Oscar the hungry unicorn by Lou Carter

Ill. by Nikki Dyson. Orchard, 2018. ISBN 9781408355756
(Age: 3+) Recommended. Themes: Unicorns. Fairy tales. Food. Home. Humour. Oscar loves to eat and despite what he eats, he is still hungry. He eats his stable, the gingerbread house, the pirate ship, the toadstools which house the fairies and the dragon's pizza. The dragon points out that the pizza is to share, but Oscar takes no notice. But at the giant's table, he finds that he is part of the food going into the giant's mouth so runs away, despairing that he will never find a home. He crosses the troll bridge eating it as he goes, and just as the trolls begin to exact their revenge, Princess Oola comes by with her boat. She scoops him up, telling how she loves unicorns and takes him to her castle, where food is never ending and Oscar finds a home. But he still looks at the moon with avaricious eyes.
This lovely story about eating reflects many fairy tales which readers will be familiar with. They will love the references to these stories, spying the illustrations to see what parts of the fairy story is mentioned. The fun illustrations suit the tone of the story well, and younger readers will love peering into each picture to see the details.
Teachers and parents will be able to use the story to talk about the place of food in our lives, and the appropriateness of some of the food available against a funny and inviting story.
Fran Knight