Daisy and the Trouble with Unicorns

Kes Gray's Daisy and the Trouble with Unicorns is a very funny story for 5 year olds about a girl who has sworn she'll never EVER have anything to do with unicorns.

What happens

Everyone at Daisy's school is unicorn mad. There are unicorn pencil cases, unicorn socks and a unicorn lunch box. Even the headmaster has a unicorn air freshener in his car! So Daisy and her best friend Gabby have made a secret pact. They're individuals, and unicorns are not for them.

Then Gabby has a birthday party. Daisy is the only friend invited, which makes her guest of honour (with her mum's silver necklace on loan, after a list of conditions). Gabby's Nana Pru turns up with bright blue hair, blue nails and blue everything. And her special present is two fluffy toy unicorns.

Who hasn't had to smile politely at a present they secretly dread? Both girls freeze. Then Daisy has a stroke of genius and suggests they take them upstairs to play, where the unicorns can go straight under the bed.

What happens next is the best bit. A spare party balloon, a unicorn's tail and a bit of string turn into a BALLOONICORN. The made-up words just keep on growing from there, and you can almost hear the two of them giggling.

It's all told by Daisy herself, which is a lot of the fun. She's full of opinions and very sure she's right. Each new problem gets its own "the trouble with" moment, from wrapping a stunt kite to juggling balls that won't stay in the air. Her mum is patient and quietly very funny too.

Right from the first page Daisy tells you the unicorns got her into trouble. She and Gabby get told off by their mums, and somehow she ends up having a bath in the middle of the day. Your reader will be dying to find out how.

There's a lovely friendship at the heart of it as well. Daisy and Gabby really are "BFFs forever", and they rescue each other at the awkward moments.

If you've got a reader who loves silly words and a narrator with LOTS to say, this is a great pick.

What to read next

If this one goes down well and they haven't met Daisy yet, try Daisy and the Trouble with Life, where she's been grounded and is quite sure it's not fair.