Brave Jack and the Unicorn

Lisa Arsenault is a high-school English teacher who is involved in
several ministry campaigns to increase literacy.

Virtually all of the traditional ingredients of the classic fairy tale
are present in this picture book: the mystical numbers three and seven,
an iconic younger son who has an adventure, wicked siblings, golden
apples, talking animals, unicorns, and the ubiquitous moral.

Jack, the youngest and apparently least prepossessing of three
brothers, sets out to seek his fortune after his older brothers have
taken the lion’s share of their widowed mother’s pittance and
decamped. Jack, in contrast to his brothers, has always been kind and
helpful, and throughout his adventures he continues to aid both people
and creatures in need. His philanthropy pays off. With the help of those
he has helped, he passes three tests, marries a princess, and lives
happily ever after.

The text is straightforward narrative and faithful to all the
conventions of good fairy tales. It is the artwork that imparts
freshness and vitality to the story. The clothing is particularly
interesting: the 21st-century dress worn by Jack’s family contrasts
with the medieval, Celtic-influenced costume of the castle inhabitants,
alluding to a crossing over of thresholds from the real world to the
world of fantasy. The rich colours and a sense of constant motion imbue
the illustrations with vibrancy and liveliness; nothing feels static, in
keeping with the fast-paced plot.

The familiar, traditional, rather elegiac, text combined with the
glowing, almost writhing illustrations creates a sure winner. This fairy
tale is highly recommended.