Thelma the Unicorn by Aaron Blabey
Thelma the Unicorn by Aaron Blabey promotes the themes of being true to yourself and being proud of who you are. In the classroom, you can use the book to teach and discuss:
- self-esteem and self-worth
- identity
- friendships
- problem and solution
- dreams for the future
- downside of fame
- self-acceptance
- character traits
Thelma the pony desperately wants to be a unicorn. She finds a carrot and ties it to her head. By chance, a truck driver sees Thelma and is sure he has just seen a unicorn. He swerves and his cargo of pink paint and glitter covers Thelma and she becomes Thelma the Unicorn.
Thelma fools the world into believing she is a real unicorn and revels in her new fame. Her dreams have come true but she soon realizes the “grass isn’t always greener”. Becoming famous and pretending to be someone else is not as much fun as she thought.
Her fans chase her everywhere. They scream and cry and want her autograph. She doesn’t have a moment’s peace. Some of her fans become mean when Thelma asks them to leave her alone. Fame isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Thelma reflects on her situation and realizes she misses her best friend, Otis, and her former life. She cleans off the paint and glitter and returns to her friend who always accepted her. Now Thelma does too.
Book Series
Thelma the Unicorn (2015),The Return of Thelma the Unicorn (2019)
Thelma the Unicorn by Aaron Blabey
Illustrator: Aaron Blabey
Publisher: Scholastic Australia (2015)
ISBN: 9781743625804
Take a look inside
Aaron Blabey Official Website
Thelma the Unicorn Resources
I have created a bundle of literacy graphic organizers for Thelma the Unicorn. You can find them at my Teachers Pay Teachers store. Click on the image to go directly to the pack.
- Aaron Blabey: Picture Book Maker
- On a Butterfly Wings: Year One -teaching points
- Shellcove Schools: Stage 1 Modelled Reading Plan
- Scholastic: Teachers Notes
Thelma the Unicorn Graphic Organisers
I have created a literacy pack for Thelma the Unicorn which includes over 300 NO PREP graphic organizers. There are many activities for each literacy area to differentiate depending on your student’s ability/age. They include activities for:
- Asking Questions
- Author’s Purpose
- Cause & Effect
- Character Traits and Analysis
- Compare & Contrast
- Comprehension Questions and Writing Prompts
- Inferring and Predicting
- Main Idea and Theme
- Making Connections
- Point of View
- Problem and Solution
- Retelling, Sequencing and Summarizing
- Story Maps
- Visualizing
- Vocabulary
*Click on these links to discover book recommendations on these topics.
Thelma the Unicorn Read-Aloud Questions
Read aloud sessions are a wonderful way for children to understand the connection between written text and spoken language. You can model reading habits and strategies, reading fluency, tone and eye contact. You can also introduce different genres, authors and illustrators.
- What do you think Aaron Blabey wants us to learn from reading Thelma the Unicorn?
- What is the key message of the story?
- Describe the problem faced by Thelma and how it was solved.
- How would you describe Thelma? What are her character traits?
- How does Aaron Blabey make it clear Thelma has low self-esteem?
- Describe how Thelma could have handled this situation differently.
- What did you think of Thelma’s fans? Should they be “allowed” to chase her? Explain.
- Why do you think her fans reacted negatively? Do you think their behavior is fair?
- Do you think Thelma made a better pony or unicorn? Explain your answer.
- Why do you think Thelma didn’t think she was special at the beginning of the story?
- What would you have said to Thelma at the beginning of the story?
- We don’t see Otis a lot but why is he important to Thelma and the story?
You can find a full set of 64 comprehension questions for Thelma the Unicorn available in my TPT Store.
Thelma the Unicorn Book Trailer
Related Posts
Books by Aaron Blabey
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