Unicorn Island, by Donna Galanti

It's a Tuesday today, which generally means I review a time travel book, but since yesterday's review was book that had a time travel twist (The In-Between, by Rebecca Ansari), I'm letting myself review another review copy I recently read and enjoyed.  Unicorn Island, by Donna Galanti, illustrated by Bethany Stancliffe (Simon and Schuster, Feb 9 2021), is a good pick for elementary/young middle grade kids (8-10 year olds) who are fans of the "caring for magical creatures" subgenre of fantasy.

When Sam's musician mom has the chance to go on tour in Europe, Sam is devastated. They had managed to live in Brooklyn for almost a  whole year, and she finally feels like she's put down roots. But now she's being sent to stay in South Carolina with an uncle she doesn't know. When she arrives at the tiny town of Foggy Harbor, where he lives, her spirits sink even lower--Uncle Mitch wasn't actually expecting her, and is grumpy and unwelcoming. But since her mother is now out of reach, Sam is stuck there.

But Foggy Harbor does have a friend to offer her-- Tuck, a boy her own age who's the son of the local vet. Together they explore Uncle Mitch's house, and what they find hidden in the basement leads them on a magical journey.

Uncle Mitch, it turns out, is the caretaker of an island hidden in the perpetual fog bank just off shore. And so Sam and Tuck set off in an old rowboat to see if they can find it. When they reach it, they are greeted by a flying creature who looks like a dragon! Instead of blasting the kids, it leads them to Uncle Mitch.  He is no longer grumpy, but terribly worried--a baby unicorn (!) is desperately ill. Tuck's mother, the vet, might be its only hope...but involving her would open the island to the possibility of danger from the outside work. And this book ends with that threat beginning to materialize, just as Sam becomes determined to follow in her uncle's footsteps as a protector of the island and its magical residents.

This is very much "book 1," introducing the characters and setting the stage for the series. It's more than just an introduction--the new friendship, the discoveries, and the baby unicorn are a solid story--but readers might feel when then finish it that they were just getting started, and will want the next book right away! All five books are available in ebook form, and so I assume the next four will also be published in hardcopy, so this is not an insurmountable obstacle.

Sam is a convincing and relatable character, and the foggy island (with unicorns and more!) and her uncle's role as its guardian are just the sort of set up a certain type of reader will love. The font is larger than your average middle grade, more an early chapter book size, meaning this is a great series to offer the kid who's reading hasn't reached the level of full on middle grade door stopper, but wants books that don't look like books for little kids, that offer stories of interest to 9-10 year olds. There aren't that many of this sort of book, so it's good to have a solid series, like this looks to be based on book 1, to offer!