Michael Hague

Prolific children's author and artist Michael Hague joined forces with paper engineers John Strejan and Rodger Smith in this pop-up book from 1986, highlighting the beauty and enchantment of unicorns. In six two-page spreads, various pop-up scenes—art by Hague, paper engineering by the Strejan / Smith team—are paired with a narrative describing some of the magical qualities of these mythic equines, from the flowers which spring from their steps to the healing power of their horns. Born from flowers and protected by the fairies, the unicorn brings a sense of safety and well-being to all who surround him...

I've been on something of a unicorn kick recently, and after reading and enjoying the 1999 picture book, Michael Hague's Magical World of Unicorns, which pairs various quotations about unicorns with Hague's artwork, I discovered this earlier, similarly-titled book. As it happens, many databases combine the two books (I had to separate them out, on two sites that I use), under the mistaken impression they are the same. However that may be, I am glad that I sought this one out, as I found it quite charming. I am not a pop-up aficionado (even as a child I didn't gravitate to the form), but I think that element of the book holds up fairly well, given that it is almost forty years old at this point. The paper elements aren't as complicated as what one would find in a Robert Sabuda or Matthew Reinhart title, but are still quite engaging, and the artwork itself is vintage Hague—enjoyable for me, even if rarely a personal favorite. There isn't really much of a story here, just some discussion of how unicorns live in Fairyland, but the overall reading and viewing experience with Michael Hague's World of Unicorns was a pleasure. Recommended to young unicorn fans, and to anyone who enjoys pop-up books and paper engineering.… (plus d'informations)

Children's author and artist Michael Hague's gorgeous illustrations featuring unicorns are gathered in this beautiful picture book anthology, with a poem or a quotation from a longer work about unicorns paired with each painting. Snippets from Auden and Shakespeare, poems from Ann Santinho and Ella Young, quotations from works such as Robert Brown's 1881 The Unicorn: A Mythological Investigation and Georgess McHargue's 1968 The Beasts of Never—these and other selections are paired with the beautiful artwork, offering just a taste of the unicorn lore out there...

Published in 1999, Michael Hague's Magical World of Unicorns is very much a vehicle for the artist's work, rather than a proper story or poetry anthology. It certainly highlights many of Hague's gorgeous unicorn paintings, and the visuals here are more than worth seeking out, for their own sake. That being said, the snippets and quotations presented are also intriguing, with many authors and works known to me, and a few which were not. I appreciated the diversity of selections on offer, from German folk songs, medieval accounts, a hymn to Buddha, modern fantasies and non-fiction, and poetry. Hague created an earlier pop-up book with a similar name, back in 1986 (Michael Hague's World of Unicorns), that I have decided to seek out, to compare and contrast to this later picture book. As for this one, I would recommend it to unicorns lovers young and old, and fans of the artist.… (plus d'informations)