Phoebe and Her Unicorn Books In Order

Publication Order of Phoebe and Her Unicorn Books

Phoebe and Her Unicorn is a series of graphic novels written by Dana Simpson. The series began as a webcomic on the GoComics website. Back then it was simply titled ‘Heavenly Nostrils’. As a webcomic, the property gained quick popularity, thus leading to its publication in over a hundred newspapers in 2015 as a daily comic strip.

+The Story

The Phoebe and Her Unicorn series is aptly named, primarily because it centers on the adventures of Phoebe and her unicorn. The series begins with Phoebe Howell, a nine-year-old girl sitting alone beside a pond.

Phoebe isn’t exactly like other girls, or so she would like to think. The little girl doesn’t think that anyone understands her, and she is just looking for someone to whom she can whisper all the strange thoughts and ideas that cross her mind.

The fourth grader throws a rock across the pond, intending to skip it, and instead hits the face of a unicorn. The unicorn, called Marigold Heavenly Nostrils, is freed from her reflection and she is so grateful that she grants Phoebe one wish.

All Phoebe wants is a friend, possibly even a best friend, someone she can connect with. So she uses her one wish to make Marigold the unicorn her best friend.

This sends Phoebe on a journey that sees her entire life explode into adventure and excitement. Marigold is the best friend anyone could possibly have. She has magic and that allows her to perform all sorts of convenient spells such as using her horn as a Wi-Fi broadcaster and diverting rain.

Rather than existing within the recesses of Phoebe’s mind, Marigold uses her magic to blend into the ordinary world, to the point where she doesn’t attract the interest of the people around her.

This allows her to live life besides Phoebe and to get a taste of the human experience. The Phoebe and Her Unicorn series tells very simplistic stories. Phoebe is always getting into trouble of one sort or another, but now she has her best friend Marigold to come to her rescue when things get too crazy.

The graphic novels are written with very young readers in mind. They do not have particular messages to pass on. Rather, they just delve into the whimsical life of a whimsical little girl.

The series is pretty popular, not only amongst children but also the parents of children. The books have garnered numerous accolades this including the PNBA Book Award and the Washington State Book Award.

+The Author

Dana Simpson remembers being enamored by the Peanuts stories from Charles Schulz. She eventually got turned on to the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip by Bill Watterson. Interestingly enough, the Phoebe and Her Unicorn series has been described as Calvin and Hobbes but for little girls.

The Phoebe and Her Unicorn series is an attempt by Dana Simpson to reimagine her childhood. Dana sees herself in Phoebe. Dana remembers being somewhat lonely as a child because she didn’t think people understood her.

The author also remembers getting emotionally invested in the same things that consume Phoebe, this including the school spelling bee and impressing the cool kids. Dana Simpson drew the ‘Ozy and Millie’ web comic before her interest in the Phoebe books was ignited.

Dana believes that her approach to storytelling has changed drastically over time. With the ‘Ozy and Millie’ stories, Dana was writing a comic about a child that was essentially at war with the world.

Phoebe, on the other hand, seems pretty comfortable in the world she lives in. She understands and accepts her place in life, especially after she meets her magical unicorn. In that regard, the author believes that her stories have transitioned alongside her. They have changed to reflect the changes she has encountered in life.

While Dana Simpson believes she has lived a unique life with unique challenges that have manifested in her Phoebe and Her Unicorn series, she is certain that the stories she writes appeal universally to children all over the world.

Dana never set out to actually write for children. She had an idea for a comic and she went about writing and drawing it. From her point of view, the author has always written for herself first and foremost. This is why she is able to relate so closely with some of the characters.

It wasn’t until she found a publisher that the author was told that the Phoebe and Her Unicorn series would be packaged with kids’ comics in mind.

That tells Dana that she has a middle-grade mindset.

+Phoebe and Her Unicorn

When Phoebe went to the pond, she didn’t know just how drastically her life would change. She just wanted to skip rocks across the water, and that is exactly what she proceeded to do.

But then she hit a unicorn in the face and granted it freedom. The Unicorn, named Marigold Heavenly Nostrils, was so grateful that it granted Phoebe a single wish. Phoebe wished that Marigold would become her best friend.

Marigold obliged. Now Phoebe and her unicorn are in unchartered territory. Neither one knows if a connection can be forged between a daydreamer of a child and a mythical creature. But they are willing to give it a shot.

The first book in the Phoebe and Her Unicorn series delves into the unlikely relationship between a young girl and a unicorn. The girl feels somewhat isolated. She doesn’t know if she belongs.

Marigold proceeds to show her that she is actually special. Along the way, the unicorn realizes that Phoebe fills a hole in her heart she didn’t know she had.

+Unicorn on a Roll

One year ago, Phoebe hit a unicorn in the face while skipping rocks across a pond. The unicorn gave Phoebe one wish and she used it to make Marigold her best friend. Now Phoebe is living her new life as a little girl with a special magical friend.

Life is still a little tough. Phoebe still has to deal with her friend/enemy Dakota. There’s a school play on the horizon and Phoebe wants the lead role. Unfortunately for her, so does Dakota. It will take the work of Marigold to bring peace between the two.