Lucy and her unicorn companion Sparkle return in this follow-up to their initial picture-book adventure, A Unicorn Named Sparkle. When Lucy's friend Cole comes over to play, Sparkle feels left out at first, and makes his presence known in a way that is disruptive. But when his attempts to join the fun, by dancing to Cole's drumming, once again leads to trouble, it turns out that this time it is Lucy who is feeling left out. Fortunately, girl, boy and unicorn find a way to play together that makes everyone feel good...

Like its predecessor, A New Friend for Sparkle pairs an engaging, warmhearted story with cute illustrations. Group dynamics can sometimes be a challenge, especially when young children (or a child and a unicorn) who are friends introduce a third party to the mix, and author/artist Amy Young does a good job capturing the process whereby such a group negotiates the right way to interact. The cartoon-style artwork adds to the sense of fun, capturing both the pathos and humor of this day of play. Recommended to anyone who read and enjoyed the first book about Lucy and Sparkle. ( )