Sunbeam's Shine

Unicorn Princesses #1

by Emily Bliss, Sydney Hanson (Illustrator)

Welcome to an enchanted land ruled by unicorn princesses!
Cressida Jenkins, a unicorn-obsessed girl who is sure that unicorns are real, is invited to visit, and readers will be thrilled to journey to the Rainbow Realm along with her! In each story, Cressida is called to help a unicorn princess and her sisters in a magical adventure.

In the first story, a blundering wizard-lizard casts a spell that accidentally robs Princess Sunbeam of her magic yellow sapphire. Without it, she loses her powers--the ability to create light and heat. The only way to reverse the spell is for a human girl who believes in unicorns to find the yellow sapphire and reunite Sunbeam with her gemstone. Sunbeam ventures into the human world and enlists Cressida’s help, who is thrilled to visit the Rainbow Realm. But finding Sunbeam's sapphire isn't quite as easy as she thought it would be . . .

This sweet series is full of sparkle, fun, and friendship.

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Chapter Books, Unicorns, Fiction, Animals, Kids

128 pages, Paperback

Published August 8, 2017

Reviews

[Tonja Drecker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taking off on a magical adventure packed full of sparkling fantasy, this is sure to be a favorite with young unicorn fans.

The wizard-lizard is determined to make a spell that works, but, as usual, it goes array. He accidentally zaps the magic yellow sapphire our of Princess Sunbeam's possession and make her magicless. The only way to solve the problem is to find a girl in the human world who believes in unicorns, and have her find the gem and give it back to the princess. Then, all will return to normal. Too bad that many human girls no longer believe in magic, let alone unicorns.

This story has everything a magical tale for young girls should have. There are princess unicorns, magic, sparkling gems, adventure and tons of feel-good fantasy. It's a playful tale and keeps the whimsical adventure light and fun even when the going gets rough. The human girl, Cressida, is a lovely girl with a huge imagination and ready to take on whatever comes at her. It's wonderful to watch her ignore others as they try to tell her unicorns don't exist, and stick to what she believes without a single negative thought. But she's not completely naive either, and does think things through before diving in. When things get tough, she doesn't give up but shows that determination and persistence do pay off.

The writing is well done for the intended audience, never talking down to the readers but never jumping too high over their level either. This makes for an easy, fun read even if the 120 pages might sound like a lot to more reluctant, younger readers. The illustrations peppered through the pages add a nice change of pace and help bring the story to life.

Summed up, this is the type of unicorn read girls ages 7 to 10 will be more than happy to dive into. It holds all the princess fanciness and unicorn magic a young heart desires, and maintains a wholesome, whimsical adventure the entire way through. It's a wonderful start to a magical series.

I received a complimentary copy through Netgalley and found it so sweet that I wanted to leave my honest thoughts.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re writing a chapter book for girls, you really can’t go wrong adding in a unicorn or two. There’s just something magical about unicorns.

Emily Bliss’s new chapter book series, Unicorn Princesses, captures that magic for young readers to enjoy. The Unicorn Princesses series tells of the Rainbow Realm, which is ruled by seven unicorns. They need help from a human girl who believes in unicorns.

This book was a lot of fun to read. My little one did not want to put it down, and we read it any time we had a spare minute until Sunbeam’s jewel was found. The unicorns and magic were both definite selling points, but the pacing and action were also perfect for my little chapter book reader.

My only warning with this book is that when Sunbeam finds Cressida, they have a long discussion about needing a human girl “who believes in unicorns” and how hard it was to find one. Cressida mentions that her mother keeps telling her that unicorns are imaginary, but that she believes anyway. If you are not ready to plant that seed of doubt about the existence of unicorns, magic, and other whimsical matters in your little one’s mind, you may want to wait a bit on this one.

I received an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have two girls, a 4 year old and a 7 year old. My 4 year old was the one to pick this book out, based on the cover. I have never seen it nor had I heard of it before. My guess would be that this is more for a 1st-3rd grade reading level. there are some pictures throughout. While my 7 year old could easily read this out loud on her own I decided to read it to both of them. They both loved the story and couldn't wait to hear more. We have finished the book and now need to get the next book in the series.

[Amber · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh 🤦‍♀️ this book is the most obnoxious pile of girly fluff ever. 5 year old loved it. Me not so much 😬

[Sean Harding · Rating 2 out of 5]

You can't judge a book by its cover, but sometimes you can tell a lot about the book inside, and make certain judgments about who the book is intended for and what it is going to say.
The colours of the cover, the soft tones and angles used in the picture of the character.
The use of wide open eyes and the title of the book and the series itself all lend to this.
And this is obvious in its intent and its execution.
It still could be an entertaining read though, so in that sense you can't make the ultimate judgement, but this was fairly forgettable and obvious, not something you would recommend to the young people, (read girls, even though it could be read by all, but the book is heavily marketed to girls, for whatever reason) you would know, but you never know they may really enjoy it.

[Critterbee❇ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute adventure of Cressida Jenkins, a young girl who adores unicorns, and travels to the world of unicorn princesses to help find a lost royal gem.

When a clumsy, unskilled wizard-lizard miscasts one of his forbidden spells, he causes one of the unicorn princesses to loose her magical gem. Only a girl who believes that unicorns exist can help find the gem!

Cressida is a smart, thoughtful, honest and considerate girl; a great role model. The reading level seems to me to be 2nd-3rd grade. It might be a little light in story for older primary schoolchildren.

*eARC Netgalley*

[Roxanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty sure my daughter got this for her birthday (she turned six). The assortment of unicorn princesses felt bland and largely interchangeable (but Prism is the purple one, you may cry, and Sunbeam is yellow! Unicorns, rainbow colors, sparkly names, blah blah). But overall this was not as bad as I expected, my kid really liked it, and the problem solving was actually pretty cute. I foresee future visits to the Rainbow Realm in our future.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Appropriate for: age 8+

I read this to my 3 year old daughter and she seemed to enjoy it. I thought it was good for what it was and I was curious about how they would solve the problem in the book. If read aloud I think it's good for any age as there aren't even any scary elements.

[Jewel Warren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could see my nieces loving this book. The thing that bothered me is we only see the lizard wizard at the beginning and he never really reappears. I would have liked him to be more involved. Other than that, it was a cute book.

[Alex Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything a bright and shiny happy bedtime book for a little girl should be. Also surprisingly well written. *tips hat at author’s skill*

[Zeffie · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love it so much

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my third Unicorn Princesses book, a consequence of stumbling on the series via a Little Free Library and letting my 5 y/o pick the reading order. After 3 books I am no longer writing reviews of the series ironically. I am in this for real, and here for you, fellow parent wondering what you are about to embark on with your own little unicorn loving reader.

Reading the books in order is not essential. I do wish we had started with this one before diving into others in the series. Bliss does a good job of explaining the rules of Rainbow Realm in subsequent books (like how time stops in the human realm with a human visits the unicorns) to help you stay oriented if you join mid-series.

While there is a lot of creativity within the same basic structure of the books, the structure itself is quite formulaic. The Wizard Lizard goofs up, Cressida visits the unicorns, we learn a little bit more about what it's like to be a unicorn, Cressida saves the day. When I asked my daughter which of the books she liked best so far she said they were all the same people so no one stood out to her. Not that she isn't begging for a chapter every night, just that these are not unique stories.

Bliss is to unicorn mythology what Anne Rice is to vampire lore. She has an incredible imagination and I am genuinely delighted for the "learning about unicorn life" part of each book.

I'd like to see more of Ernest the Wizard Lizard. So far his main job seems to be to set up a scenario to bring Cressida and the unicorns together and then to get out of the picture as quickly as possible. I'm not the target audience, though, so perhaps he'll stay in the background for all 8 books.

[☘Tara Sheehan☘ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kids are going to love this story and parents are going to love that they provide an enchanting and safe reading experience!

You have magic, unicorns, belief in the unbelievable, beautiful illustrations, royalty and of course friendship.

The way Bliss describes her scenery, such as the palace and canyon, is so imaginative and beautiful you feel like you are walking alongside her seeing this as well.

Bliss has not only written a story that will fulfill many young children’s imagination with joy and color but she’s made some fun characters as well. There’s the wizard lizard who doesn’t seem to understand the word “No” and whose spells constantly backfire. As well as fun unicorn princesses all with different powers. Dragons who can cook, flame-bites which are like foxes made of flames and put off blinding light and heat that will make you sweat, sand dunes and cacti which can talk.

Reading about their fresh fruit made me so hungry!

As a parent of children who seem like they could fight all day I appreciated the implied lessons about making amends, working together, and apologizing when you did something wrong.

[Aditi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book with my 5 year old. Our first chapter book which was perfect for her unicorn phase. It does being up the possibility that unicorns aren't real, which my 5 year old already dealt with in 2020 so it was not an issue for us. There was interesting moments with conflict resolution and problem solving. If the cacti and the dunes communicated they wouldn't have an issue, and how gossip can spread needlessly and hurt.
However I wish it had not referenced the word dumb. It was about how Queen Mercy told her daughters that humans were smelly and dumb... I head to skip over the dumb word and replace with not so smart.

[Sarah Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had very low expectations for this book and was pleasantly surprised. The story is super sweet and cute, and the attitudes of the characters were positive, polite, and not snarky. It’s by no means classic, amazing literature, but it was a fun, decent storyline. Jules read it first all by herself (her first chapter book!) and then asked me to read it to her again because she had “a little trouble understanding and reading a few of the words.” It’s probably 2nd/3rd grade reading level, but as a read aloud book I think Jules would have liked it as young as around 5 years old. Will be looking for more of this series. :)

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emily read this way before me but I’m glad I finally read it. It was super cute!! I actually highlighted two specific sentences: “She knew from doing school assignments that the only way to finish a big project was to do a little bit at a time,” and (when listening to two sides of a disagreement) “She wanted to be careful not to take sides.” I was very happily surprised that these little emotional intelligence nuggets were in this book. The world building is simple but interesting, characters have personalities, and the main character is helpful by being curious, empathetic, and smart. Love it! Glad Emily is reading the rest of the series.

[Eliana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cressida Jenkins's favorite thing is Unicorns. Her mother and father always told her that Unicorns were not real, but she did not believe them. One day, when her family was hiking in the woods, she found a key, but she was afraid to keep it, so she returned it to the spot she found it at. There, she met Princess Sunbeam. It turns out, Sunbeam needed help! She needed to find her crystal that could hold powers for her, such as Light and Sun. Will they find the crystal? Or, will Sunbeam never get her powers back?

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a cute, fun story for kids...of all ages! Cressida Jenkins believes in unicorns. She finds a special key in the forest and then meets a unicorn named Sunbeam, who takes her to the magical Rainbow Realm, so Cressida can find Sunbeam's special jewel, which had gone missing, so the sun can shine again. It's fairly short, but some fun illustrations are included (although they don't always precisely match the descriptions in the story). Check it out!

[Aria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read whats below if you want spoilers...

A girl found a key that allows her to travel from unicorn land to human land luckily her parents aren't worried because
1. they can't see unicorns
2. They don't know that they should be worried
3. Time freezes when in unicorn land
The girl goes to Sunbeams place in the rainbow realm and she helps Sunbeam find her crystal that gives her, her powers! I wonder what powers Sunbeam has?

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was really impressed with this book! Though it is intended for a juvenile audience, the writing style is not at all juvenile! It is well written and uses descriptive language. I really enjoyed that the main character, Cressida, is very respectful, honest, and kind. The book threw in extra details to show how she listens to her parents, her honesty in wanting to return something she found in the woods (in case someone came looking for it), and in her polite language as she interacts with others. This book models high moral character and I love it! The storyline is pretty cute too!

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked the unicorn princesses. I learned that it isn't good to argue, and to try and make up. I learned that I should try to make better decisions. I liked the place that the unicorn princesses lived. I liked that it was a pretty and colorful place to live. I liked reading this book. It was easy to read.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

My unicorn loving daughter has become obsessed with this series. She gives it 5 stars and can not wait to start book two tomorrow night. We now own the first three books in this series and actively look for it whenever we are at an establishment that sells children’s books. She refuses any bedtime stories that are not either Disney 5 minute story books OR contain a unicorn.

[Danielle Robertson Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this to my 4-year-old who is obsessed with unicorns. We read this over several nights as a bedtime book and she was beaming with joy every night. It also helped that I paraphrased a teeny bit and I changed the name of the main character to be her name. Still, I was so happy there was no scary bad guy. Just the mistakes of a "wizard lizard" , which is fun to say so that's an added bonus.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

My oldest got this book from Barnes and Nobel's summer reading program. I read them a chapter poet day until we finished it.

A wizard lizard loses Sunbeam's magical sapphire and Sunbeam enlists the help of Cressida, a human, unicorn-living girl.

[Jennifer McMurrain · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 7 year old daughter loved this book and is looking forward to reading the rest in the series. I found it to be a cute read and could see why she liked it. I highly recommend for children who are getting started on chapter books.

[Laila · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a good book, I used to read it when I was little and always loved it. Thought that I would read it one more time for good mesure and I’m glad I did. Highly recommend for littler kids or just people who like simple small books :)

[Sharie · Rating 3 out of 5]

For kids who love unicorns
early chapter book

[Renel Ralston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Secret lands, unicorns, a mission only a human girl can carry out, and magic keys ... fun for little girls.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite part was when they found the yellow gem for Sunbeam's necklace and it was in a cactus flower.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, speedy chapter book. Good chapter book for those just beginning to read chapter books on their own. I wasn't impressed, but EM wants to read the next one. The girl gets what she wants.