To be honest, I find pretty much all unicorn chapter books completely inane. However, kids absolutely devour them. I purchased this series for the library before I had time to read it, and then thought I'd better check it out, if a little belatedly.
Sparkleton, a shaggy little purple unicorn, is very bored by his magic studies. He wants to DO magic, and is sure that when he gets his special power it will be wish-granting, like his perfect older sister Nella. Nella loves rules and always does what Gramma Una tells her, but when Sparkleton begs her to grant his wish and give him wish-granting powers, she agrees.
Of course, things go wrong almost immediately as he meets up with his friends - Willow, who loves bad ideas and Gabe, who is a bit of an Eeyore. Against Gabe's better judgment, he gives in and lets Sparkleton grant his "wish" which of ends up putting a cloud over his head, literally. Sparkleton's next attempts at wish-granting turn the other foals the wrong colors, cover them in a wave of mud, and make one of them too heavy to walk, let alone fly, which was what she wished for.
Eventually, when everything is a huge mess, Gramma Una tells Sparkleton that if the wishes aren't reversed, by the wish granter, by sunset, they will be permanent! Things get worse and worse and just when he's about to try forbidden goblin magic, Nella shows up and insists that Sparkleton start fixing things. Sparkleton finally realizes that the problem was he was thinking about himself, not the other unicorns, when granting wishes. The other unicorn foals are nervous about Sparkleton trying anything else, but Nella gives him another chance and lets him grant her wish to undo everything - and it works!
Some chapters end with a question or encouragement, "One more chapter to go! Are you feeling sparkletastic?" and at the back there is a countdown of the book's chapters, pages, and words. There are also questions to think about. The pages are sprinkled with colorful digital illustrations of the various unicorns and their goofy adventures.
Verdict: I found this trite and I didn't care for the relationships pictured, with Willow urging Sparkleton to get into trouble and both of them ganging up to override Gabe's good sense. Or Sparkleton's bravado - he's not really sorry for messing up! However, kids will find it funny and most caregivers won't have a problem with the bland morals. I'm not exactly recommending this, but if you gotta have unicorn series you might as well get this one.
ISBN: 9780062947918; Published June 2020 by Harper360; Purchased for the library
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