Afro Unicorn: The Land of Afronia, Vol. 1 by April Showers & Ronaldo Barata

Interestingly, it says “text by Terrance Crawford” in the credits as well, and I’m not sure exactly what that means. Credit where it’s due, tho?

So this is a cute story that champions black representation in children’s fantasy, particularly of the cute anthropomorphic fantastic beast variety. Afronia is a magical land in the stars populated by Afro Unicorns, mermaids, fairies and other assorted friends. Long ago, three crowns appeared that the Superiors, a cadre of wise older unicorns, used to channel their magic in order to make the planet glow with color and joy. In exchange, all the Afro Unicorns have vowed to be kind and to stay true to themselves, in addition to believing in the magic that sustains them.

Unicorn besties Unique and Divine are thrilled that they’re finally old enough to attend the annual Festival Of Crowns, where they’ll finally learn what their own superpowers are. Trouble is, they have to figure out where to find the festival. Superior Majestic is little help, tho she does inform them that one of the three original crowns has gone missing. The best friends decide that they might as well keep an eye open for the crown since they’re already looking for the festival. Little do they know that their search will lead them right to the doorstep of Madame Imperious, a former Superior who wants to turn Afronia into a dictatorship, led by herself ofc. Will they be able to recover the crown and make it to the festival, with the help of their friends?

This is a very cute tale of the power of friendship and self-belief, which also happens to be wonderfully coded to Black hair, appearance and experiences. Young readers absolutely need this kind of subtle representation, especially in genre fiction, much of which tends to run very white. I also enjoyed the silly little jokes — I’m a sucker for a well-timed “Hay!” — that adorn this otherwise earnest fable of kindness and teamwork.

There are some weird ways in which the art tends to not track with the dialog. The most glaring was the whole thing with Hummi’s crown, tho it’s also weird how Soar’s cast disappeared: saying his arm was hurt instead of broken would have made much more sense. But these are grown-up quibbles with a kind-hearted book aimed at giving Black kids space and representation in the children’s fantasy market, so I’m not really holding them against it. One can only hope that this series becomes successful enough that it warrants more rigorous continuity editing in future books, for everyone’s benefit.

Afro Unicorn: The Land of Afronia, Vol. 1 by April Showers & Ronaldo Barata was published July 16 2024 by Andrews McMeel Publishing and is available from all good booksellers, including