Unicorn! by Maggie Hutchings

Ill. by Cheryl Orsini. Affirm Press, 2018. ISBN 9781925712506
Luka makes the world light up
Like a shooting star on a dark night.
But when Luka gets really sick and makes a wish for a unicorn, it is not so easy for her best friend to keep her promise of making it come true. Even though she did lots of research about where to find one and how to catch it when she did, she couldn't find the information she needed. So she drew a picture of one but that didn't satisfy Luka as she lay in her hospital bed. And neither did dressing up in a onesie. Even borrowing a pony and putting a cardboard horn on it did not make a difference. But sometimes every minute spent wishing and hoping and determined to keep a promise can pay off . . .
Unicorns and little girls currently go together like fish and chips - there is an inexorable pull between them - and so to discover a picture book that features them is all that will be needed to get your young readers clamouring for this one. The double bonus is that it is a quality story that is about friendship and the lengths we go to for those we love which is accompanied by exquisite illustrations. And the ending is perfect - even I looked under my bed!
Barbara Braxton