*received from netgalley for honest review* so I wont lie this is a really cute book and at first looked really promising but ended up being a let down... the idea is so cute, the art is cute but the book and "training" was very short and the book ended quickly, Not really a bad book but I the 7 year old I usually read these to would consider this "too babyish" but would be good for like 4 and under.

This was pretty fun.
I especially enjoyed the expressions on the unicorn faces.
This book is probably more about trying hard and not giving up than anything else.
In any case I think tiny humans and adults alike can get a giggle out of this and will enjoy the illustrations.
Thank you NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group - QEB for my DRC.

The drawings are simple with no lack of sparkle and colors, but that's the best part. The girl learns to train her unicorn in a very half hazzard way and leaves alot to be desired in the narrative. If you are loking for a book with unicorns for the novelty of it, then you have found your book. If you are wanting a truly great read that will stand the test of time... look elsewhere.

Tilly ama gli unicorni, e quando al rifugio arriva Splodge capisce che è quello che fa per lei: certo, un po' sporco, e non proprio educato, ma grazie al suo prezioso Manuale Tilly è certa che diventerà l'unicorno migliore del mondo!

L'unica cosa che Tilly non ha messo in conto è l'infinita pazienza che ci vuole per educare un cucciolo...

Una storia graziosa, ma che lascia poco: il maggior punto di forza sono le deliziose illustrazioni, per il resto l'unico messaggio è che per addestrare una animale domestico ci vuole pazienza e si viene riccamente ricompensati in affetto.

Messaggio giustissimo, ma che sarebbe stato piacevole veder reso con un pizzico di originalità.

This book is so cute! It has been one of my favorites. The kids I read it to loved it! The questions at the end of the book were a great addition. I highly recommend this book!

Tilly loves helping her parents with their Unicorn Rescue Center, but she wants to train an unicorn herself. Enter Splodge, a scruffy, dirty unicorn who needs a lot of extra TLC! There are several hilarious pages of Splodge doing things he shouldn't (like eating Mr. Teasel's slippers, or making a mess of Tilly's bed), which makes Tilly's parents uncertain that Splodge is the right unicorn for Tilly. But hard work and patience eventually turns Splodge into a model unicorn, and everyone is happy at the end.

Bonus points: my preschooler fell in love with the illustrations, and put in a request for a print version when it comes out. As she's probably the target audience for this book, I'd say this is a win!

Splodge is a unicorn. He is dirty and a klutz. He is written off by others because of his appearance. Tilly helps out at the unicorn rescue sanctuary. Tilly decides she will adopt him and take care of him. It takes a while but with determination and patience she is able to help Splodge be the best unicorn he can.

Cute drawings. And a great story about patience and love. My son enjoyed this one.

I love stories about misfits. I will also point out that splodge toots glitter. So... that’s fantastic.

A cute picture book for unicorn fanatics. It would not be my first choice for purchase but it is good for those who have exhausted the rest of the unicorn universe of picture books.

When Tilly gets a new unicorn at her parents rescue she's super excited as Splodge is the unicorn she grows to love can she train him before he becomes too much for them to handle?



A sweet short story kids will love not just for the joyful colourful images helping depict the story but the joy of the love for a pet and how they can enrich our lives too. It shows how we can gain a fun for friend for life and have a lot of fun with them too!



Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

It was a cute story overall with just as cute artwork to match. I think the Unicorn is treated more like a dog than a mythical animal related to the horse. I don’t think children (ages 1-6) will be able to tell the difference though.

I thought that this was a lovely story and I thought that the images were perfect!

I read the book to my daughter and as soon as she saw the pictures her face lit up and I knew it was going to be a massive hit with her – after all, there are not many little girls out there that don’t love unicorns!

The story was easy to read and follow and it had a lovely flow to it. I thought it was excellent and as a parent, it was great as she was hooked and asked for it to be read again straight after – always a good sign for me!! It is 5 stars from us for this one, very highly recommended!!

*thank you to Netgalley, Amanda Brandon and Quarto Publishing Group for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*


3 stars.

I was disappointed with this one. The illustrations were the best part. I loved the colours and the details were a bit different to what I'm use to, but I really liked them. Overall I would give the illustrations a 4 star rating. Unfortunately the story didn't interest me, and I gave it a 2 star mark. Making my overall rating, 3 stars.

The book is nice enough. I guess it shows kids that having a pet isn't always fun and games but it just didn't appeal. Hopefully for others it does.

Very simply told elegant story on taking responsibility that comes with caring for your pets. Loved two thigns baou this apart from the moral.
Great pictures. That rainbow mane.
Feeling fizzy and fuzzy inside when there's conneciton/love.

Great but so short! My 5 yr old who loves all things unicorn and wants one of her own thought this book was written for her, she loved it! The artwork is nice, perfect for a kids book, bright and colorful and goes with the text well. The premise is to keep working hard for what you want - I felt that the text mentioned this but fell short. It maybe needed one more example of how Splodge was learning but hadnt mastered it yet. The ending seemed a bit abrupt for such a great work up in previous pages. I do recommend it and we will be buying this as the unicorn lover says it's a must have.
I was given an ebook advanced copy in exchange for my review

Tilly and her family work at the Unicorn Rescue Sanctuary, and Tilly loves taking care of the unicorns.
Tilly is really keen to have a unicorn of her very own- and then Splodge arrives.
Splodge is like an untrained puppy, he likes to chew slippers, is clumsy and doesn't listen to his name. All these bad behaviours are getting him into trouble with Mr and Mrs Teasel.
Tilly realises that having her own unicorn is much harder than she thought. It is hard work and requires a lot of time and care. She has to change her tactics in order to keep Splodge.

This is a heart warming tale of learning how to take care of a pet, being determined and resilient. A lovely book very on trend with unicorns.

Beautiful illustrations make this book truly delightful.

Let me just say, I would LOVE to work at the Unicorn Rescue Sanctuary!

That's where Tilly helps out with the rescue unicorns, though she would truly love a unicorn of her very own. Enter...Splodge, a scruffy little unicorn whose a bit rough around the edges. He'll need a good bath and lots of training...starting with learning his name!

This is an awesome read-aloud book for preschoolers. Be prepared to read it repeatedly!

What My Child Thought:
She loved this book from start to finish and wants a unicorn now. The illustrations had her completely engaged and they supported the story, helping her to understand the words. She felt frustrated for Tilly, the young girl in the story when she was frustrated at training the unicorn. It was nice to see the book gain her empathy for the character. The unicorn made her laugh with all its silly actions as well, bringing a well-rounded group of emotions through the book.

What I Thought:
I thought the illustrations were perfect for this book. I liked that the story featured a unicorn, because that's really popular right now, and really who doesn't love a unicorn. The main point of the story, though, is about working hard and learning how to train a pet. It would be a great book for any child getting their own pet soon. It helps them understand that it will be frustrating and it won't happen all at once. It will take time and adjustments for everyone to feel "fizzy and fuzzy inside".

To Read or Not To Read:
This is a perfect book for anyone. The unicorn is a boy and the main character is a girl, giving a nice gender balance. The main message is a great one and the book even has a nice guide at the end to spark conversation afterward.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

An adorable picture book perfect for storytime. The drawings were lovely and I particularly loved the discussion points at the end of the book. An excellent choice for families adopting pets too.

Unicorn Training is about the responsibility of pet ownership. Really, the animal could be everything (in fact, if you switch the unicorn out for a dog, the story still works). Tilly does everything she can to try to turn Splodge into the perfect pet. But it takes perseverance and patience (and a lot of treats) to make this happen.

My complaints about this book are mostly of the technical variety. For some reason, a new trend in picture books seems to be italicizing people's speech. I don't understand the purpose of this, and it could potentially confuse kids who are just learning what italics are actually used for. I'm also not completely impressed with the grammar; it's a bit shaky in places. And, finally, I really don't see the purpose of the last page with tips for parents. The "projects" for kids are kind of boring, and I don't see many parents actually sitting down with their children to do them. (That part of the book might be better for teachers, but again, the "projects" aren't very interesting.)

I can see this being a good book for kids whose parents are looking into getting a pet. It shows the importance of taking responsibility for the critter under your care. The illustrations are cute, too, and there are just enough poop and fart jokes to amuse kids. Because of the technical issues with the writing, I think this might work best as a read-aloud book (so that nobody gets confused by sentence fragments or the weird use of italics).

Unicorns are big this year, maybe they're big every year and it's just that this year I have a horse-mad-turned-unicorn-and-pegasus-mad daughter. Whatever the reason for the fascination with unicorns my daughter thought this book was the "Best story ever!" - so if you have a unicorn-obsessed child aged five then you should pop this book on your Christmas shopping list now!

This story is really about the ups and downs of owning a pet, especially when it first arrives. Having recently adopted two kittens into our horse I could actually relate to a lot of this despite having owned animals before!

While the book is light-hearted it really is a great book to look at perseverance. Sometimes you need to practice something over and over again in order to get it right. This is such an important lesson that children need to learn and I think makes this an ideal choice of book for the start of the year classroom activities. This is reinforced by Tilly who is about to give up, trying something new and finding it got her closer to her goal - essential problem-solving skills.

Another big plus about this book is the activity page at the back of the book! While my daughter easily answered that one this book is inspiring her to write a new unicorn story (I think this is her third recently!) about herself and a new unicorn. This is what makes the book for me worth the investment. This activity could be replicated in the classroom with students writing their own book about a new pet of their choice which I guess would include a fair share of sharks, dinosaurs, and dragons.

A wonderful book for home or the classroom.