Tween Unicorn Book Feature – The Unicorn in the Barn

October 10, 2021 · by sybrinapublishing

Tween Unicorn Book Feature – The Unicorn in the Barn by Jacqueline Ogburn

For years people have claimed to see a mysterious white deer in the woods around Chinaberry Creek. It always gets away.
One evening, Eric Harper thinks he spots it. But a deer doesn’t have a coat that shimmers like a pearl. And a deer certainly isn’t born with an ivory horn curling from its forehead.
When Eric discovers the unicorn is hurt and being taken care of by the vet next door and her daughter, Allegra, his life is transformed.
A tender tale of love, loss, and the connections we make, The Unicorn in the Barn shows us that sometimes ordinary life takes extraordinary turns.

Get it at Amazon.

A Couple of Reviews To Help You Choose

Amazon Review

Sarah Scott5.0 out of 5 stars … the Barn is exactly the type of book I love to read Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2017Verified Purchase

The Unicorn in the Barn is exactly the type of book I love to read. Magic, friendship, sassiness, and an exploration of what it means to lose the ones we love.

Eric struggles with the sale of his grandmother’s home and her placement in a nursing home. This is exacerbated by the discovery of his new neighbor–the sassy (but lovable) Allegra. Eric soon finds out the secrets that Allegra’s family has been keeping about their veterinarian’s office and is excited to help take care of their more unique patients.

The Unicorn in the Barn is full of love and magic, and will be a great addition to my classroom library!

GoodReads Review

Karissa rated it really liked it My 10 yr old son got this in one of this OwlCrate Jr and refused to read it because it looked too childish. This does end up looking like more of a kids book than a book aimed at middle grade readers. The print is very large and there are pictures throughout. I however don’t mind larger print 🙂 so I went ahead and read the book. This ends up being a cute and touching story about a boy who is dealing with his gma’s decline when he stumbles across something amazing in the barn that a veterinarian has purchased from his gma.

I really enjoyed the idea of a veterinarian that takes care of mythical beasts in her small town barn. I loved how Eric finds his place in life by helping to care for these amazing creatures. This is a deliberately paced story that has a very simple plot and simple language but it’s a good book for what it is.

Much of the story is focused around Eric’s family dynamics. The whole family is struggling with the decline of Eric’s gma. Eric’a gma held the family together after Eric’s mother left (for somewhat ambiguous reasons). Now it’s Eric, his teenage brother, and his dad holding things together. None of these guys are very emotionally demonstrative and Eric is struggling with how to move on now that his gma isn’t there but is in a nursing home struggling with her health.

When Eric starts spending a lot of time with the neighboring vet and her daughter, Allegra, the two families end up helping to support each other.

The drawings throughout are really well done and I enjoyed them as well.

Overall this was a cute story, that is touching and heartfelt. I enjoyed it. However I do agree with my son, this is definitely intended for a younger audience. Although the main character in the book is 11 years old, the story is very simple both in the language structure used and the plot developed. I would recommend for younger middle grade readers or even younger children.

Find more great unicorn books for tweens and middle grade readers at Sybrina’s Unicorn BookStore.

Enjoy this fun unicorn song introducing lots of unicorn books for tweens and middle grade readers.