Goldilicious

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Tale of imaginary pal cute, but confusing for preschoolers.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

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Kids say

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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that kids who liked the first Pinkalicious book will probably like this third book in the "licious" series.  Also, anyone who wants to open a discussion on imaginary friends may find it helpful. 

  • The mother is comfortable with her daughter having an imaginary friend. And, the sister lets her younger brother join in her game of pretend.
  • All of the characters are kind and respectful of each other. Even though the unicorn is imaginary, and invisible to the mother and her son, they take the sister seriously. No one teases or dismisses the imaginary friend as silly or impossible. The little girl is comfortable about being unique. 
  • The little girl has to deal with the fact that her imaginary friend seems to have run away.

What's the story?

A young girl and her imaginary unicorn roller skate, fly kites, and play games together. Her brother joins them, and they have even more adventurous fun together. When nightime comes, the unicorn seems to have disappeared into the sky, and the girl is forced to go in without her ... only to find a happy surprise when she goes to bed.


Is it any good?

 

This is the same cute, pig-tailed Pinkalicious character that readers will find in the first two Pinkalicious books. Simply drawn and very pink, she is nearly always smiling and seems confident in her way of seeing the world. In this case, it is a starry magical world of unicorns, flowers, clouds, and lots of pink and purple.  Her unicorn, called Goldilicious presumably because of her profuse mane and tail of flower-strewn golden locks, changes from being a solid white animal to a more translucent one depending on who is in the room. Later, she merges with the clouds and shows up as a constellation of stars. 

The story makes several strong points though it's not so clever as the illustrations, and loses its focus at times. The strongest, most captivating scenes, both artistically and verbally, are those when Pinkalicious plays with Goldie.  And though the lesson is not crystal clear, parents and kids should find plenty to capture their attention, and discuss, in its very magically majestic pages. Kids who like this book should definitely read Pinkalicious, and maybe Purplicious by the same author.

Pages are filled with pinkness...and flowers and lace, which will appeal to most Pinkalicious fans.  Others may find the pastel tones and two-dimensional illustrations a little flat.


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What families can talk about

  • Parents and kids can talk about why Pinkalicious can see the unicorn while no one else can.  What is an imaginary friend? Have you ever had one?

  • At first Peter can't see the unicorn, then in the middle he seems to.  Why did that happen? What changed?

  • Why didn't Pinkalicious play along with Peter when he pretended the worm was a cinnamon stick, or when he said the unicorn had turned into a mermaid? What did Pinkalicious say? Do you see a difference between pretending and imagining?

  • Is a unicorn a real animal? Where else have you seen them?

  • How did Pinkalicious respond when her parents told her it was time to go to bed? How did she change the way she answered? Why? What would you have done?


This review was written by Patricia Tauzer
Parent of 8 year old
December 24, 2010
 
love it

Flag as inappropriate 
Kid, 11 years old
October 2, 2010
 
Great Book!
First I have to say that there is absolutely nothing wrong about tweens reading picture books! I mean, for school projects you might not want to be reading a picture book but just for fun, try reading one someday! I find them sometimes even more interesting then chapter books! But anyway, back to the story! It is a sequel to the books purplelishious and pinkalicious! So if you liked those books (Which i did!) then you will love this book! It is just as cute and funny as the other ones, but this time her brother is more invovled! In this book she is in a imaginary magical world with her unicorn goldilishous and there is lots of pink and purple (as you might of guessed)! Well I could tell you alot more but i do not want to ruin the story for you! Keep Reading!

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This review was written by Patricia Tauzer
Author:Victoria Kann
Illustrator:Victoria Kann
Book type:Fiction
Genre:Picture Book
Publisher:HarperCollins Children's Books
Publication date:May 26, 2009
Number of pages:40
Hardcover price:$17.99
Read aloud:4
Read alone:7

This review was written by Patricia Tauzer
 

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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