounds just like how a child with a big imagination would talk. I also really like that the author captured the attitude and character of a child.
I don't even know where to begin to describe this wonderful book! Imagination runs wild for a certain Bob and his friends have no clue what to do with him. But he finds someone towards the end who recognizes him for who he truly is and they 'ride off into the playroom? to play'.
As a teacher of younger students, I appreciate how the text on each page is color coded to indicate which character is speaking. It's helpful to pre-readers to have that visual clue. The illustrations are super simple but you can tell what each animal is thinking as they interact with Bob on each page just from their facial expressions.
It's really worth the quick read. And if you're kids are like mine, you'll read it a lot.
This was described to me as a book that captures the trans experience, and I don't think that's quite right, though you could certainly read it that way I suppose.
At minimum, it's about finding your people and marching to your own drum, no matter what the haters think, and that's a message we can all get behind.
The art is a little strange but it grows on you. The deadpan dialogue from the non-Bob characters is what really makes this book shine.
Bob is a Unicorn, no really he is! This story shares a beautiful message of acceptance. The best way to hear this story is during Michelle’s StoryTime lives where you can hear her do all the voices and explain the illustrations, for example the rabbit. This book inspired our son to put a finished cotton candy cone on his head and say, “Look mom, I’m a unicorn, like Bob.”
This book is cute and underlining thread of imagination was nice. But my two-year-old just didn’t get it. I had to add extra words and explanations as I read. At the end I had to tell him that Bob is using his imagination and my son didn’t 100% get it; we talked about it and then he thought it was fun.
Ok, now this one works for me. We each get to define ourselves, tyvm. Use your imagination, or use your understanding of who you are inside, either way, you be you. Don't miss the last pages of this!
This book is recommended for children ages 3-7 years old. Bob truly believes he is a unicorn, but all of his friends say he isn't, until he meets a beautiful fairy. The fairy sees that he is the most exquisite unicorn in all the world, but why do his friends say is isn't?
An activity for this is bringing in some props and have students use the props to pretend they are something they are not. Have the students guess what they are supposed to be and have them explain what they are supposed to be when the others are finished guessing. They can compare their ideas to Bob and the fairy.
Schmidt, M. (2013). Bob is a Unicorn. Tulsa, OK: EDC Publishing.
This is one of my absolute favorite children's books. I love the art, the perspective, and the message!
You don't actually see the main character (Bob) of the book until the end. All you see are his friends, none of whom see him as he sees himself. There is a wonderful message about self-perception, being yourself, using your imagination, and freeing oneself from stagnant concepts of reality.
I think I might love this book even more than my kids do, which is quite a feat!
I love unicorns and I love this book! I found it at the school book fair, and I bought it for my daughter. She loves it! It is simple, yet cute, and the story keeps going. You definitely are left wanting more, in a good way. Great for children of any ages, boy or girl.
This is one of my favorite children's books. It's a simple story, with gorgeous illustrations, and it ALWAYS brings a little happy tear to my eye. It's about the power of imaginations and making time to play!