Kiwicorn

Description

Kiwicorn is a ridiculously cute and funny story about being unique. Gorgeous illustrations and writing, help children to understand their emotions and to open a light-hearted dialogue about diversity. Kiwicorn's lack of a pronoun helps to introduce children to the idea of gender diversity and an awareness of fluidity of gender. The Kiwicorn story can help parents and teachers to convey the important message that we're all different from each other, and being different is awesome!

KAT QUIN (FORMALLY MEREWETHER) Kat Quin's passion for all things children's books and illustration is apparent throughout all her works to date. Gaining inspiration and critique from her own six, sparkling tamariki, her honest accounts from a birds eye view are endearing to readers of all ages. She is quintessentially Kiwi, which erupts through her quirky illustrations, on which she spends thirty plus hours for each delicious spread. Kat extends herself to play an ambassador role for the very appropriately chosen, Kiwis for kiwi, which supports human Kiwis to support native kiwi conservation projects, New Zealand wide.

This is such a cute, positive book. It celebrates individuality of all types, with a tiny bit of toilet humour thrown in to stop it from being saccharine. The Kiwicorn is a unique creature, part Kiwi-part unicorn as the name implies. The illustrations present a cuddly, cheeky little creature that would make a great soft toy. Each double page spread has three descriptions and opposite a summary sentence, kind of like a value statement. For example, the left hand page asks, 'Who is gentle, gutsy and good-hearted?' The right hand page answers with, 'Kiwicorn! I care about others and they care about me.'Kiwicorn would be a great book for families to share to encourage self-acceptance and to celebrate the personality of their child. A wide range of attributes are included in the story, from politeness to rebelliousness, with a lot in between, so there will be something for everyone. The illustrations are delightful and engaging, with extra little details to spot. I can imagine this book being a lovely shared book for children as young as two, and I will be using it with my class of 6-year-olds this year to build acceptance of differences and individual strengths. And also, just because it's rather charming. Recommended. Reviewed by Rachel Moore - Booksellers