Review by Woodrow Phoenix

Volume 11 of the collected daily strips of Phoebe and Her Unicorn sees Dana’s Simpson’s cartoon duo ending the school term and galloping into summer, with all the opportunities for hanging out and going slightly further afield that vacation time presents. When Phoebe’s parents and her friend Max’s parents decide it’s fine to spend a weekend outdoors together, the two kids are delivered to the middle of nowhere with the usual treats in store: roasting marshmallows over an open fire, making s’mores, exploring, and all the things people did before they had phones. But since they also have Marigold Heavenly Nostrils with them, it isn’t long before she detects something else in their walks along the hiking trails: another magical presence. “Something evil?” asks Phoebe. “Mm, not so much evil…” Marigold tells them, “something crabby.”

Since this book is called Camping with Unicorns it will not surprise many readers to know that what they encounter is another unicorn called Alabaster Goldenwithers Jones, although his friends call him Al. He’s roughing it in the woods because he’s tired of the luxury of the Unicorn Lands, but there is still one unicorn tradition that he has taken with him to enjoy in his exile: video games. Regular readers will remember that unicorns invented video games long before humans, so the only question here is where he plugs his controllers in. Other summer treats include playing cards without fingers, attending a unicorn stand-up comedy club, and magical ice cream sandwiches. Simple drawings in nice colours make this a safe and child-friendly read.

Next in the series is Virtual Unicorn Experience.