Wish on a Unicorn (A Puffin Book) [Mass Market Paperback]

Karen Hesse (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1993 | Age Level: 8 and up | Series: A Puffin Book

Mags doesn't believe in making wishes. What's the point? If wishes came true, she wouldn't live in a trailer and she wouldn't have to wear ratty clothes to school. But then her sister Hannie finds an old stuffed unicorn, and suddenly Mags' luck starts to change. Mags knows the unicorn can't really be magical, but what's the harm in letting Hannie believe that it is? "Ranks with Betsy Byar's Pinballs and Cynthia Voight's Homecoming in describing families surviving as best they can under economic deprivation." — Publishers Weekly

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Mags lives in a trailer with her overworked mother, her perpetually hungry little brother Mooch and her retarded sister Hannie. As the oldest, Mags is the responsible one, but when Hannie finds a ratty old stuffed unicorn and says it's magic, Mags almost believes her. The wishes that come true aren't spectacular: Mooch gets a sandwich after wanting something to eat, and Mags gets new clothes--hand-me-downs from her aunt, but there is some kind of magic. The unicorn acts as a catalyst, letting Mags see beyond the humdrum of everyday life and realize how important her family is to her. With colorful regional language (Hannie is "stubborn as an elbow,") and clear psychological insight, Hesse's debut ranks with Betsy Byars's Pinballs and Cynthia Voight's Homecoming in describing families surviving as best they can under economic privation. Ages 9-12.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6-- Margaret Wade's family lives on the edge of poverty. Her mother is a single parent who works at night, and Mags feels beset by responsibilities and worries far beyond those of other 12-year-olds. Hannie, her retarded half-sister, finds a stuffed unicorn and is sure that it can grant wishes; Mags, too, almost comes to believe in the toy's power. There is no magic, but the events the unicorn's discovery precipitates lead Mags to a new realization of the depth of her love for her family. Hesse is sensitive to the youngster's mixed feelings of duty, caring, and frustration. Her plot moves satisfactorily, and she is successful in depicting the family's everyday environment; her description of the dinner Mags fixes for her brother and sister speaks volumes. The narrative is not always smooth, and the overuse of similes is distracting, but Hesse does capture the spirits of a stalwart young heroine and her family. --Tatiana Castleton, Stockton-San Joaquin County Public Library, CA
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (February 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140349359
• ISBN-13: 978-0140349351
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,959,617 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A warm blend love, trust and everyday magic, April 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Wish on a Unicorn (A Puffin Book) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a wonderfully told story that deals with the love of family and hope through the eyes of a young girl and her siblings who are living in poverty with their mother. The three children are dealing with difficult problems-the younger brother has been accused of stealing, the younger sister is dealing with a learning disability of some kind, and the older sister desperately wants to fit in with more well-to-do and snobby girls at school. Pulling away from her family in her attempts to fit in the other girls, Mags is led to rediscover magic and possibilities. Over time and in response to a crisis I won't give away, Mags also learns to accept her sister's vision of magical hope and her brother's understanding of trust.

3.0 out of 5 stars Finding the True Source of Magic, February 3, 2009

By 

Gale Finlayson "PLUME45" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Teenage Mags has a tough life; considered Trailer Trash by their

country neighbors, she is embarrassed: by not having a father, having to wear hand-me-downs, a sister who is developmentally slow and a kid brother who is branded a thief. Working two jobs Mama doesn't have time to be there for her children or sympathetic to a teen's social problems.

One day after school the sisters discover a dirty, stuffed unicorn leaning against a fence post in a field. Immediately Hannie claims the disreputable creature as her own--perhaps sensing that this throw-away animal needs her love and protection. Mags realizes that

the idea that a disheveled unicorn could actually grant Wishes has a childlike appeal. Realistic Mags knows that this is utterly impossible, but part of her secretly hopes that it Might be true. Oh, if each one of the maligned siblings could have one wish each...

It is left up to the reader to decide if the filthy toy possesses any real magic, but some of the kids' wishes come true quickly--or is it just coincidence? Mags comes of age as she wrestles with more responsibility than a girl her age should have to shoulder while trying desperately to be accepted by a popular pair of girls. She feels dragged down by peer accusations that little Mooch is stealing food, and by the cruel observations that Hannie--whom she dearly loves--will never be normal. Yet why is this special-needs child suddenly happier than she has been in a long while, even talking more? It is from flawed Hannie that Mags learns the source of real magic and the mostimportant things she should cherish about her outwordly limpoverished life. The real magic was waiting to be found closer than she ever dreamed.