Only giving this four stars because my partner isn't a dog person so he didn't find it engaging, so we're compromising between his three star and my five star rating!

Pugicorn is definitely not as graceful and elegant as a unicorn, but his time comes to shine--literally! It's Christmas Eve and Santa is getting ready to deliver all the presents - but disaster strikes and his sleigh won't fly! Working with children, however, just makes me recognize how little we (all of us) provide them with depth in all media. They still have fun icing cookies and decorating the tree, but Princess Ava is disappointed that evening.

It kinda reminded me of the story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer with Pugicorn's horn saving the day. Then we get into a story you've probably seen a dozen times before (although admittedly done in a way I enjoyed much more than in those infuriating Unicorn Named Sparkle books). Kind of reminds me of Pokemon and the way Ash is stuck with Pikachu because he sleeps in on the day he's supposed to get his starter Pokemon. When all the unicorns have already been adopted, Princess Ava takes home a Pugicorn, but Pugicorns aren't quiet or graceful. All of the princesses get unicorns, but Princess Ava is too late and the only option left is Pugicorn.

This book teaches us to respect the differences in others and know that everyone has their own strengths. She's pretty annoyed about it until she realises that Pugicorn is the BOMB and unicorns are way too high maintenance. We loved how dopey he was, but despite being treated poorly, he does the right thing and always helps others.

And I hope we get more books in the series--I can't wait to see Starwhal, and that rainbow-eared koala with the long tail looks really fun. There is nothing in the story to indicate why she has a change of heart, but she does and everything is hearts and love. It would be great to listen to while reading along with the story, but it also stands alone, and is very engaging for young listeners.