A Believer’s Guide to Unicorns

by Jenni Desmond

Genres: Picture Books, Fantasy, Mythical Creatures, Unicorns, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

Published May 5, 2026

About the author

Jenni Desmond graduated from a Masters Degree in Children's Book Illustration at the Cambridge School of Art (UK) with distinction and her debut book won the Cambridgeshire Read it Again! Award in 2012. Her books have been translated into over a dozen languages since, and in 2015 Desmond was named Best Emerging Talent (Illustrator) at the Junior Design Awards (UK). In 2016 she was made a Maurice Sendak Fellow and her book 'The Polar Bear' became a 'New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book' of the year.

Her work is admired for its narrative and visual depth, being at once complex and simple. Jenni Desmond lives in East London UK. When she's not in her studio, you'll find her cooking, cycling and looking for adventure.

Reviews

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations accompany a sugary-sweet story about unicorns interspersed with random weather facts.

Unicorn lovers will gravitate towards this offering but others may find it tedious.

[Els · Rating 4 out of 5]

De eenhoorngids voor wie in ze gelooft. Tekst en illustraties: Jenni Desmond.

Eenhoorns en wolken: twee dingen waar ik van hou en in dit prachtige prentenboek komen ze wonderbaarlijk samen.

De eenhoorngids voor wie in ze gelooft is echt magisch mooi qua tekeningen én verhaal. Extra leuk is dat je nog wat bijleert over wolken. En misschien ondertussen ook wat angsten verliest.

In deze donkere dagen kan iedereen wel een beetje magie gebruiken, Desmond levert die in boekformaat: mooi!
Ik geloof, jij ook?

[Ellon · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars (it was okay)

Bright, colorful illustrations. I liked those.

The actual text though, not so much.

It was such a weird choice to throw in these weather facts besides the "information" about unicorns. It made the true facts seem made up. Definitely not the book for me. Oh well.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would have been so obsessed with this book as a child!

[Alyssa Mandell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great blend of unicorns an learning about different types of clouds. Best for a one-on-one story to appreciate all the illustration details.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mixture of fantasy and science as the explanation of why unicorns left the forest of earth and live among the clouds, and what causes weather to change. Interesting and fun read.