Dave the Unicorn: Field Trip

February 1, 2021

Gr 1-3-Mira is so excited as her class at Unicorn School is going on a field trip today. Mira and her friends gather at school after going through the magic portal and they meet up with their UBFF (Unicorn Best Friends Forever) to board the bus and head off on their excursion. Each human student is paired with a unicorn, and Mira loves her unicorn, Dave, even though he farts and poops at the most inopportune times. The class arrives at the Baby Animal Rainbow Care Center and has a series of adventures culminating in an encounter with the elusive, and exceedingly cute kitticorns. The potential for a charming story is marred by a plethora of fart and poop jokes that don't connect with the saccharine setting. In Dance Party, the students and their UBFFs return to school with a challenging quest and the prospect of a school dance. Darcy, one of Mira's friends, takes charge, bosses everyone around, and creates a glitter theme that leads to all sorts of trouble. Despite her amazing dance moves in her wheelchair, Darcy does not follow the rules when the class is on their quest and gets herself banned from the dance. The friends don't let rules stop them, and they create their own disco ball (made partially out of unicorn poop); eventually, Darcy gets to attend the dance despite her dangerous choices. While Mira loves her UBFF, Dave is hardly lovable and barely kind to Mira. The relationship between the two is not believable, and no one should tolerate a friend like Dave. Despite a setting that could be engaging, faulty characterization and plot development mar these titles, making them quite unpleasant. VERDICT Unicorn lovers deserve much better.-John Scott, Friends Sch. of Baltimore

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