Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn

Kitty-Corn #1

by Shannon Hale, LeUyen Pham (Illustrator)

From bestselling and award-winning superstar duo Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham comes a delightful kitty and unicorn picture-book story that celebrates the magic of friendship—and being exactly who you want to be! A New York Times bestseller! “[Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn] has a big heart.” —New York Times Kitty thinks she might be a unicorn. She feels so perfectly unicorn-y! “Neigh!” says Kitty. But when Unicorn clop clop clops over, sweeping his magnificent tail and neighing a mighty neigh, Kitty feels no bigger than a ball of lint. Can this unlikely pair embrace who they are and truly see each other? In their first picture book together, the magical, bestselling team of Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham put their horns together for the most heart-bursting, tail-twitching, fuzzy-feeling, perfectly unicorn-y story imaginable.

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

48 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 23, 2021

About the author

Shannon Hale is the New York Times best-selling author of six young adult novels: the Newbery Honor book Princess Academy, multiple award winner Book of a Thousand Days, and the highly acclaimed Books of Bayern series. She has written three books for adults, including the upcoming Midnight in Austenland (Jan. 2012), companion book to Austenland. She co-wrote the hit graphic novel Rapunzel's Revenge and its sequel Calamity Jack with husband Dean Hale. They live near Salt Lake City, Utah with their four small children, and their pet, a small, plastic pig.

Reviews

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my daughter’s mind, if there is one thing that could improve any book, it’s a unicorn. If there was a second it would likely be kittens… so a book with kitty-corns? Perfection.

Kitty may look like a common kitten, but inside beats the heart of a unicorn. If only she could convince her friends that she’s not really a kitty, all they see is how she looks on the inside. Try as she may, they always tell her just to be a kitten… but how will a visit from a real unicorn effect Kitty’s outlook?

This book is charming. It’s exactly what I look for in children’s picture books. The art is fun, the story rather clever and the humor pretty solid. Overall this is a solid 4/5 star book and one I would recommend to anyone reading to a child who happens to love both unicorns and cats (which I assume is a good portion of them).

[TL *Humaning the Best She Can* · Rating 5 out of 5]

*cloud library app*

This one came to my attention when Nenia reviewed it and said this was banned in Texas. I immediately went to my library app and downloaded this

"Here's your sign Texas" as Bill Engvall would say.

This was a much needed lift after a long day, pair it with a slushie!

How can you ban this adorable book?? 😍

The artwork is beautiful, the story was so sweet! Definitely getting a copy for my shelves when I can :)

Check this one out, you don't want to miss it!
5 stars 🌟

Would a kitty-corn tattoo be too much? ;-)

[Darla · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cuteness factor for this new picture book from the team who brought us Princess in Black is off the charts. This little kitty dreams of being a unicorn. Her friends parakeet and gecko are not helping her to achieve her aspirations no matter how many times she shows them her unicorn-likeness. Leave it to a real unicorn to save the day and take care of the naysayers. Who knew that the unicorn wanted to be a kitty-corn all along.

Thank you to Abrams Books and Edelweiss+ for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

[Abby Johnson]

WELL I HAVE A NEW FAVORITE BOOK.
So stinkin' cute and a nice (but not overpowering) message about being who you are and who you dream to be.

[ScissorsAndStories · Rating 1 out of 5]

Another book pushing gender identity and identity narcissism. Instead of showing that it’s fun to pretend to be a unicorn, the book pushes that the Kitty can and should be seen and treated as a unicorn- that your feelings determine reality. I’m sick of this being pushed on kids.

[The Library Lady · Rating 1 out of 5]

I know that Hale and Pham are currrent stars of the children's book scene. Hell, the majority of juvvie fiction covers are basically imitations of Pham's art. I know that this will sell.

But though I am a cat lover, though I USED to love unicorns (the late lamented Amy Krouse Rosenthal's Uni the Unicorn series has probably killed that love permanently), this takes the ickiest levels from both topics, adds in a feel good lesson, and mixes it all with some "My Little Pony" saccharine glop for one ipecac of a book.

Or, to paraphrase Dorothy Parker, it makes me want to "thwow up."

FEH!

[Katie T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet message, precious illustrations. I wanted to cry a little at how cute Kitty is 😻.

[Amy Pickett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kitty believes she is a unicorn, but a couple of naysayers (Parakeet and Gecko) keep dashing her high hopes despite her practiced prancing and neighs. It takes a real unicorn (and true compassion) for Kitty's identity to shine through. After all, one kitty-corn will always recognize another! This (almost aggressively) adorable spin on friendship and acceptance will induce delighted squeals in young readers. Thank you to Edelweiss and Abrams for access to this e-galley!

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another challenged/banned book.

A sweet little story about a kitten who sees herself as a unicorn.

Are we trying to outlaw imagination and pretending and dressing up now? I pity the people who can read something like this and only see evil.

[Binxie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the illustrations and most of the story. I didn't like the name calling. Used to provide rhyme, I think it would have been better to rework those lines.

[Harlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want a pet kitty corn <3

[Laela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not crying, you're crying.

It may be the cutest book about acceptance I have ever seen. Also I really really really want to be a Kitty Corn. Just give me minute to make a horn and some fluffy ears.

[kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

cute pictures,but the text just seemed lacking

[Reading is my Escape · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Kitty thinks she might be a unicorn.”
- first line

Kitty is just adorable. You can’t help but love her. When I saw this book in the store, I just had to get it for our school library. The colors are magical and the story is too - showing the importance of loving and accepting yourself and your identity. Hale and Pham are an amazing team and always create wonderful books.

[May · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gift from my son. Super cute story and illustrations. 🤗

[Dawn Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh how I miss my littles. They all would have loved this and how fun it was. We would have read it and then made unicorn horns for ourselves.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn was a delightful read about a cat that is convinced she's a unicorn.

Kitty thinks she might be a unicorn even though everyone tells her she's a cat. She feels like a unicorn so that means she must be one, right? But then Kitty meets Unicorn with his magnificent tail and his mighty neigh, and she suddenly feels too small to be a unicorn. Can this unlikely pair help each other see who they truly are?

The illustrations in this book were adorable and I loved the use of bright colors. The personalities of each character shines through in the illustrations and the kitty-corn was definitely my favorite. I also really liked the grumpy Parakeet and Gecko. The messaging of acceptance and believing in yourself are great ones.

Overall Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn was an adorable read and I would highly recommend it.

[Gabriela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have started reading kids' picture books for bedtime via Facetime to bond with my goddaughter. If you have any recs, please comment and let me know :)

Unicorns and a pink cat - Say no more! Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn was adorable and super entertaining to my goddaughter. Beautiful artwork is beautiful and a sweet and uplifting story.

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meet Kitty! She thinks she is positively a unicorn, but is she really?


I just adore Shannon Hale x LeUyen Pham! I have a few books of them and so I also had to read this one. I was curious what they had made now, plus, I can also not resist cute cats and unicorns.

In this one we meet a tiny kitty with a tiny little horn on her head. She wants to be a unicorn, or more specifically, she thinks she is one! We see her fluff her tail, see her try out neighing instead of meowing, see her prance and more. No matter what two animals say, she keeps on improving, trying to become more unicorn-y. I really loved that she didn’t give up despite what Gecko and Parakeet said. I mean, a lot of us would just have gotten dejected, but she just doesn’t.

I love the addition of the real unicorn and see what that does to our kitty. I just wanted to hug her so badly, that poor ball of fluff! But things really turned and WOW I really loved that, plus it made me smile so much!

While Parakeet and Gecko were at times a bit mean, I mean, just use your imagination guys, the kitty is trying her hardest, I did like to see them on the pages. I especially liked seeing what they were doing. From videogames to wearing helmets and sharing a kick scooter (I like the Dutch word more, step). I was kind of looking forward to seeing our duo appear.

The ending was just perfection, so sweet, so fluffy, so cute! I was just awwwing and smiling the whole time.

And LeUyen Pham has done it again, the illustrations are superb and I adore them!

All in all, if you want a book about acceptation, about unicorns, about kitties, and about perseverance, be sure to check out this book!

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

[Panda Incognito · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of those picture books where a dynamic duo comes together and produces something sadly subpar. I love the author's and the illustrator's work in general, but this story takes too long to get going, and relies too much on other animals' insults for the rhymes. I wouldn't want to read this with children to model the insults, and even though the ending is sweet, there isn't enough story before then to make it truly meaningful.

[Raegan · Rating 2 out of 5]

*I received this book for free through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

This audiobook has a full-cast, sound effects, and music. The combination of pink, cats, and unicorns is sure to capture young children's attention. The moral is, be yourself, no matter who is watching. There isn't anything memorable in the story or writing. Overall, this was okay, but there are probably better unicorn books.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would like to thank edelweiss and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. As soon as I saw this on here, I requested it. It encompasses all the things my 4 year old daughter loves, unicorns, cats, and bright colours of pink and purple. It also has a great message of being who you want to be, no matter what anyone else says.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh. Shannon Hale has done it again and hats off to Leuyen Phan for such fun illustrations. And be sure to pay attention to the end papers as they are part of the story. This book is so fun. You can be a kitty or a unicorn or you could be a kitty corn. LOVE IT!!!

[Shiloah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the kind of quality reading my 8 year old picked at the book fair. The rating is her’s. My rating doesn’t factor into it. 😬

2025 edit: And my youngest is now 8 and chose this same book at the book fair. So we read it again.

[Andréa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Chance Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still sick of unicorns, but the ending is super special.

[IvyInThePages · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 4.9 leaves out of 5
Characters: 5/5
Cover: 5/5
Story: 4.5/5
Writing: 5/5
Genre: Children/Fantasy
Type: Audiobook
Worth?: Yes!

First want to thank Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review! This book has been flying off the shelf at my work. If it is hidden this book would be sniffed out and found. The kids enjoyed it so when I saw that I could get a chance to listen to it I snatched up the request.

It is a cute and adorable little book. The soundtrack really added to the fun of the book. There was, however, one little bit of the book when the music went kinda dark but other than that it was an enjoyable read!

[Heydi Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a wonderful book about finding your own self and your own peoples. Not everyone will understand your 'you' but that doesn't mean it's wrong. That's the message. Kitty-Corn finds her people in a unicorn who feels he's a kitty, so he's a kitty-corn too. The two find joy in each other. This would make a great storytime book for very positive 'this is me' storytime. So many great new books to pair with this one, here are a few of my favorites: I Like Myself! by Karen Beaumont, How to be a Lion by Ed Vere, Perfectly Norman by Tom Percival and The Good Egg by Jory John.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

No kitty-person, no unicorn-fan, no pink-adorer could resist this book.

"Kitty thinks she might be a unicorn."

Kitty wants to be a unicorn.

"She feels so perfectly unicorn-y."

Her friends disagree. Vigorously.

Kitty presses on until who should appear but Unicorn himself. Startlingly, he reveals that he, like Kitty, is really a Kitty-corn.

A book of how one can come to define oneself, and the joys of doing so.

[Rereader · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was challenged for "grooming children" and being "sexually suggestive". The mental gymnastics required to reach those conclusions are worthy of a gold medal.

This is a sweet, endearing, and positive book on being yourself and surrounding yourself with supportive people. The art is bright and playful, the story is short but sweet, and the conclusion is wonderful. This is a book about loving yourself and sharing that love and support with others.