The Eyes of the Unicorn Book

The hunt for the unicorn is underway, for the Duke and his men are greedy for its magical horn. As the nobles ride off on their fine steeds, Tanisa, the exhausted serving girl, finally has a chance to rest. She awakens to two astonishing sights: a pure white unicorn resting his head in her lap and the Duke's son, whose arrow is poised to slay the beast. But the unicorn's eyes possess great powers. If the Duke's son dares to gaze into them, nearly anything could happen.

Publishers Weekly

In contrast to Bateman's light-hearted Keeper of Soles, this fairy tale comes across as solemn and high-minded. In it, a servant girl helps a unicorn evade slaughter by her former playmate, the duke's son. Newcomer Spalenka's gaudy, digitally manipulated illustrations, however, compete for readers' attention, with distracting combinations of superimposed medieval ornaments, photographs of some characters (specifically of Tanisa, the servant girl), painted still lifes and other elements. The text explains that Tanisa and the duke's son, Chris, have grown apart, and that Chris's once-pure heart has been twisted by his power-hungry father. The scenes jump from one to the next, in a few places resembling stills in a book adaptation of a movie. The climax feels medicinal: the unicorn, eluding the whole court, finds refuge in Tanisa's lap, but Chris aims his arrow at it. The unicorn first heals the wound Chris accidentally inflicts on Tanisa, then tenderly places his horn on Chris's heart. "When Chris opened his eyes again they were filled with the joy [Tanisa] remembered from when they were children." The story's message is lost in the unicorn magic, faux courtly prose ("on the morrow she would rest") and superficial images. Ages 6-10. (Sept.)