Books like I'm a Unicorn
By Helen Yoon
In I'm a Unicorn, a calf proves it's a unicorn with pure logic, then panics when it realizes it doesn't sparkle. Kids who've spent the week insisting they're a dinosaur or a fire truck recognize that panic instantly, and the calf's refusal to back down. The books below are for kids still defending whatever they declared themselves this morning.
Same one who tries on other identities before landing back on themselves, but It's Not Easy Being a Bunny by Marilyn Sadler makes the wandering the whole plot.
A self-conscious giraffe named Edward hates his long, bendy neck and tries every trick he can think of to hide it — until a slow-moving turtle helps him see it differently.
Less about a mixed-up identity and more about a job someone thought they wanted to quit. Santa Retires by David Biedrzycki keeps the same warm, funny landing.
Instead of one calf convincing itself of something silly, Sweety by Andrea Zuill follows a kid who already knows she's odd and just needs her people.
A bug-obsessed girl smuggles her insect friends indoors to keep the fun going during a big family reunion, with chaotic results — until Great-Gran turns out to share her passion.
Both hinge on a character stuck on one idea about themselves, but The Bad Seed by Jory John lets the bad mood run much longer before the shift.
Less about proving what you are, more about two very different creatures figuring out how to get along. Cowboy & Octopus by Jon Scieszka keeps the giggly tone.
Where the calf argues itself out of a mistaken label, Red: A Crayon's Story by Michael Hall needs outside friends to say the label was wrong all along.
A celebration told through many young voices, each one honoring the beauty of their own brown skin and finding themselves reflected in the natural world around them.
A young girl with skin the color of midnight longs to be lighter like her mother and sister, until a shooting star's story about the sisters Night and Day changes how she sees herself.
Bored with being an emu, a zoo bird tries out life as a seal, a lion, and a snake — before discovering that being himself suits him best.
Three mysterious visitors crash-land in Mr. Li's field claiming to be from "Europe," and he welcomes them home, feeds them, and helps fix their "car" — no questions asked, even though they're clearly aliens.
