LCN617 Textual Analysis: Deconstructing Thelma the Unicorn's Narrative

This essay presents a critical analysis of Aaron Blabey's picture book, 'Thelma the Unicorn,' focusing on its literary merits and underlying themes. The essay explores how the story uses colorful illustrations and simple text to convey a powerful moral message about self-acceptance and the true meaning of happiness. It delves into the character development of Thelma, a plain horse who dreams of becoming a glamorous unicorn, and examines how her pursuit of fame leads to unexpected consequences. The analysis also considers the book's effectiveness in addressing issues of body image and self-confidence in young children, highlighting its potential to promote positive self-perception and appreciation for individuality. Furthermore, the essay discusses the use of rhyming words and fantastical elements in the book, assessing their impact on children's language learning and comprehension. The essay concludes that 'Thelma the Unicorn' is a valuable piece of children's literature that effectively communicates important life lessons through an engaging and visually appealing narrative.

Running Head: ENGLISH 1
Critical analysis of a Picture Book - Thelma the Unicorn
Author's Name
Institutional Affiliation

ENGLISH 2
Introduction
“Thelma the Unicorn” is a picture book which is written by the award-winning author
Aaron Blabey (Blabey,2015). The story is about Thelma, an ordinary unicorn who dreams about
becoming a famous and glamorous unicorn. Her wishes do come true, and Thelma rises to
international stardom but pays the price for her stardom and fame. Eventually, she realizes that
she was a lot happier as an ordinary unicorn and returns to her old life with her best friend, Otis,
the donkey. The author uses colorful illustrations and simple text to keep the book interesting for
young readers and send a strong moral message.
Thelma the Unicorn is an interesting and colorful book to read for young children. The
illustrations of the book are done by Blabey and are colorful and fun. Children love this book as
the pacing of the story is good, and it is neither too long nor too short. For the younger children
who are just beginning to read or are not very fluent with reading, having pictures is important.
The pictures take up more space than the print and thus add more color to the book pages. These
pictures are more meaningful for the prereaders who prefer the pictures and spend more time
looking at them (Treiman, Rosales, & Kessler, 2015). The author keeps the readers hooked with
the storyline, and the young readers are keen to know what happens to Thelma and her dreams.
The young readers would like to know if Thelma’s dreams come true and if she is able to lead a
happy life when she becomes a unicorn. There is humor throughout the text and illustrations. The
moral of the story is to be happy the way you are, and the readers get the message loud and clear.
It is a great book that is fun and enjoyable to read and teaches young children to be happy with
just who they are and lead a happy life with their real friends.

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What is most attractive about the storybook are the colorful illustrations. The illustrator
uses bright colors and glitter to represent the elements of glamor and stardom. For instance,
Thelma is shown with pink paint, carrot horn and glitter to do the trick and become a famous and
beloved unicorn (Turk, 2018). The dazzling glamor of celebrity life makes a sharp contrast with
the simplicity of old life Thelma and her green pastures. Thelma is shown in a plain brown color
while Otis is shown in blue for a nice contrast. The long-lashes of Thelma and the side hairs of
Otis add to their character. The cartoony animals go well with the quirky illustrations of human
characters. The illustrator uses a fresh pink color for the unicorn and gives Thelma a sparkly
front that guarantees an extra eye-appeal. Blabey is really good when it comes to illustrations,
and the drawings in this book are simple, colorful and hilarious. The acrylic, pen and pencil
illustrations are able to bring out the emotions and feel of the situation. Blabey is well known for
his wide-open eyed characters and rhythmic humor (Boudreau,2016). He gives a personality to
each of those characters. Those full-page illustrations help the children to remember the
characters and read independently. Picture books may represent reality or to represent make-
believe. The ability of the 3- to 4-year-old children to distinguish fantasy from reality depends on
their recognition that a story stands for something and their own experiences as asserted by
Strouse, Nyhout, & Ganea (2018). Children can feel motivated to draw those colorful
illustrations from the book.
There are some of the memorable pages in this illustrated book. For example, the
illustration of Thelma walking on the red carpet with a big smile on her face makes a strong
impression. It is hard to ignore the glittery pink color, the jewels around her hooves and around
her neck, her glittering dark shades and her mane done up in a fashionable braid. She is
surrounded by her fans and media, who are there for a glimpse of her. The illustration even has a

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fan taking her picture on his smartphone. On another page, Thelma is shown sitting in bed with
her makeup smeared and her horn askew. Her lustrous mane looks thin and dull, and her body is
covered with broken eggs and yolks. She holds a framed picture of her friend Otis and makes a
very sad picture. Blabey has a real talent when drawing expressive faces. In one picture, Thelma
is shown smiling confidently, and in the other, she makes a sad and lonely figure. Another lovely
illustration shows Thelma and Otis munching on the carrot and truly happy in the company of
each other.
The author sends a simple message in a compelling way. There is dark humor in the
picture book that sends a distinct message that if you want to become special, it should not be
because of fame and glory, but because of you (Turk, 2018). Thelma, a plain horse, leads a
simple life in a paddock with Otis, her best friend. While Otis thinks that Thelma is fine the way
she looks, Thelma is sad and longs for more in her life and desires to be a unicorn to look and
feel special. Now that Thelma has become a unicorn, she is famous and gets obsessed with her
glamour and laps up all the attention she gets. She is intoxicated with her newfound fame and
enjoys all the attention she gets. Thelma travels aboard yachts and poses for the media when she
becomes a celebrity (Boudreau,2016). When Thelma lives the life of her dreams as a unicorn,
she enjoys it at first. However, her fans keep chasing her wherever she goes and invade her
privacy (YouTube, 2015). Some of her fans say mean things about her. Gradually her life
becomes lonely, and that makes Thelma wonder if all that fame and glory is indeed worth it. She
wonders about her old simple life with her best friend. The picture book carries colorful
illustrations, and simple words send a message that there is another side to fame, and it is not
easy to lead the life of a famous person. One no longer has any privacy as every move of theirs is

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being followed and watched. Sometimes the life you already lead is the best one for you and a lot
better than the life you wish for.
Thelma the Unicorn draws attention to the issues of body image and self-confidence, and
these issues are common with the young growing children. Every child is conscious about how
he looks and is not very sure of being accepted and appreciated by others. The story intends to
send the message that each child is special the way they are, and it is essential to love yourself.
There is no need for all that glitter and sparkle in your life to be happy. This book motivates the
children to think at a deeper level and learn to appreciate others and themselves the way they are.
Nobody is perfect and true happiness lies in finding perfection within those imperfections. The
book can help combat the negatives in children about how they look and their body image.
The picture book is suitable for lower primary setting when children are in their early
years. It is an example of classic and modern children’s literature with the intention of a moral or
lesson. The concept of fictional animal characters is included in the book as unicorns are
fictional animals. Thelma and Otis are the two main characters in the story. According to
Lukens, Smith, & Coffel, (2013), dynamic characters add more fun to children’s literature, and
Thelma’s character can be seen as dynamic. She undergoes a personality change and wants
everyone to admire her. Thelma’s friend Otis does not play a significant role and remains a static
character. Still, he holds credibility as a true friend as he is always there in the background.
When choosing a book for children’s language learning, different types of books facilitate
different type of language learning. The type of pictures a book has, the presence of
manipulatives and the reading strategies impact the book experience for the children. Research
shows that children learn beat from colorful and realistic illustrations (Lowry, 2016). It is
essential to keep away from irrelevant manipulatives such as flaps and tabs to increase interest in

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learning among young children. In Thelma the Unicorn, as the author makes cartoonish images
in fantastical settings, the children would need more than symbolic insight to transfer the
information and concepts successfully. They need to make use of analogical reasoning and
recognize the abstract interactive structure between the two domains (Strouse, Nyhout, & Ganea,
2018). A fantastical context allows a child to separate the possible from the impossible and select
only the transferrable information from fantastical stories. While the realistic illustration of
animals teaches them biology, the reverse can encourage empathy in them for animals and nature
(Strouse, Nyhout, & Ganea, 2018). When the storyline and language talk about characters,
events, and setting, the child enjoys a personal experience of the book and encourages reading
behaviors. Rhyming words raise phonological awareness as asserted by Lowry (2016). Rhyming
words in Thelma the Unicorn such as “forlorn” and “unicorn,”” lot” and “not” “laugh” and
“autograph” help to build phonological awareness among the readers. When children read a
book, they are exposed to transferrable information about words, letters, problems, and solutions
plus moral lessons. The developmental stage of the children affects what they learn.
There is humor behind how Thelma becomes famous. All she has to do is tie a simple
carrot to her nose to look like a unicorn. A truck filled with a pink glittery paint accidentally
splashes all that color over her, and she becomes a glittery pink unicorn. The ideas of grandeur
take serious hold with just a carrot that was lying on the ground and after the truck incident.
Thelma is reinvented as Thelma the Unicorn, and she feels amazing as she looks like a unicorn.
The use of paint and a carrot can be seen as superficial aspects that make Thelma famous.
without that glittery paint and carrot, she is still the same plain horse. The author tries to convey
that fame has come to Thelma in a superfluous way and should not be valued. However, that
leaves one wondering what if she actually became a real unicorn and was not able to go back to

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her old life. In the story, it was easier for Thelma to go back to her old life as all she had to do
was remove the carrot and get rid of that pink color. In reality, fame is not evil, and not all
famous people or celebrities reach the stardom with just superfluous means or plain luck. A lot
of hard work, determination, and perseverance go behind. Not every famous person faces bad
experiences, and it is not always awful being famous.
Aaron Blabey works on a tried and tested theme in Thelma the Unicorn. The rhyming
text moves ahead at a satisfying pace and carries colorful and interesting illustrations that are
varied and full of movement. This is what makes the book a pleasure to read. The characters are
identifiable and lovable and Thelma the protagonist presets a problem that needs to be solved.
The illustrations are very distinct and full of emotions, humor, and expressions. Rhyming words
and repetitions make the text easier for young readers. The young readers get the message that all
that glitters does not mean that it is of value. The story is about wishes and dreams, fame and
fortune, self-worth and friendship. In the long run, it is the real person within that matters and
holds true. The interesting story comes with a humorous twist, and the illustrations are fantastic.
The interesting story comes with a humorous twist and a happy ending. The moral theme lingers
throughout the book with the development of the story and the characters. The book has features
and elements to be a successful and popular book.

ENGLISH 8
References
Blabey, A. (2015). Thelma the Unicorn, Scholastic Australia Retrieved from
https://www.boomerangbooks.com.au/book.cfm?isbn=9781743625804&ru=/Thelma-the-
Unicorn/Aaron-Blabey/book_9781743625804.htm
Boudreau, T. (2016). Thelma the Unicorn. Resource Links, 22(1), 2. Retrieved from http://lib-
proxy.sunywcc.edu:2061/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=118951679&site=eds-
live
Lukens, R. J., Smith, J. J., & Coffel, C. M. (2013). A critical handbook of children’s literature.
United States of America: Pearson. Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority
(VCAA). Retrieved from http://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/.
Lowry, L. (2016). Which Books Are Best? A look at how book features affect children's
language learning, hanen Retrieved from
http://www.hanen.org/Helpful-Info/Professional-Articles/Which-Books-Are-Best--A-
look-at-how-book-features-.aspx
Strouse, G.A., Nyhout, A. & Ganea, P.A. (2018). The Role of Book Features in Young
Children's Transfer of Information from Picture Books to Real-World Contexts.
Frontiers in Psychology, 1(1), 1–14.
Treiman, R., Rosales, N., & Kessler, B. (2015). Characteristics of Print in Books for Preschool
Children. Writing systems research, 8(1), 120–132.
Turk, M. (2018). Blabey, Aaron: Thelma the Unicorn. The Horn Book Guide, (1), 6. Retrieved
from http://lib-proxy.sunywcc.edu:2061/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=edsglr&AN=edsgcl.541639701&site=eds-live

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Winning, J. (2013). Dreams of a Lost Modernist: A Reevaluation of Thelma Wood. Modernist
Cultures, 8(2), 288–322. https://lib-proxy.sunywcc.edu:2590/10.3366/mod.2013.0066
YouTube. (2015). Aaron Blabey reads Thelma The Unicorn, youtube Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=28&v=hkL5O17z52U