The Best Unicorn Picture Books
If you know a little one with an obsession for unicorns - and, let’s be honest, who doesn’t - then we have the picture book list for you! In honor of National Unicorn Day this very weekend, we’ve gathered up all of our favorite unicorn picture books into one convenient article.
In our house, it’s my daughter - currently age 6 - who is the unicorn aficionado. She loves unicorn stuffed animals and unicorn stories and unicorn board games. She even had a unicorn-themed birthday party recently where we all wore horns.
And it’s because of this love that our house was so well-equipped to put together a unicorn-themed picture book list as well. It turns out we already had quite a few unicorn books lying around to choose from. It also turns out that the unicorn is quite a popular topic for kids books, so we’re going to be providing you with a ton of good choices.
My favorite thing about unicorn books is that they so often are used as the backdrop for comedy. The vast majority of these books are hilarious, with very few taking themselves seriously at all. Personally I’d like to see more serious unicorn fantasy stories, like one of my favorite childhood books - Into the Land of the Unicorns. And I certainly wouldn’t stick my nose up at a scary unicorn story! But I can certainly live with funny.
So whether you’re looking to celebrate National Unicorn Day in your classroom or looking for good gifts for your own unicorn-themed birthday party - we’ve got you covered. This is a one-stop-shop for the unicorn-loving readers in your life. So put on your horns and gather round, there’s undoubtedly a unicorn story for every fan here.
Disclosure: Some of the links in this article are affiliate links. Clicking on those links will lead you to view the books’ listings on the websites of affiliate partners such as Bookshop or Amazon.
The Magical Unicorn Society: Official Handbook
Written by Selwyn E. Phipps and Illustrated by Harry & Zanna Goldhawk & Helen Dardik
Both of my kids are obsessed with picture books that function like atlases or educational materials for fictional subjects. The Magical Unicorn Society is a great example of that style. This book actually is much longer than a traditional picture book. In fact, it pushes 100 pages. But it’s fully illustrated throughout the entire thing, so I suppose it still qualified as a picture book in the literal sense.
Inside you’ll find sections on the history of unicorns, what unicorns eat, and - perhaps best of all - a detailed look at the different types of unicorns. The Desert Flames, the Ice Wanderers, the Water Moons - this is the sweet spot for these fictional encyclopedias and the type of information my kids are crazy about. It gives them something brand new to learn and memorize about something they already love. And it treats the entire thing like it’s the most natural thing in the world to study this magical topic in beautiful depth. Trust me, this is the one to consider for true unicorn lovers.
How to Catch a Unicorn
Written by Adam Wallace and Illustrated by Andy Elkerton
How to Catch a Unicorn of course is part of the very popular “How to Catch” picture book series. In this edition, a group of kids is chasing around a unicorn inside of a zoo - and the unicorn easily evades their every attempt to catch him. Of course I’m not so sure the book is titled correctly considering how spectacularly the kids fail at catching the unicorn.
Personally, I think the majority of fun in this book is in the details of the art. It’s fun to look at the various booby traps that the kids set up around the zoo - like the fake unicorn castle, the sparkly cupcake under a box, or the unicorn lemonade stand under the cage. We’ve gone through many phases of being obsessed with booby traps around here, so paying close attention to how these kids are trying to catch the unicorn is a lot of fun for us.
Unicorns are the Worst
Written and Illustrated by Alex Willan
A goblin describes his issues with unicorns, and bemoans the fact that no kids are asking for goblin-themed birthday parties. Alex Willan shows off his humor and his timing with this very funny picture book. And Goblin is a really fun character and much-appreciated by us fantasy fans in this house.
Goblin’s list of complaints about his unicorn neighbors is pretty funny, like how goblins could frolic around too if they wanted to - they just choose not to. But he starts singing a different tune when the unicorns help protect him from a dragon. I suppose Goblin has a thing or two to learn about both jealousy and being a good neighbor. The entire package of this book was very well made. From top to bottom, the details are wonderful, and it’s a very handsome book.
Margaret’s Unicorn
Written and Illustrated by Briony May Smith
Margaret’s Unicorn is written and illustrated by the very talented Briony May Smith, and it’s a very special and dreamy book. The art is spectacular and the story is memorable and magical. Out of all the books on this entire list, Margaret’s Unicorn is one of the only ones that takes the magic of unicorns seriously instead of turning it into a comedy - so I’m quite certain there are many unicorn fans out there who will find it the most endearing by far.
Margaret discovers an abandoned baby unicorn when her family moved to a cottage in the mountains. She raises the baby for a year and spends the entire season with him waiting for his family to return in the spring. And when he returns to his family, Margaret hopes he won’t forget her. The story is exceptional, and I can’t say enough good things about it. Unicorn lovers and simply lovers of good picture books will adore it. I implore you to add this to your unicorn book collection if that’s what you’re searching for.
You Don’t Want a Unicorn!
Written by Ame Dyckman and Illustrated by Liz Climo
You Don’t Want a Unicorn! is a unicorn book for kids who didn’t know they wanted a unicorn book. You don’t have to be a unicorn super fan to enjoy this one, because it actually lists all of the reasons you DON’T want a unicorn. They shed, they scratch, they poop cupcakes, and they burp rainbows.
It’s of course a very funny book, because it follows a young boy who got more than he bargained for after wishing for a unicorn. However, it’s probably not what every unicorn lover out there would be expecting! Maybe you could read it to them when they insist on asking for a real unicorn for their birthday or Christmas. You don’t want to have a unicorn as a pet - TRUST ME!
Kevin the Unicorn: It’s Not All Rainbows
Written and Illustrated by Jessika von Innerebner
Kevin the Unicorn: It’s Not All Rainbows is VERY funny. Jessika von Innerebner really shows off her sense of humor here. You can find the humor in the exhausting, over-the-top, magical awesomeness of the unicorns. And you can really see the humor in the eyes - especially when Kevin finally cracks under the pressure.
Unicorn culture pushes perfection and magic and glitter - so Kevin is quite resistant to admit that everything is, in fact, not awesome. In fact, Kevin is having a pretty terrible day, and that’s okay! I adore this book. Not only is it legitimately hilarious, but it truly has a very important and well-incorporated lesson about perfection in it.
For a closer look at Kevin the Unicorn: It’s Not All Rainbows, make sure to check out our featured article on the book, where we also talk about teaching kids how it’s okay not to be perfect.
Kevin the Unicorn: Why Can’t We Be Bestie-Corns?
Written and Illustrated by Jessika von Innerebner
Kevin the Unicorn: Why Can’t We Be Bestie-Corns? is another big success from Jessika von Innerebner. It seems to me she has a real knack for incorporating nice lessons in her books in a way that feels natural. It blends right in with the gorgeous, engaging art and the great laughs. I really love the world of Kevin the Unicorn.
In this sequel, Kevin is trying to be bestie-corns with the new unicorn in town. But they have absolutely nothing in common. They both want to force the friendship, but there’s absolutely nothing they enjoy doing together. In the end they decide to just be friendly with each other. You don’t have to be bestie-corns with every unicorn, and that’s okay.
Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great
Written and Illustrated by Bob Shea
Unicorn thinks he’s pretty great, but goat isn’t so sure about that. But it’s also possible that what goat is feeling is actually jealousy. He spends lots of the book hilariously complaining about unicorn showing off, but perhaps goat just needs to get to know unicorn better.
It turns out unicorn is pretty nice after all, and goat has some things that unicorn is jealous of too. Ultimately it’s a good lesson in perspective and judging others and believing in yourself. Plus, it has a lot of great humor that makes us all laugh. Grumpy goat is really funny, but I suppose we’re also glad that he gets over his grumps.
Nerdycorn
Written by Andrew Root and Illustrated by Erin Kraan
Nerdycorn is, obviously, about a unicorn nerd. And the first thing I’d like to point out is that the art is pretty wonderful. Fern likes chemistry more than glitter, and reading more than rainbows. She doesn’t quite fit in with the other unicorns. But they certainly aren’t complaining when she’s building them engines or welding their hydrothermal capacitors!
But all of the unicorns take Fern for granted, and treat her quite poorly. I’m not so sure the other unicorns deserve it, but Fern forgives them by the end of the book after they apologize and accept her. But it is of course a very sweet message about how STEM is cool and how what makes us different is what makes us who we are. Fern is a unicorn role model for sure.
Unicorns 101
Written and Illustrated by Cale Atkinson
Unicorns 101 is another of those books that functions like an informational atlas or an encyclopedia, so my son really loves it a lot. Cale Atkinson is also very funny, on top of being such a great artist, so there are tons of wonderful details in this book to discover and enjoy. It’s absolutely delightful.
The point of the book is teach you everything you need to know about unicorns. You’ll learn about their biology, their history, their social behaviors - everything you could want to know. And it’s all presented in a very entertaining and engaging way - from professors like Professor Glitter Pants - and with running jokes that make my kids laugh out loud several times.
Not Quite Narwhal
Written and Illustrated by Jessie Sima
I really like Jessie Sima’s art quite a bit. Not Quite Narwhal is a very good looking book, and it makes it very easy to fall in love with Kelp - the unicorn who thinks he’s a narwhal. There’s a lot of very smart humor in this book and sweet lessons to learn as well - making it easily one of my favorite unicorn books.
Kelp discovers throughout the course of this book that he’s actually not a narwhal (a fact that all of his narwhal family already knew). Kelp is in fact a unicorn, and he has to decide if he wants to be a land-narwhal with the unicorns, or a sea-unicorn with the narwhals. And I think you’ll find the solution very heartwarming indeed.
Hello, My Name is Octicorn
Written by Kevin Diller and Illustrated by Justin Lowe
Hello, My Name is Octicorn is about the offspring of a unicorn and an octopus. And, as you can probably tell from the concept, it’s a pretty funny book! And I suppose a lot of the humor probably stems from imagining how his parents met. In any case, spicing things up with a half-unicorn definitely shakes up this list.
But it’s not all fun and games in this one. Octicorn is actually a little sad about his struggles fitting in. It seems he finds trouble being accepted both on land and in the sea. So this is also a book about empathy and kindness being different. And I’m quite certain by the end of the book your kids will be more than happy to be Octi’s friend.
Unicorn Day
Written by Diana Murray and Illustrated by Luke Flowers
Unicorn Day is fantastic and in some ways it reminds me of Go, Dog, Go! - especially the unbridled joy at the end when the big dog party is revealed. This entire book is about a big unicorn party, and I particularly like it when the horse tries to sneak in to the party with a fake horn attached to his head. It’s very sweet that they put the horn back on his head and invite him to the festivities after his ruse is revealed.
I can’t say enough good things about the art of Luke Flowers. The characters and their expressions are just wonderful. This is a real feel-good book and he has a lot to do with that. This collaboration was a great match and this is definitely one of the best unicorn books out there. I think it captures the elusive feelings and reasons that people are fans of unicorns in the first place quite well.
Unicorn Night
Written by Diana Murray and Illustrated by Luke Flowers
Unicorn Night is another great unicorn collaboration between Diana Murray and Luke Flowers, and it’s all about tucking little unicorns in for bedtime. The rhymes from Diana Murray are soothing and very much like a Sandra Boynton bedtime book - making this a great choice for reading at night.
Luke Flowers is one of the best out there, and he really brings this unicorn world to life with wonderful detail and charm. You can’t underestimate the importance of illustrations, and Flowers doesn’t waste a single square inch. It’s the type of book your kids will want to flip through slowly because there’s so much to look at, and I think that’s a big key to why this series is so endearing.
Uni the Unicorn
Written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Illustrated by Brigette Barrager
Uni the Unicorn flips the script on kids believing in unicorns. Uni is a unicorn in a world that thinks humans aren’t real - but she believes little girls are real. And all of the other unicorns laugh and think Uni is crazy. It’s a sweet way to get kids engaged and imagining that somewhere out there is a unicorn that believes in them.
The art is very bright and colorful and it makes this book easy to fall in love with. The book describes itself as a story about believing, and that’s a good way to put it. It’s about childhood wonder and imagination and belief - and those are always good things for kids books. It’s tailor-made for little boys and girls that want to believe and they’ll soon be dreaming about showing Uni that little kids are real after all.
Donut: The Unicorn Who Wants to Fly
Written by Laura Gehl and Illustrated by Andrea Zuill
Donut is the only picture book on this list that, as of writing, is yet to be published. But we’re only a few days away from release, so more than likely it’s probably on shelves now after all. I have a good feeling that Donut is going to turn out to be a very popular unicorn book. It has a good combination of sweet and funny, and - perhaps most importantly - it’s a very good looking book.
The art on some of the pages reminds me of the style and detail of Ben Hatke, and that’s high praise coming from me. He’s always been a big family favorite. Donut is drawn in a very endearing style, and, by the way, isn’t Donut a pretty great unicorn name? The text is very short and cute by design, so a lot of the meaning is conveyed through the pictures, including what Donut is thinking. This makes the book a very engaging read-aloud, because kids really have to engage with the pictures, and I’m confident that little ones everywhere will soon be wishing that Donut finally gets to fly.
Do you know any unicorn fans? Have you already read any of these wonderful books? What’s your favorite unicorn book? Let us know in the comments!
