Jess Black (text), Celeste Hulme (illus) Eve and the Runaway Unicorn (Keeper of the Crystals #1) New Frontier Publishing, 1 June 2015, 75pp., $14.99 (pbk.) ISBN 9781925059441
Eve’s parents have deposited her at her grandmother’s house for the holidays while they zip off on a cruise. Desperate for company her own age, Eve teams up with the only available option—young Oscar, her gran’s next door neighbour. Complications arise when Eve wants to play dress-ups, but Oscar prefers ninja games. The pair reach a compromise and decide to investigate Eve’s gran’s out-of-bounds attic. This is where the real complications begin. Eve’s discovery of a crystal unicorn magically transports her and Oscar to the alternate world of Panthor—a land where a peaceful people communicate telepathically with animals, but where the king’s greed has led to environmental disaster. Eve’s arrival in Panthor, and her connection with the elusive unicorn, fulfils an ancient prophecy.
Jess Black’s Eve and the Runaway Unicorn is the first title in the author’s Keeper of the Crystals series. Aimed at children in the seven-plus age group, it offers young, independent readers a fast-paced, action adventure in the company of a perceptive and strategically-minded lead character. The narrative arc effectively sets up a problem (an environmentally-parched land under the control of a wicked king), heightens the action (Eve, Oscar and their new Panthorean friends face challenges and ordeals), heads to a climax (the hero, Eve, confronts the king and his army) and reaches a resolution (through a combination of courage, magic, people and animals). Following the denouement, and before returning to Eve’s gran’s attic, Eve and Oscar stay on in Panthor where they learn about a harmonious way of life among an accepting and protective community.
Both the publisher site and the series’ website offer some activities and limited teachers’ resources. Black’s website provides links to her other books which include the RSPCA Animal Tales series and the co-written Bindi Wildlife Adventure series.
Suitable for ages 7+
Reviewed by Tessa Wooldridge