Kevin vs The Unicorns

Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre

The latest in this wonderful series of books concerns Kevin the Roly-Poly Flying Pony and his friends Max and Daisy. Flying above the village of Great Kerfuffle one day, the trio come across the Wild Wet Hills magical Pony Club and are invited to join the annual steeplechase race to win the Periwinkle Cup. Kevin goes into training, even reluctantly giving up eating his beloved biscuits, but when the race begins he is shocked to find out that the rules have been changed and Kevin has to run not fly! Being overtaken by two guinea pigs and even a snail with a small frog on its shell, Kevin and his friends uncover a plot which involves the dastardly Baz Gumption and his unicorn, Pointy Steve. A madcap chase ensues which culminates in Kevin discovering other flying ponies and making new friends with them all. 

This is such a fun tale with plenty of humour and mayhem. The language is appropriate for the lower KS2 age-group with enough challenge for better readers. The fabulous illustrations allow the reader to fully engage with the story which would work well as a read aloud tale. We would like to read more about Kevin!

Published by OUP Oxford

Reviewed by Justine Daniels