Nerdycorn

by Andrew Root, Erin Kraan (Illustrator)

Fern isn’t your usual unicorn… she loves chemistry and math more than glitter or flowers—and she refuses to change who she is.

Meet Fern! She’s a smart, creative unicorn who prefers building robots and coding software to jumping through shimmering rainbows and splashing in majestic waterfalls. Even though Fern is a good friend and always willing to help others, the other unicorns tease her and call her a nerdycorn.

One day, Fern has had enough and decides to stop fixing her friends’ broken things. But then the confetti machine, the rainbow synthesizer, and the starlight bedazzler all go haywire during the biggest Sparkle Dance Party of the year! Fern can certainly fix them… but will she?

Genres: Picture Books, Unicorns, Childrens, Fantasy, Friendship, Stem, Animals

40 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 18, 2021

About the author

Andrew Root is a children’s book author from rainy Portland, Oregon. His first book, Hamsters Don’t Fight Fires, will be published by HarperCollins in September of 2017.

With a background in mental health counseling and extensive experience in school management, Andrew Root is highly active in both community mental health and the public education system.

Having worked as a therapist, Clinical Manager, & Director of Operations for programs supporting youth & adolescents, Andrew has seen first-hand the social and academic impact that a good book can have upon the reader.

When not writing, Andrew enjoys playing soccer and chasing his wife, two children, and dog around his backyard.

Reviews

[Claire · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love that Fern a proud nerd but I feel like this is saying that being a STEM nerd means you can't like things like rainbows and glitter. Which is disappointing because using chemistry you could probably make one heck of a glitter bomb. And that would be pretty cool. Life is about balance, you can do and be both.

[Katie Prouty · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Because she was: smart. (Just look at her solve that quadratic equation!). A good friend. (There she is picking up her neighbor from the airport!). And always willing to help others. (Wow! She’s changing their oil and cleaning their gutters!)”

Fern wasn’t like the other unicorns. She liked building robots in her laboratory, coding software to program her computer, chemistry, reading, 3D printers. Even though she knew she was different, Fern was proud of who she was. The other unicorns don’t get her. At all. They would tease her for being different and never invited her to hang out with them at the Sparkle Dance Parties. Is Fern through helping rude unicorns? Or will she realize deep in her heart that being a good friend is far more important than holding on to a grudge? Nerdycorn is a cute and sweet story about being yourself and always willing to help others. 🦄

Thank you Simon kids for sending us this precious story!

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Note: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

This picture book is so well done--fabulous story, colorful and engaging illustrations, giggle out loud funny, and a great message.

I loved that the Nerdycorn was validated throughout for how awesome and confident she was. When she came around to helping the other unicorns after being excluded and bullied, it was on her terms. She realized they didn't deserve it, but that she just wasn't being herself if she wasn't living up to being smart, helpful and a good friend.

A common picture book theme, but this is above average implementation. A keeper! Would make a great gift, too.

[JJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

So cute and colourful!!

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a great book for parents to read with older kids or kids interested in tools and science. There are some pretty big tongue twisty words that even I had trouble with while reading aloud to my dog! Key themes include being your unique self, feeling left out, holding grudges, and being a good friend.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fern is not like other unicorns, Fern likes science, building robots, and coding software. All of the other unicorns made fun of her and her likes. Fern decided not to help them anymore with their mechanical issues, but when the sparkle dance is threatened to be ruined, Fern decides to be herself and help others, and save the dance. Fern's actions changed all the other unicorns attitudes toward Fern.

[JadeShea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute book about a Unicorn that was different, and had mean things said about her. However, it ends up showing us that just because someone is mean to you, doesn't mean you should retaliate or treat them badly.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better version little red hen with better lesson

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of our favorite discoveries yesterday was Andrew Root & Erin Kraan’s Nerdycorn! This creative unicorn loves science, coding, & math more than sparkles, flowers, & rainbows - and she owns who she is proudly! Love this #kidlit that is both cute and empowering!

[Sunny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a sweet kid’s book that emphasizes the values of being smart, a good friend, and willing to help others. Buy it for the kiddo in your life!

[Mariya Ortiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this hilarious story about being your own kind of unicorn.

[BibliofiendLM · Rating 4 out of 5]

So adorable! I love that there is a unicorn book that promotes STEM!

[Mehsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Think all unicorns are into glitter, rainbows and doing dances? Think again! Meet Fern, a nerdycorn~


I just love books about unicorns. The standard ones with glitter and rainbows and dances and Broadway musical songs (yes, really). But also ones that don’t fit the glittery mould entirely. Like Grumpycorn by Sarah McIntyre or this book about a nerdy unicorn!

In this one we meet Fern. A unicorn with dashing curly hair, a big horn, and a big love for all that isn’t the unicorn way (or well a lot of it anyway). She loves coding, she loves building and inventing, reading and chemistry. While I loved seeing her do all the things and was super-proud of all the things she could do, I do think I would have loved just a bit more unicorn-ness. Just a bit more glitter. More sparkle. Though her inventions did tend to go to the unicorn way (a cupcake out of a 3d-printer is such a unicorn thing), I just wanted to see her dazzle. I get that she is different, but I still wanted a little bit more unicorn-ness.

I am happy she stood up for herself when the unicorns were acting mean towards her because she is so different from them. I had a laugh that she wasn’t into helping them (and then again, setting boundaries is a thing one needs to do anyway otherwise people will just run over you) and that she kept saying no, she was determined. But I was also proud of her when she did say yes when a bigger situation arose.

The ending made me smile and I was so happy for Fern, and so proud of the other unicorns. Happy that they finally saw that being nerdy isn’t bad, it is actually pretty awesome and handy!

The art was pretty fun! Love the colours and love the unicorns and how they were drawn.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Jessica Calaway · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading age
4 - 7 years

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book that kids can relate to as Fern, the unicorn, learns to stand up for herself. Beautifully done! I bought one copy for my kids and a second for their school library!

[PJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the cover; I love the bright, colourful artwork inside; I love the nerdy unicorn doing what she loves even if no one else is interested.

I don’t love that the way to stop bullies is to be useful to them; I don’t love that the other unicorns only apologize when they don’t get what they want; I don’t love the implication that being nerdy means you can’t like sparkly things.

While the overall message of the book is meant to be empowering and inspirational, it feels more like promoting people-pleasing behaviour as a favourable method of conflict resolution.

[Bryan Loar · Rating 3 out of 5]

A charming book that will appeal to young readers who may feel ostracized. Conflict is created through different interests among a large group of unicorns and the book’s main protagonist. The resolution is hopeful and self-reassuring. Preliminary proofs were consulted. The book is expected to publish on May 18, 2021.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this when I read it on my own, I LOVED hearing author Andrew Root read it at our author event. He did a fabulous job letting every child share their own fact about unicorns, and I especially liked hearing how the illustrations were made. And of course we ended our program with a Sparkle Dance with scarves and bubbles!

[Baby Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review was originally written for The Baby Bookworm. Visit us for new picture books reviews daily!

Hello, friends! Our book today is Nerdycorn, written by Andrew Root and illustrated by Erin Kraan, a sweet and science-y tale of forgiveness.

We open on a magical land of unicorns, where there are lovely rainbows to leap spectacularly over and waterfalls to splash majestically through. And most of the local unicorn population are content to do just that, but Fern has always been a little… different. She prefers to build robots, conduct chemistry experiments, code computer programs, and read science textbooks and manuals. And while she might be different, Fern is proud of who she is: in addition to being smart, she is also a good friend who always tries to help others. However, the other unicorns are not very good friends: they make fun of Fern and call her “Nerdycorn”. Hurt, Fern goes on strike, refusing to help them with their technical issues and mechanical problems anymore. Soon, the other unicorns begin to realize how important Fern’s knowledge – and her generous spirit – was to all of them. But is it too late to make amends?

Delightful and empowering. From the outside, this looked to be another story of an outcast interested in STEM learning to be proud of their intelligence and curiosity, so it was a pleasant surprise to find that Fern already WAS so, and that her self-confidence never wavered. Instead, the story is a tale of the power of forgiveness: when the unicorns apologize to Fern and beg her help with the Sparkle Dance, she initially rebuffs them, but ultimately decides that forgiveness is also part of being a good friend (it helps that the other unicorns show genuine remorse, and begin to take their own interest in Fern’s “nerdy” pursuits afterward). The colorful illustrations are engaging and fun yet never visually overwhelming, a nice balance, and the attention to details on Fern’s scientific and engineering instruments is awesome. The length is perfect, and JJ loved this one. A sweet reminder of the importance of kindness as well as the power to be found in being “different”, and it’s Baby Bookworm approved!

(Note: A copy of this book was provided to The Baby Bookworm by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)

Be sure to check out The Baby Bookworm for more reviews!

[Tonja Drecker · Rating 5 out of 5]

The image of unicorns gets tossed on its head as a special unicorn steps in to save the day.

All unicorns prance on rainbows and do happy, glittery, unicorn things. All of them except Fern. She loves to calculate, create, build and calibrate...and she's a super helpful unicorn. But no matter how kind she is, the other unicorns still poke fun at her. When enough is enough, she closes her door and stays in her lab, refusing to help those nasty unicorns...until they knock on her door.

The idea of a Nerdycorn won me over immediately. Add the cover with a blowtorch and experiments bubbling in the background, and this unicorn had to be a creature after my own heart. This book is definitely original and is one that will capture unicorn fans' attention as well as anti-unicorn peeps, who actually would kind of love to love unicorns...if each one didn't fart rainbows and such.

Let's start with the text, shall we? The story is well written and adds humorous as well as original sparks. The main text tells the tale, while little added words in the illustrations bring thoughts and humor to life. The vocabulary is, in general, very age appropriate, but this author goes further and allows terminology from the mechanical, science, and engineering world to dribble in. I couldn't help but smile as computer coding, multimeters and arc welders mixed right in with pure imaginative items like zero-gravity ice-cream experiments.

The illustrations are brightly colored, pulse with energy and hold so many amazing, quirky details to add gazing enjoyment. But then, this is about unicorns and science, experiment-loving ones.

And there's a message. Now, if anything, it was this part which left me just a tiny bit less enthusiastic. While the idea of bullying and not fitting in fits to the age group and is an important message, Fern's sour attitude and sudden (out of nowhere) desire to change it hit strange. But that is really only a slight stutter and doesn't really effect the rest of the sparkle and shine...or, in this case, calibrating and grind. This is a read young listeners are sure to enjoy as a read-aloud or simply gaze at on their own.
I received a complimentary copy and found this unicorn wonderful.

[Susan Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore #NerdStrong books, and this one is exceptional. Fern is an atypical unicorn in that she is a hands (or hooves?) on, STEM, coding, welding torch welding, practical, curious applied science type. Her community of unicorns (not surprisingly) embraces glitter, rainbows, rainbow ice cream, and parties. Occasionally Fern is bullied and teased and ridiculed for being a nerd but she is comfortable in her own skin (hide?) and solid and assured in her identity. One day it turns out that the glittery unicorns are in deep trouble with malfunctioning gadgets. They apologize to Fern for their mocking her and beg her for help. Now Fern has to make a decision: does she return their ridicule by ignoring their needs, or does she show that she is the better unicorn and come to their aid? Should she? This is a glorious story about a strong character who doesn't always fit in, but you know what? That's not her problem, and she knows it. Perfect illustrations as well--bright and dizzily cheerful and the vocabulary is just perfect enough to elevate the experience for everyone.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Even though she knew she was different from the other unicorns, Fern was proud of who she was.”

Fern is smart, a good friend, and always willing to help others, but because she is so different, the other unicorns still make fun of Fern. Finally, Fern has had enough. “I’m through helping rude unicorns.” But when their technology starts to fail, the other unicorns discover that Fern’s love of science, reading and engineering has been very helpful. Then, the worst thing of all happens: the Sparkle Dance is about to be ruined by a clogged confetti machine, a powerless rainbow synthesizer, and a broken starlight bedazzler. The other unicorns run to Fern for help, but she slams the door on them. But after Fern thinks about it, she realizes holding a grudge isn’t what she’s about.

When Fern saves the day, the other unicorns apologize for their behavior and ask Fern to teach them about inventing and building.

[Kelly Green's Book Review · Rating 5 out of 5]

Calling ALL science lovers!!
Do YOU love science? Do YOU love unicorns? Do YOU love rainbows & dance parties? Of course, YOU do!!! Then this is the book for you!!

The illustrations are beyond magical and like something out of a candy store of your dreams. Spectacular colors, glittery backdrops and unicorns of every color and personality. We (my 8-year-old son and I, and YES my son LOVED this book too!!) studied the unicorn dance scenes for several minutes observing all of the adorable details.

The storyline is one that has been waiting to be told! It's a story of a unicorn, Fern, that is a little bit different than the rest. Fern is a science & math genius. As we all know being different can sometimes be challenging. Without giving away any of the ending of this story, Fern perseveres, stand ups for herself and is surprised to see how the other unicorns respond.

A must read for K-3rd graders - great life lessons opportunities.

[Joanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

With the beautiful illustrations by Erin Kraan and general story concept I was expecting to like this much more. Overall the message of the book felt like it could have been more "doing what you love is what's important" than "I'm smarter than these other unicorns who like silly things". I also felt like there was a bit of a Rodolph the Red Nose Reindeer element, the outcast only being appreciated when the group sees a use for them. Fern's attitude towards the "typical unicorn activities" and other unicorns seems to have an element of emotional self defense to it that either could have been more explored, or altered to be more "I'm enjoying my work so much I got distracted and forgot there's a party" vs "they probably won't even notice me there so why would I go, I have more important things to do anyway". Overall there was a nice ending with all of the unicorns starting to appreciate one another but the earlier elements set a tone here I thought could have worked better.

[Becky B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fern is different from the other unicorns. She'd much rather jump into a difficult invention project than a rainbow, and give her a soldering iron over sparkles any day. The other unicorns find her useful to help fix their things, but don't treat her very nicely. One day Fern has enough and decides to stop helping them out. What will happen then?

I really love Fern's nerdy heart. She decides to put her hoof down and stop being used, but also knows when she should extend grace and kindness and forgiveness to avoid letting herself get bitter. This ends on a very positive note that encourages friendship and valuing each other. The nerd in me especially appreciated it. I wish I had had this book as a child, and I know some littles who will LOVE this story that mixes unicorns (the unicorn craze is still going strong) + sciency stuff.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fern was very different than the other unicorns. Instead of playing like all the others, Fern built robots, mixed with her chemistry set, and read books. While Fern was perfectly happy being herself, the others made fun of her for not being like them. Then one day, Fern had had enough, and she knew the next time they needed her, she wouldn’t be there to help. But then the everything breaks at the biggest dance of the year. Fern knows she can help them; will Fern help the others when they need it the most?

Nerdy Corn is the perfect celebration of being proud of who you are while also standing up for yourself. This book is the ideal empowering read of the summer, combing illustrations that will keep readers engaged and transfixed with a storyline that celebrates being you.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fern knows 3 things about herself. She's
* Smart
* A Good Friend
* Always willing to help others

However, she's not interested in the things that the other unicorns seem to be. They leave her out of certain activities and sometimes tease her.
She'd rather do engineering-ish things than skip and jump around glittery rainbows.

This is pretty much a fantasy for anyone who's been bullied for being different because the other unicorns need Fern's skills and come begging for her help. At first, she doesn't help them, but decides that she values being a good friend and willing to help others so she does help them. AND, they change their minds and become at least a little interested in what she likes.

[McKenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Fiction
Age: K - 7
Illustrations: I love the pictures I think kids would love the unicorns even the boys.
Gist: This story is about a unicorn that is a little different than all the other unicorns, and because of it her friends made fun of her. She was not interesting in the same things and she liked math, and science. Even though these other unicorn made fun of her she still always help them when she could like when they needed their oil changed. After a while fern decides that she is going to stop helping them. Then when a big dance comes along and everything goes bad. her friends apologies and she helps them to fix the dance.
Curriculum Connections: I would use this to show kids how bullying hurts people, and I would use this to tie to science and chemistry.

[Dr. T Loves Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fern the Unicorn prefers building things, doing math, and doing experiments to traditional unicorn activities like glitter parties and rainbow dancing. She tries to be a helpful, friendly neighbor, but when the other unicorns make fun of Fern, she stops fixing their broken bikes and repairing their phones. When there's a crisis and the other unicorns come asking for help that only Fern can give, will she forgive them and pitch in?

This story does a nice job of having bright, engaging art, a good story, and a nice lesson. Encouraging all the little unicorns out there to pursue their interests in STEM areas, while also being friendly and helpful, is a worthwhile message.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fern is a nerdy unicorn who isn't interested in all the typical sparkly things her fellow unicorns are interested in. Instead, she likes all things science, building and fixing things. However, when her friends keep teasing her for her nerdiness, enough is enough. When they come to her for help to fix their broken things, she simply ignores them. When the big dance comes around, Fern can't be bothered to even go. But everything breaks down at the dance and her friends come begging her for help. Will Fern come to their rescue?

Really enjoyed this as it touched upon several things: identity, character, kindness, and forgiveness.