Calling all Unicorn fans! You will NOT meet a unicorn in this series. Not yet anyway. But there is a Jersey Devil, a couple of dragons, and a Sasquatch..and that’s when you’re only halfway through the series! It’s certain that a unicorn has to show up. Eventually.
In the meantime, enjoy this review of the first two books, put together on one CD set.
* * *
The Unicorn Rescue Society, Books 1 – 2
The Creature of the Pines by Adam Gidwitz, illustrated by Hatem Aly
The Basque Dragon by Adam Gidwitz & Jesse Casey, illustrated by Hatem Aly
Read by January LaVoy
4 CDs; 4 hours, 45 minutes
In The Creature of the Pines, Elliot Eisner is starting his first day at a new school, in a new house, in a new town, two weeks into the semester. Who does that? To make it worse, it’s a Field Trip day. Elliot hasn’t even met his new classmates! But here he is, getting on the bus for a field trip to the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Everyone already has a friend and seat-mate, so he’s going to have to sit with a kid he doesn’t even know. Not the kid who’s farting and laughing…not the kid picking her nose…maybe the girl sitting all alone in the back, singing to herself? It’s not like he has a lot of choice, and she looks nice. Elliot’s a worrier, but he’ll take nice.
Uchenna IS nice. She’s also fearless, and she likes to sing. She has a sense of humor that complements Elliot’s. Could this be the start of a beautiful friendship?
By the time the bus arrives at the Pine Barrens, Elliot and Uchenna are on their way to being fast friends. One of the things they agree on, along with their classmates, is that Professor Fauna, the teacher leading the field trip, is the weirdest and scariest teacher they’ve ever met. Uchenna tells Elliot that there’s a rumor that he has a torture chamber in his office, in the basement of the school! It’s not even unbelievable. When the Professor leads the class into the Barrens, after terrifying them with tales of the many creatures that could kill them if they stray from the path, Elliot and Uchenna are at the back of the line. They have no problem staying in line with the rest of the class though–they don’t want to encounter a Bell Plant or a Snake!
But when they hear faint cries coming from the underbrush, they pause. Something that sounds really young also sounds terrified…and in pain. Uchenna barely hesitates before leaving the path and crashing through the underbrush. Elliot hovers, uncertain. Should he go get the Professor? Tell the teacher? Or should he help Uchenna? But what about getting killed by the flora of the Pine Barrens? Elliot surprises himself by plunging in after his new friend.
The strange little creature they find is frightened; and frightening! It has both sharp teeth and sharp horns, and it tries to bite! Uchenna and Elliot rescue it, but now what will they do? Will it bite them? Can they take it home on the bus? Will the other kids and teachers notice? But after they get it home, Jersey…Bonecruncher?…Jersey…Blood Guzzler? (Elliot and Uchenna can’t agree on a name) escapes. Then Elliot and Uchenna figure that they have to tell someone…and that someone is Professor Fauna.
Suddenly, Elliot has his hands full with a new friend, a terrifying baby Jersey Devil, and a mission. Will the kids be able to save Jersey? It’s the start of the adventure of a lifetime as Elliot and Uchenna join forces with Professor Fauna to rescue their Jersey Devil from a duo of conniving, greedy billionaires, the terrifying Schmoke Brothers.
In The Basque Dragon, Elliot and Uchenna and Jersey have become a team, and they’re working with Professor Fauna, head of the Unicorn Rescue Society. When the Professor hears about a missing herensuge (a specific type of dragon), he enlists Elliot and Uchenna. As the newest members of the Society, he expects them to join him on a rescue mission. Jumping into his plane after school, they fly across the ocean to Basque Country, in northern Spain. They, they join forces with Mitxel Mendizabal, whose dragon charge has been kidnapped. Dragon-knapped?
It’s the evil Schmoke brothers at the root of the problem, again. Can Elliot and Uchenna and Jersey follow the clues and find the missing herensuge? They’re certainly going to try!
I just loved The Unicorn Rescue Society audio book! The narrator was perfect. Her voices for the characters were beyond excellent! Elliot and Uchenna sounded like kids, while also sounding completely different. Professor Fauna has a heavy accent and rolling Rs that suit his over-the-top-character. Even minor characters, like Miss Viola, the kids’ teacher, and other kids in the class, have distinct and identifiable voices. It almost felt like I was watching the characters while I was listening!
The stories are fast-paced and fun. As an adult listening, there were plenty of places that made me laugh. The kids will get the jokes as well, but the unexpectedness of the situations is almost funnier for adult listeners. (As a quick example, when Professor Fauna swears, he mutters “mala palabra”.) The chapters were cliff-hangers that leave the reader (or listener) wanting more.
If you listen to the audio book, make sure you also pick up the physical books as well. The illustrations are excellent, and really add to the stories. The afterwords in each book are really important to read as well. The book locations and cultures are quite thoroughly researched, and the authors’ notes share both the multiple authors’ concerns and their attempts to portray cultures correctly.
The Unicorn Rescue Society series is perfect for third through fifth grades; it might be accessible to good second grade readers as well..especially with the illustrations. I thoroughly enjoyed them; so I think adults would get just as much out of the audio recordings as kids do. It’s a PERFECT adventure for a long family car ride. There are currently five books in the series, with the sixth one coming out in May. I would highly recommend all of them! The other titles are Sasquatch and the Muckleshoot, The Chupacabras of the Rio Grande, The Madre de Aguas of Cuba, and coming soon, The Secret of the Himalayas.
Some read alikes include Pip Bartlett’s Guide to Magical Creatures series by Jackson Pearce, The Extincts by Veronica Cossanteli, The Imaginary Veterinary series by Suzane Selfors, Upside Down Magic series by Sarah Mlynowski, and The Magical Animal Adoption Agency series by Kallie George. These all have audio books as well, so if you’d prefer to listen to them, you could do that too!
* * *
So there you have it…a whole new series about interesting creatures…and maybe, just maybe, there will be a unicorn in there somewhere. Eventually. But in the meantime, learn about some other interesting cryptids…like chupacabras and sasquataches and a variety of dragons.
As always, if you need help finding these or any other books or audios, ask a librarian for help! We love matching books and readers (or listeners). If you would like recommendations, we’re happy to help with that too. 🙂
Happy Reading!
::kelly::
BellaOnBooks's Blog 