A Glory Of Unicorns [Mass Market Paperback]

Bruce Coville (Editor), Alix Berenzy (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up

Compiled by the author of the Unicorn Chronicles, these twelve tales find unicorns in far-reaching times and places, from the fantastical world of Luster and the mystical land of ancient China to modern-day America.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bruce Coville has received more than a dozen Children's Choice Awards, and has written more than ninety books, including My Teacher Is An Alien, The Monster's Ring, and the Unicorn Chronicles series. He lives in New York.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic (February 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 043906628X
• ISBN-13: 978-0439066280
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #561,574 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unicorn anthology, June 1, 2001

By 

Ashareh (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Glory Of Unicorns (Mass Market Paperback)

_A Glory of Unicorns_, edited by Bruce Coville, is a good anthology of unicorn stories. I've never been particularly interested in unicorns, but after reading Coville's lovely introduction, I was all set to read the stories. Some memorable and moving stories were: "The Guardian of Memory," a story set in Coville's world of Luster; "The Ugly Unicorn," about a young blind princess whose best friend is the ugly Liu-Mu unicorn; "A Song for Croaker Nordge," about a girl whose wounded spirit will not let her believe in magic; and "The New Girl," about a unicorn caretaker.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Glory of Unicorns, April 19, 2004

A Kid's Review

This review is from: A Glory Of Unicorns (Mass Market Paperback)

Do you believe in fantasy and magical creatures? Then you'll love A Glory of Unicorns. As you read A Glory of Unicorns by Bruce Coville, you'll learn that you have to follow what you want to do and not what someone else wants you to do. This book is about kids believing and losing something or someone dear to their heart. One story takes place in Luster, the unicorn world. A mare, Cloudmane, decides she wants too become the Guardian of Memory and asks for help from Grimwold, the keeper of the story that started the choosing of the Guardian. A Glory of Unicorns also has a poem called "Dream Child". A story for learning a lesson is "Tearing Down the Unicorns"; it takes place mostly in the woods where Stacey meets a unicorn that teaches her a lesson. There are many other stories like the ones I have mentioned.
Bruce Coville has written other books such as The Unicorn Chronicles series, Jeremy Thatcher Dragon Hatcher, The Skull of Truth, The Monster's Ring, Sarah's Unicorn, The Dragonslayers, and many more. He seems to have people believe in fantasy than in real life the more you read his books. Although A Glory of Unicorns does have some reality in it, the reality just makes the stories more believable. In this book Bruce Coville can make you visualize without using too many descriptive words.
Some might get confused when the book doesn't give enough descriptions or doesn't say who's talking. But most of the time you don't really need too many descriptions to visualize. The book can definitely confuse younger kids because of the problems the main characters encounter. The book is very good for older children who love to dream. It's hard not to believe and fantasize about unicorns and magic after you read A Glory of Unicorns.

22 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not quite what the introduction promises, September 11, 2002

By 

R. M. Fisher "Raye" (New Zealand = Middle Earth!) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: A Glory Of Unicorns (Mass Market Paperback)

Bruce Coville (the complier and editor of this anthology) promised in his introduction no sappy unicorns, tells us that unicorn love is hard and demanding, and unicorns themselves neither safe nor sweet. However, four stories into this book I found that was exactly what the book was delievering - sweet, dreamy, dear little unicorns. Contradicting his own words Coville brings us the story of 'The Guardian of Memory' in which unicorns have names such as 'Arabella Skydancer' and 'Manda Seafoam' and are entirely domesticated, speaking unicorns. Likewise, nearly every other author in this book seems to have no knowledge of true unicorn lore - that these incredibly shy creatures, who dwelt in the Garden of Eden, could only possibly be approached by a pure virgin maiden and even then *never* ridden. Many of the stories have unicorns as tame, human-loving creatures, and one only need read the poem 'The Dream-Child' to get the general attitude towards unicorns in this collection: lines like "starlight spinning down your spiraled horn/the dream-child, the cloud-maned". *Sigh*.

However, I am being rather harsh in this assessment, as this book is obviously meant for young girls, and my expectations were no doubt far too high. Young unicorn lovers, who are quite happy to view unicorns as magical horses will be quite content with such a collection and some of the stories aren't so sickly-sweet that parents won't find enjoyment in reading them aloud.
A few that rise above the par are 'Tearing Down the Unicorns', the only story that addresses the issue of today's views on unicorns being adorable little ponies; 'Child of Faerie', a nicely written and conceived story of Afton, a faerie child who chose to live for a while in the human world, but is now being called back to her true home when her human family needs her most; and 'The Ugly Unicorn', the creation of an Oriental myth of a young blind girl mistakingly believing that the ugly Liu-mu is the beautiful Poh unicorn.

Girls already initiated into Coville's 'Luster' series will no doubt love his 'Guardian of Memory' story, set in the same world, and parents as well as children should like 'The Healing Truth', the story of a complusive liar that finds a unicorn in a supply closet; 'A Song for Croaker Nordge' of an old man who places his hopes of finding a unicorn on his grand-daughter and 'Story Hour', the tale of an old woman teaching her grand-daughter the secrets of finding a unicorn but keeping it secret by telling her the story of the Goblin King.

Other stories destined to be less popular because of their ambiguity are 'Beyond the Fringe,' in which an old woman weaves a carpet for her family as bandits raid their village, 'The Unicorns of Kabustan' in which a boy hiding from war releases a series of unicorns that try to put an end to the fighting, 'Stealing Dreams', of a boy who finds a unicorn in his wallpaper and 'The New Girl', a short tale of a unicorn caretaker desparate to leave the confines of her small village. And of course, the sugary-sickness of the poem 'The Dream-Child.'
Another saving grace is Alix Berenzy's lovely black-and-white illustrations.

Read this book at your own enjoyment, but be aware that you are not reading about 'real' unicorns - only the idealised, modernised unicorns by authors who have forgotten what a unicorn really is.