Billie the Unicorn [Hardcover]

Brianne Drouhard (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

"More stunning work from Brianne Drouhard, a.k.a. The Best Kept Secret in Animation." — Chris Battle, The Powerpuff Girls

"Brianne is an amazing talent. A mixture of influences combined into something new and wholly original!" — Glen Murakami, Cartoon Network's Superman and Justice League

"If you like pretty twinkly magic, unthinkable depths of lavish colors, organic farming, and horses with horns, boy are you in for a treat! The brilliantly talented marker wielding creator of this universe, Brianne Drouhard, has wrought forth a world of such intense charm and adorableness, that even the coldest hearted football jock will not be able to resist the call to be immersed in this lush and wondrous world." — Derrick J. Wyatt, Transformers: Animated

"Not only do Brianne's drawings have great style and flair, they also use classic principles...the whole shebang of good drawing skills, and to top it off, a lot of individuality and fun!" — John Kricfalusi, creator of Ren & Stimpy

"It’s not often that something makes you go 'aaaaaww,' 'cooooool,' and 'ha ha ha ha ha' all at the same time. The world seriously needs more of the cute/awesome/funny work of Brianne Drouhard!"
-Lauren Faust, Executive Producer of the new My Little Pony animated series.

The young unicorn Billie seeks adventure! She leaves her cornfield for the forest, where her friendly cousins Rhubarb and Smudge show her how to grow delightful flowers. However, the legend of a Queen's castle that holds the world's grandest garden lures her away! But will Billie discover that friendship and freedom matter more? Find out!

Brianne Drouhard has contributed to the popular animated TV shows Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Ben Ten, Teen Titans, and Transformers: Animated.

Fans of horses, unicorns, My Little Pony, or animation character design will enjoy the adventures of Billie!

Editorial Reviews

Review

Very excited to see another great book release from Immedium! Billie the Unicorn is a story about a sweet, but unfulfilled little unicorn named Billie, searching for her place and purpose in the world. After making a few bad choices, Billie learns to be true to herself and those that love her. The illustrations in this book are phenomenal, the characters are filled with charm and personality! --Tokyo Bunnie

Another appropriate lesson to learn from Billie the Unicorn is that the grass isn't always greener on the other side. The most enchanting thing about this fable is the artwork. My girls are seventeen, but that did not stop them from snatching this book out of my hands and declaring it worthy of 4 pluses, all due to the illustrations. "This is the kind of book I would have read over and over again for the artwork," one of my daughters declared. And it's true. My Little Pony fans and lovers of horses and unicorns will delight in Billie the Unicorn. The illustrations are perfectly suited for the minds of children encouraging them to imagine other stories for Billie and playing them out. Little girls will love Billie especially. --Biblio Reads

Brianne Drouhard spins a heartfelt tale of adventure, magic and whimsy that leaves you wanting more. Her beautiful illustrations transport you into a world you'll want to visit again and again. --The My Little Pony Collector's Inventory

The book is very sweet, and it will catch children's attention who will identify themselves in the young unicorn Billie and will follow her in the adventure and the adults, especially if they have never grown up like us, will love the beautiful illustrations by Brianne Drouhard. Billie teaches everyone not to give up at the first difficulties and not to be taken in by appearances, because even a cob can become a flower! --Non Solo Kawaii

My boys were rapt until the end, and I'm sure we'll be enjoying the book many more times in the future. --SuperPunch

About the Author

Brianne Drouhard: Brianne grew up in a small town in Washington State, where her family grows potatoes. She has been interested in animation since an early age and draws everyday. Brianne now works in television animation as a character designer and storyboard artist. TV shows she has contributed to are Teen Titans, Class of 3000, Transformers Animated, Ben Ten, and Batman: The Brave and the Bold. She is a graduate of Calarts and likes to create illustrations, stories, and short cartoons in her free time. A recipient of a NFAA scholarship, she graduated from California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). Her artwork has been shown at galleries in Los Angeles and Philidelphia. Brianne's online portfolio is at briannedrouhard.com.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 36 pages
• Publisher: Immedium (April 26, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597020249
• ISBN-13: 978-1597020244
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #911,261 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous!, May 20, 2011

By 

Eddie Perkins "Atomicpanda.com" (Paradise, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Billie the Unicorn (Hardcover)

Billie the Unicorn is an absolutely fantastic book! If you have young children or if, like me, are a fan of beautiful artwork I cannot recommend this book enough!

For children, the book is large, hardcover and sturdy, full of wonderful, vibrant artwork and has a story any child would like to be read and is also simple enough for them to read themselves. The characters are very likable and identifiable. The dangers faced by Billie aren't too scary for young children and the ending is a happy one.

Is Billie the Unicorn just for girls? I'd actually say no. The unicorns in the book are both girls and boys and it's clear the author was more interested in telling a good children's story with lavish, detailed, imagination-expanding artwork than pandering to any stereotypical, big-business idea of any one market or demographic to boost sales. In other words, it's not a book about playing dress-up, shopping, tea parties (though, granted they do have tea once), gossip and every shade of pink a cynical marketer can come up with. It's a story about discovery, friendship, personal growth, wonder and finding one's place in the world. I've seen several reviews that stated young boys loved the book every bit as much as young girls.

For adults, yes, the story is sweet and enjoyable, but it's short and I certainly won't pretend that it's not written for young children. What I can recommend about this book to adults is that truly fantastic art. I bought this book for myself just for the amazing artwork and I was not disappointed in the slightest. Every picture reproduced in the book was hand drawn and colored with an amazing mixture of marker and color pencil. Every image is highly detailed and beautiful. The reproduction of the art is crisp and vibrant with the art running right to the edge of each page. I think you simply can't beat the price for an art book of this quality.

Billie the Unicorn is a wonderful book for any young child. I actually feel bad so many children won't have a copy of Billie the Unicorn of their own. For the rest of us, Billie the Unicorn is full, front to back, of stunning, wonderful artwork. Like I said, I can't recommend this book enough.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Billie!, May 27, 2011

By 

Gemma Stilley - See all my reviews

This review is from: Billie the Unicorn (Hardcover)

I teach a classroom full of 4 year old boys, and I brought this book in to read. One little boy in particular was mesmerized by the drawings. Usually when I read to him, he gets bored and wants to turn the page before I finish the paragraph. This time, I would finish reading the words on the page and he would sit and stare at the drawings on the pages until I prompted him to turn the page. He especially loved the robot guards. As soon as it ended, he asked to read it again.

Some of the boys I work with live with unconventional families, so it was nice to have an example of a girl living with her cousins instead of her mom and dad. I choose this book often when reading to children who don't live with their parents.

We rotate books, and I put Billie away for a few weeks. This morning, one 4-year old saw a bean sprout we planted in the garden and he shouted "That's just like Billie's cornstalk!" Another child asked who Billie was, and they began to talk about unicorns and gardens and queens. This afternoon I got out the book and we read it three times.

I recommend this book for any classroom or family! It's sturdy, too, and has survived well with my very active boys.