A Glory of Unicorns

by Bruce Coville (Illustrator), Bruce Coville (Editor)

Award-winning author Bruce Coville believes in unicorns, and his mission is to make believers out of all of us with this collection of stories by distinguished fantasy writers.

The guardian of memory / Bruce Coville
Tearing down the unicorns / Janni Lee Simner
Beyond the fringe / Gregory Maguire
Stealing dreams / Ruth O'Neill
The dream-child / Nancy Varian Berberick
The ugly unicorn / Jessica Amanda Salmonson
Story hour / Katherine Coville
The unicorns of Kabustan / Alethea Eason
A song for Croaker Nordge / Nancy Varian Berberick and Greg Labarbera
The healing truth / Kathryn Lay
Child of faerie / Gail Kimberly
The new girl / Sean Stewart

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Unicorns, Young Adult, Childrens, Fiction, Middle Grade

198 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Rick Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anthology of fantasy stories involving unicorns. In spite of a lot of similarities of theme and worldbuilding across these stories, I found this to be a really enjoyable collection.

There are strong themes of freedom, sacrifice, and faith throughout the collection.

Among my favorite stories were Bruce Coville's opening tale, "The Guardian of Memory", and Jessica Amanda Salmonson's "The Ugly Unicorn", which is the most distinctive story in the book, based on the unicorns of Chinese mythology.

I also really liked the lead character in Kathryn Lay's "The Healing Truth", which was a sort of reverse version of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf". The characters in Gail Kimberly's "The Child of Faerie" and the dialogue in Sean Stewart's "The New Girl" were some more highlights.

The theme is pretty consistent, and the tone is hopeful and uplifting, but with undercurrents of tragedy and loss.

[The Winter Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would rate this collection of short stories as a 3.5. Not quite a 4 for me, but I enjoyed it, so I decided to be nice and opt for the 4 stars as opposed to the 3 stars.

I wasn't expecting this collection to be so unique and thought provoking. I love unicorns, magic, princesses and all manner of fairy tales. I generally like to read light, fluffy stories and when I picked up this book, I thought that was what I was going to get - a collection of sweet, wholesome, simple little tales to pass the time. But I got so much more.

The collected stories were anything but predictable or expected. There was not a rehash of the same tried and true formulas. The unicorns in these stories were diverse and different. It was refreshing and exciting to see another side. I love that while the stories were a bit darker than most unicorn tales, they didn't cross the line to be too edgy. There was still very clear and beautiful messages that rang true to these tales.

It's a great book to keep on hand and casually read through. And I am not usually a fan of short stories. But this collection was definately for me. I would reccomend to any fantasy and/or unicorn lovers out there.

[Austin Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

With the Unicorn being one of my favorite mythological creatures, I've been wanting to check out this anthology compiled by Bruce Coville, and while it didn't quite live up to my expectations, there were a few gems in here.

My favorites were Tearing Down the Unicorns by Janni Lee Simner, which puts a more unique, imaginative spin on the titular creature, and The Ugly Unicorn, a rather dark but fantastical fairy tale that also exhibits some new, interesting ideas than usual.

Unfortunately, some of the stories in here enforce the stereotype of Unicorns that I detest; with them being written in a more feel-good, "cozy", dare I say girlish kind of way?
There's never been a rule that the mythical being must be portrayed in such a manner, but alas, they often are.

I'm always on the hunt for good Unicorn stories that feature some darker, more mature themes or stories that portray them in a more unique way that's removed from the child-friendly stereotypical portrayal. They seem to be as elusive as the beast itself, though, with only a few stories in the bunch of A Glory of Unicorns to fit that desired bill.

Overall this gets a 2.5⭐ rounded up to 3. A rather okay collection of some good, some bad, but mostly middling tales.

[Amytiger]

I have no idea how this book ended up in my house. I certainly did not buy it, and my parents would not have bought this for me. I found this on the shelf and deemed it too ridiculous to read. That was when I was around ten.

When I was sixteen, I was reorganizing my book shelf (I was a party animal) and came upon this book again. I finally read it because I had already gotten back from all my summer camps and I was planning on being bored for the next two weeks until school started.

I liked this. A lot. Especially when the unicorns didn't talk, they were just silent figures of wonder. Or when the author managed a plot twist that wasn't based on the goodness of someone's heart but ACTUAL PLOT. Those twists were rare, but because of their rarity they stood out more. Some stories had remarkable differences from the rest of the stories (set in China or being a poem) but for the most part I grew tired of beautiful blue/emerald/fill-in-the-blank eyes and glass/porcelain/golden/something fragile but valuable horns, so that part bored me. I think I wanted more unicorns like warrior animals or characters that had flaws too. For the majority of the stories, unicorns were omnipotent higher-than-you creatures with hearts of gold, going to to the pure, always knowing what was best, majestic in their wisdom blah blah blah.

I know that's the kind of unicorn I would've wanted when I was five, and I think this would be a wonderful complication for someone of that age. As for a sixteen year old, it was cute if repetitive.

[Nilsson]

It's interesting to read different people's encounters with unicorns. They're always so unique for each person. I believe unicorns tend to favour those with pure hearts more often than not, but even unicorn magic isn't always infallible when it comes to detecting what lies in a person's heart. You never know what each individual's experience with these sorts of beasts might be.

[Elinor Loredan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a treasure I probably would not have found if I had not gone to a library sale. All of the stories capture the wonder, aching beauty, and slight sadness (or perhaps wistfulness) of unicorns. I liked every story, although of course some caught my attention more than others. I particularly liked The Guardian of Memory (although I was a bit irritated that it was man's fault that unicorns left. The theme of man's destructiveness gets overused in stories about magical creatures), Tearing Down the Unicorns, Stealing Dreams, and The Ugly Unicorn (although the language sometimes felt too modern and flippant for the setting). The illustrations are absolutely perfect.

[M— · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories are light and not a little fluffy but often had me sniffling. Ideal anthology for a very young girl.

Two of the twelve were the best of the bunch:

Beyond the Fringe by Gregory Maguire -- Soldiers? Hah. Grandmother has a plan, thanks to once meeting a unicorn.

The Ugly Unicorn by Jessica Amanda Salmonson -- Asian fable of interpretations of unicorns, with decidedly modern character interactions.

[Jessica Broockerd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jessica Broockerd
Short Stories

Bruce Coville's collection of unicorn-based stories are gorgeously written, thought-provoking, and not ridiculously fluffy. It's not all sunshine and rainbows. One blind princess is best friends with the ugly Liu-Mu unicorn; most stories have a lesson buried in them. Beautiful writing, if lacking in description--it can be difficult to decipher who is speaking sometimes.

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit repetitive. Also, there was a poem which was incredibly lame. The illustrations are good. The best story is about a girl who discovers a dying unicorn at her school. All in all, not as satisfying a unicorn anthology as Unicorns!, although that anthology is strictly for adults.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

This little anthology is an apparently rare Scholastic book that was my own personal childhood copy from the 90s-- my city library has no record of it.
The illustrious and prolific Bruce Coville has compiled several short stories for kids from various authors (including himself and his wife) all featuring unicorns. All these stories quite literally feature unicorns, almost all of which speak, sparkle, show up mysteriously and travel between worlds. Almost all of the stories feature a young girl as the protagonist, though there is at least one featuring a boy, which, I did not notice as a child, makes it an outlier in unicorn pop culture.

Rereading this as a man skirting close to the horizon of 40 years old, it is not nearly as compelling as it was 22 years ago, and the stories are definitely short and sweet-- you can zip through each in less than ten minutes-- and only three of them ("Beyond the Fringe" by Gregory Maguire; "The Ugly Unicorn" by Jessica Amanda Salmonson; and "The New Girl" by Sean Stewart) are well-written enough that I was pleased to encounter them again. Interestingly, and revealing much about the mind of a 12-year-old, the three I like now are the three I didn't like very much as a kid. I recall them being a little too dark and moody with not enough unicorn in.

The level is certainly more geared for upper-elementary readers (8-11) than middle schoolers (11-13). I think I only asked for this book because I was on a fantasy kick at the time and there was a Scholastic book fair. The back cover says this book was only $4.50.

$4.50! It was truly a different time.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Guardian of Memory ★★★
Tearing Down the Unicorns ★★★★
Beyond the Fringe ★★★
Stealing Dreams ★★★
The Dream Child ★★★
The Ugly Unicorn ★★★★
Story Hour ★★★
The Unicorns of Kabustan ★★★★
A Song for Croaker Nordge ★★★★
The Healing Truth ★★★
Child of Faerie ★★★
The New Girl ★★★

3.5 rounded up.

I found this on my shelves when I was preparing to move and I thought it was a novel, not an anthology, but I still enjoyed it all the same. I thought the stories were lovely and explored the concept of unicorns in many different ways. Granted, this was written for a middle grade audience and I am not a middle grade reader, but I would recommend it.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was obsessed with unicorns when I was young. I was at the library one day and spotted this book. I actually had the softcover version but have no idea what happened to it. You grow up. Life happens. You stop believing in unicorns.

I know another little girl obsessed with unicorns and unikitties. I thought I would read this one, make sure it is appropriate for an 8-year-old, and remember how it felt to believe the magic.

I think she is going to love this one! 🤗🦄🌈

[Josh & Mara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Full review featured in episode 22 of our monthly podcast, Hello Fellow Kids: https://soundcloud.com/user-476178897...

A very scattershot collection whose entries fall into three categories: stories about unicorns, stories that use unicorns, and stories that feature unicorns. The less the story focuses on unicorns and their actual character and mythology, the less it tends to work. Also, there was a poem and we don't know what to do with that.

[Rebecca Vogelezang · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of short stories about unicorns is not as sickly sweet as you might expect from a collection of short stories about unicorns. No, for the most part, the stories all capture the strength and beauty of unicorns without infantilizing them to something only adored by 6-year old kids. Some of the stories are certainly more poignant or well-written than others, but all of them are enjoyable in their own right.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

2025 ReRead: I wasn't a horse girl, I was a ✨unicorn girl✨ I must have read this 100 times as a kid and very nearly memorized it. Child of Faerie was my favorite and still is - my imagination loved the imagery of a willow-covered pond with lil moss maidens to whisper to, and a unicorn coming to fetch me home because I wasn't actually from Earth. Except I wouldn't have chosen to stay behind like Aften did, I would have gone back with the unicorn.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

This satisfied a craving for unicorns that I didn't know I had. I loved the variety of stories, so many different realities and possibilities. Now I wish I could know what happened next in each of those stories!!

[Makenna stull · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Glory of Unicorns by Bruce coville. A collection of unicorn-based stories. I really enjoyed how gorgeous this book was not to heavy with information but lightly written. I recommend this book to unicorn lovers and people in elementary schools.

[Rut · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not expect to like these stories so much. Fantasy is not really my thing. But these stories were just lovely, some of them very touching, like "The unicorns of Kabustan." My favorite though was "The ugly unicorn."
Oh, also I got to learn a few interesting facts about unicorns ;)

[Cinnia Literary Raccoon · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a very beautiful book. I loved reading all of the different stories and interpretations of unicorns when I was a child.

[Mel · Rating 2 out of 5]

more low points than high, but when its good its great

[Flor Villezcas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm on the hunt for this book again. I have such fond memories of it from middle school. I don't really remember much except that it subverts the typical stories we heard as kids.

[Mamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely collection of mysterious tales which show the grandeur of true unicorn mythology. A gentle antidote to all of the unicorn frosted cupcakes on Instagram.

[Brenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book, just look at that cover aint it just the dream

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book.

[Ashley Love Sellers · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was only okay. Some of the stories were really good, some had nice takeaways, and others were just meh.

[Melany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still full of some of the best unicorn stories out there.

[Lucy Lunde · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book as a little girl

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked about half of these stories, but none of them were too bad, just a little too young for me.

[Lucinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of these I liked some not as much. Quite liked the unicorn in the supply closet.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish this had more bonus content for unicorn chronicles from Bruce. But I know he was still writing the series when he published this.