Sternenschweifs Geheimnis

Sternenschweif #5

by Linda Chapman

Wenn Laura die magischen Worte spricht, verwandelt sich ihr Pony Sternenschweif in ein wunderschönes Einhorn. Seine Zauberkräfte haben schon vielen Freunden in Not geholfen. Doch jetzt werden sie auf unerklärliche Weise immer schwächer. Laura hat Angst, ihr geliebtes Einhorn für immer zu verlieren. Wird sie das Rätsel lösen können, um Sternenschweif zu retten?

Genres: Childrens, Fantasy, Horses, Unicorns, Magic, German Literature, Fiction

128 pages, Hardcover

Published March 31, 2005

About the author

Linda Chapman was born in Liverpool in 1969. She had many different jobs before becoming a full-time writer in 1999 including working as a theatre stage manager, a dog trainer, a bookseller, a nanny, a teacher and a research assistant. She has written over 300 books for children, some under her own name, others under different names and she often collaborates with other authors. She is currently writing books with Julie Sykes and they are co-authors on the NYT bestselling Unicorn Academy series as well as Mermaid Academy, Forever Homes and Pocket Unicorns. Linda lives in Leicestershire with her husband, three children, two horses and three dogs. She has written many different series including: My Secret Unicorn, Star Friends, Best Friends Bakery, Stardust, Skating School and, most recently, Magic Keepers and Moonlight Riders.

Reviews

[Sonja Rosa Lisa ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Laura möchte allen ihren Klassenkameraden helfen und so nutzt sie die magischen Kräfte ihres Ponys Sternenschweif, das sie mit einem Zauberspruch in ein Einhorn verwandeln kann. Doch plötzlich lassen Sternenschweifs magische Kräfte immer mehr nach. Laura ist besorgt. Was kann sie tun? 💜
💜 Band 5 der Reihe hat mir gut gefallen. Die "Lösung" des Rätsels um die schwindenden magischen Kräfte des Einhorns war mir ein bisschen zu offensichtlich, allerdings ist es ja ein Kinderbuch, daher passt es sicherlich.
Auf jeden Fall ist es eine sehr schöne Geschichte, in der das Thema Hilfsbereitschaft viel Platz einnimmt.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

For our fairy-loving second grader, this book was a bit of a challenge. Her Rainbow Magic fairy stories by Daisy Meadows usually have about 80 to 90 pages, whereas this book has a whopping 122 pages! Our oldest wasn't so sure she could read this book quickly, but I encouraged her to break away from her "fairy-only" mold. And she read it in about 3 days of reading and I think she was impressed at her ability to read longer stories.

The story itself was good - nothing too impressive, but engaging and entertaining for elementary school age children (probably more for girls). We will be sure to read more books in this series, and I'm glad that our oldest is expanding her tastes, if only a little bit.

[Capn · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a parent of a not-quite-yet-independent reader, I have to wade through a lot of crap. I've stopped reviewing all the picture books we read in my household simply because I don't have the time. And now we're on chapter books at bedtime, and, try as I might to steer the choice, I'm hostage to sparkly pink covers and whatever putrescences they contain.
This one could have been worse. It could also have been so much better. It was book 5 of a series, and now we've borrowed book 1. Can't wait.
There are only so many mass market middle grade unicorn books I can stomach. There's one we all DNF'ed - I should find it and slap a 1 star on it (I hate that you can't give 0/5). I think it was Unicornia: A Magical Birthday. Whoof. There was also one with a robotic unicorn - The Moonlight Mystery Agency 1 – The Birthday Cake Thief. That was something.
You know what I have on my shelf that we haven't read? The Little White Horse and also The Last Unicorn. It's a sin.
Thank you to my GR friend Rainbowheart for recommending Sarah's Unicorn, which I have paid to have shipped from the United States - the sooner we can shift unicorns to independent reading here, the happier I'll be.
Pity me.
Thank you.

edit: I just remembered something laudable in re: the moral of the story, and thought I should credit it - trying to be helpful to people who don't want help isn't virtuous. It robs people of the opportunity to help themselves/learn/grow, akin to infantilization. That's a good message. Could have been better delivered, but I don't think I've come across that particular moral very often. So.. there you go.

[Rain | Angelina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary:

- another Max arc haha
- discovering that they can drain the unicorns power :(

[Sophie]

Based on Linda Chapman’s own experiences with nannying a pony-obsessed little girl, My Secret Unicorn follows a young girl named Lauren and her pony named Twilight, who is secretly her unicorn.

Now, I enjoyed this book series as a kid. I recall reading each book when I was in Year 3. I decided to re-read the whole series again to see if it holds up, but I am afraid that it does not. First of all, there are the characters in the book series. Explaining the plot further, A nine-year-old girl named Lauren Foster moves with her family from the city to Granger’s Farm, where she meets a bookstore owner named Mrs Fontana who gives her a book about Arcadia and unicorns. After buying a pony named Twilight from an auction, Lauren finds out from her unicorn book that there are key ingredients and steps to unlocking her secret unicorn: a moonflower petal must fall when the first evening star arrives while she recites a “Turning Spell” and an “Undoing Spell” that can change him back to a pony. After this first time, Lauren only has to recite the secret spell without anything else. There is much more to the lore of the series, (like Arcadia itself, how the unicorn cycle works and the magic system) but that is a general idea.

Lauren Foster is a very flat and sometimes unlikable character. She has nothing that defines her besides being horse-obsessed, and she often makes brash decisions that cause more trouble than what is needed, such as arguing with Twilight or her friend Mel whenever they are stuck in a snowstorm or fire hazard. Not only that, but the book series also focuses too much on Lauren - almost at times pushing Twilight aside. For example, in Book #9 Snowy Dreams, Twilight learns about the time limit regarding Unicorns Friends where he will eventually have to choose between returning to Arcadia or staying with Lauren, but we only see this from Lauren’s point of view on how she feels rather than Twilight’s point of view.

Twilight is a boring character. All he is defined is as Lauren’s unicorn friend. Furthermore, because he is dull as a funeral service on 0.25x speed, I cannot grasp the relative importance of any of his problems – however few there are. It is not Twilight’s fault, though; he has an excellent setup to do something interesting. However, the book series is more worried about Lauren and her problems.

There is also missed potential with other characters. After reading Book #10 Twilight Magic where Lauren saves Jade, I thought the next book would have been about Lauren and Mel making friends with Jade and Monica, finally putting their rivalry to rest and getting to know them better. However, it did not do that. There is also a bully girl named Kate in Friends Forever, who excludes Lauren from her circle of friends when Mel reunites with them. While Kate does do some genuinely terrible things (such as moving the flagposts in a game of Capture The Flag), she does not have as much character as she should have. If Kate was more manipulative and gaslight Lauren and Mel into thinking they should not be friends, then she could have been a more genuine threat. There is also another Unicorn Friend named Michael who is one of the few people that knows that Twilight is a unicorn, but the series does nothing with him.

Not to mention, the magic system in the series (as well as keeping Twilight a secret) gets increasingly inconsistent and contrived. For example, in Friends Forever Book #7, Twilight is turned into a unicorn in broad daylight in a clearing where anybody could see what was happening, but nothing comes of this. Another example is Book 13# Moonlight Journey, where we finally get to see Arcadia, but much of Arcadia feels unexplored, underdeveloped, and the illustrations make Arcadia look bare and boring. It does not help that the book series rushes over all the fantasy elements like they are not much of a big deal, which undermines the magical value of what we are experiencing. What is Arcadia, and who are The Unicorn Elders? Who is Sidra? Twilight already knows this, but how? How did Mrs Fontanta learn about unicorns? Who invented the Keeper Of Magic system with the magic resources in the first place? Moreover, why can’t we be clued in too? Things feel missing in the book series! It fails to introduce, build or set up any of the concepts.

However, my biggest problem with My Secret Unicorn is that Twilight and Lauren’s relationship does not feel genuine. Sure, they spend plenty of time together, but their scenes feel more forced rather than natural - and the dialogue often feels like the characters are saying what they are expected to say, rather than wanting to say it. For example, Lauren often says that she loves Twilight as both a pony and a unicorn, but because they cannot communicate with each other when Twilight is a pony and only share their most intimate scenes when Twilight is a unicorn, it makes her statement meaningless. Several books will tell you that the success of this duo is due to them working together, but you will quickly see that Twilight does not need Lauren at all. There are times when Lauren is disadvantaged because she does not have magical powers like Twilight, and it feels like the conflict could have been easily solved if Lauren was written out entirely. I am okay with Twilight being an independent hero, but when the book series tells me Lauren and Twilight need each other, I call nonsense on that nonsense! Lauren is treated with much more scene time than she deserves, which ultimately makes the story weaker, despite her lack of strengths or advantages making her useless.

Nevertheless, my last problem with My Secret Unicorn is that I do not understand why Lauren cannot tell anymore about Twilight? If you look at fantasy/supernatural stories regarding secret identities and objects, you realise that they do not keep secrets for the same reason – their reasons need to make sense to the story. For example, Fetlocks Hall kept its unicorn side secret because it wanted to keep itself away from prying eyes and the potential villains could do if that happened – and that made sense because it was a well-respected school with high fees and A-standard students. In My Secret Unicorn, we are never told or shown why Lauren has to keep Twilight a secret. There is nothing at stake if she does since there is no villain or massive threat, there is a memory wipe potion introduced in Book #3 so there is no more prolonged tension in the story. Lauren at the end of the series is given the position of Keeper Of Magic where she has to help and look over other Unicorn Friends (which is barely explained and raises far too many questions) which ruins the point of keeping unicorns secret, to begin with.

Even if we assume that keeping unicorns secret is to protect Lauren’s friends and family, telling certain people would help with that. There are several times where Lauren struggles strictly because no one knows that Twilight is a unicorn, and if she told certain people, it would make her life 10x easier. When you go off of tropes of a genre, but those tropes go against the particular story you’re telling, it feels lazily thought-out.

To conclude, this has been one of the most disappointing childhood revisits I have ever had because My Secret Unicorn does not hold up very well in my eyes. It has unlikeable and underutilised characters, rushed pacing that overlooks essential beats, and an adventure that lacks fun. Everything is hollow, offensive, or unpleasant. I honestly never expected myself to dislike “My Secret Unicorn” before re-reading it. It had a fun idea, but it failed in its execution.

[Chiara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lauren tries to help people but Twilight gets hill, and she has to try helping others to make him better. I like the helping message.

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read two books in one, Starlight Surprise and Stronger Than Magic. Be careful as it seems different books get combined in different countries.

A girl who loves ponies has managed to get a grey pony which can turn into a unicorn. She has to keep this secret and the unicorn can fly and do various magic as well as talking , though not while he is a pony. I enjoyed other books in this series more because there was more about pony care. These books are mostly about flying around and trying to help other kids, while sometimes getting it wrong.
We could take the message of Stronger Than Magic to be that it's not always good to eavesdrop, even with good intentions, and that any pony should not be overworked.
Starlight Surprise deals with a spooky tree house and school bullies.
Best for readers who are girls under ten.

This is an unbiased review.

[Ares · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dieses Mal Hilft Laura wieder anderen. Dies ist auch einer der Hauptpunkte der Geschichte generell. Besondere Kids die an die Magie glauben bekommen Einhörner mit denen sie anderen helfen können. Gute Taten sind somit ein Zentraler Punkt der Geschichten, Laura hat trotzdem noch ihre eigenen Interessen und verfolgt diese. Ich finde es auch ganz wichtig Kinder nicht grenzenlose Selbstlosigkeit vorzuführen, wird sehr schnell ungesund und da ist dieses Buch weitsichtiger. Das Hauptproblem dieses Bandes war mit Sternenschweif’s Kräften, aber natürlich hatten wir da ein gutes Ende.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great story, although I felt that the main character’s hair was a bit inconsistent as it seemed to change colour in later books for some reason.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best series of books I've read when I was a teen.

[Lissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read an indefinite amount as a kid.

Very fun.

[Mythical Mishmash · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actual rating 2.5 out of 5

[Kira · Rating 3 out of 5]

Laura hat gelernt, dass man nicht allen Menschen immer bei allen kleinen Problemen helfen kann - ich verstehe nur nicht, wie Buddy auch nach vielen Wochen immer noch ein Welpe ist.

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Das fünfte Abenteuer von Laura und Sternenschweif bringt tiefe Erkenntnis: Magie ist ein mächtiges Instrument, das aber bewusst eingesetzt werden soll. Ausserdem muss jeder Mensch lernen, mit seinen eigenen Alltagssorgen zurechtzukommen.

Ich lese die Sternenschweif-Bücher ziemlich gerne. Vor allem dann, wenn die ganze Welt zu viel wird und ich nur noch meine Ruhe haben möchte. Dann lesen sich diese Bücher so schön einfach weg und schlussendlich wird alles irgendwie gut.

Laura ist eine sympathische Heldin, die auch mal ihre eigenen Fehler zugeben kann. So schaffen die Bücher Grundlagen, dafür, dass die jungen Leser etwas über das Leben erfahren, ohne dass gleich mit dem erhobenen Finger gewackelt wird.

[Twyla · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite part was when Max was safe after being near a big gorge and almost falling in all the way. The worst part was when Max went missing and no one could find him until Buddy did. My favourite character was Lauren because she found the others that could rescue Max after Buddy showed Lauren where Max was. There was no worst character because the worst part was caused by a pretty good character in the story. Auryn 12 years old, 2015

[Simmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great books read this when i was really young still have the books planning on reading it again great to get young children into reading! Although I probably won't be as interested as I was when I was seven but we will see, if not I will happily offer them to my sister.

[Ashlynn White · Rating 2 out of 5]

i read this ALONG time ago!!!!!!!!!

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's very touching ;(;(;(

[Morgan]

UNICORN

[H. Gibson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Chronicles of Han Storm Book Club Read (Children's Books)

This was a nice story but not suitable for very sensitive readers. Sometimes children just want the magic without the reality.

[Katy · Rating 3 out of 5]

You're never to old for this sweet story.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved it at the time.

[Dana]

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