We read this aloud with Ellie (3rd grade). She loved it because (and if you know Ellie, I don't need to explain this): giant animals with magical powers that bond telepathically with kids. 'Nough said. This is our daughter who was seemingly born with a unicorn obsession and had no coaching from us in that area. And although the unicorn enthusiasm has eased off a bit in the last year or two, this was right up her alley.

The book, however, was pretty boring with flat characters and a hard-to-follow plot (or so my husband and I thought, she stayed right on track). Also, there was more violence than we were comfortable with - a battle description was more graphic than necessary, especially for a kids book and there was a section at the end that we read aloud somewhat selectively. The lack of literary quality combined with a few disturbing elements add up Josh and I agreeing that a pause on the rest of the series is probably in order, at least for now (though she probably won't be happy about it).