Picture Book Review: The Nuff

The Nuff by Veronica Waldrop
The Nuff
by Veronica Waldrop,  Cat Elliott (Illustrator)

4 out of 5 stars

The Nuff is a unicorn with a broken horn, but she doesn’t let that stop her from being amazing, trying new things, and being confident in herself. Even if she isn’t perfect, she is enough!
The Nuff may not look like the girls in magazines, and she might make mistakes or sing off-key, but she is a beautiful and brave unicorn with a big heart and a smart brain that keeps her enjoying life. She plays sports, rollerskates with friends, goes swimming in the ocean, explores the countryside, generously gives to others, plays in the mud, climbs mountains, rides her bike, plays princess dress-up, and dances across the grass.

This book was written by a mother for her daughters. She died of cancer shortly after writing it, and it is her message to all children everywhere that they are enough.

I really loved the positive messages and themes in this book! So many times we find it hard to forgive ourselves for not being perfect, and even adults need to be reminded that we are enough.
The poetry is good, and the rhyming is good, but sometimes the rhythm of the lines didn’t add up, or words were obviously added to fill in space. Sometimes the writing has an almost musical rhythm, and then that rhythm is interrupted by a line that is too short or too long, and doesn’t match the previous couplet. It was fine, but could have been better.

The illustrations are just beautiful! I love the bright colors and the cute animal characters. The energy and vitality of the unicorn character is evident on every page!

I wasn’t quite sure why the book started out with a narrator introducing the story and then began with the Nuff being born. It’s not a very natural starting place for the story. I also was not happy with the sudden change in perspective to the narrator again in the middle of the book. Then it jumps back to the Nuff again on the next page. It was jarring, and interrupted the flow of the story. I understand that the narrator is the author speaking directly to her daughters, and that is very sweet, but the pacing of the story would have been better without the narrator scenes.

This a very sweet and inspiring book for children ages 5-10.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

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