Narwhalicorn and Jelly by Ben Clanton. A graphic-novel-type book for newly independent readers. But is it just the next children's book with gender-driven agenda?
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Narwhalicorn and Jelly by Ben Clanton

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When Jelly wonders what a unicorn is, Narwhal wishes to be a unicorn. But when Narwhalicorn wants to venture off onto land, Jelly isn’t so sure about that adventure. Will Jelly get the courage to tell Narwhal?

  • Length: 72 pages
  • Read-Aloud age (Recommended by Amazon): 5- 8 years
  • LJR does not recommend this as a read-aloud. See below for more details.
LJR pink Caution triangle with LJR blue exclamation point inside. Read the following book with some caution

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LJR’s Thoughts on Narwhalicorn and Jelly

Over and over again, Narwhal: The Unicorn of the Sea! is recommended as a graphic-novel-type book for early independent readers. When I had the opportunity to read the newest book in the series, I jumped at the chance. Unfortunately, Narwhalicorn and Jelly adds gender-driven language in the new book. Much like other beloved books like The Princess in Black, our house won’t be delving any further into this series. This was obviously disappointing. Even more so, it has 4.8 stars on 277 ratings on Amazon at the time of this post with zero of the lower ratings mentioning the issues I’ve discussed below, leaving unsuspecting parents who have adored the early adventures of Narwhal.

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Noteworthy

In our usual LJR fashion, we try to find anything that Christian families may want to know about ahead of time to address, skip, or dig deeper into. Take a look at what we found below. Our take on Discipleship Opportunities is at the bottom of the review.

  • Negative Behavior: Narwhal is so consumed with being a unicorn on land and doesn’t hear/listen to Jelly’s discomfort until Jelly explodes in anger. Even forcing Jelly along for the ride. They do work it out in the end though.
  • Gender Identity/Sexuality: Two different instances of Narwhalicorn being referred to as “they” or “their.” Each could be missed by young children easily and I even missed the first time. By the second time, it was apparent. Another quick scene that could be missed by your kiddos but you will want to take note of is a scene where a “horsicorn” tells Jelly, “Some horns are invisible. But that doesn’t mean you aren’t [a unicorn].” (see images for both of these below) This statement seems innocuous except for the other issues in the book.
Narwhalicorn from the Narwhal books uses the pronoun 'their' self-referentially

Discipleship Opportunities

  • If you choose to read this, your kiddos would probably miss the pronouns altogether so the best and most obvious discussion topic for them would be about being a unicorn even though you don’t have the parts. Focusing on the truth of who we are. Although I haven’t read it yet, I have heard wonderful things from BRAVE books called Elephants aren’t Birds. Reinforcement of Genesis 1:27, “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (ESV)
  • When Narwhal is so focused on the new adventure as a unicorn, Jelly is dragged along. Digging into this article about what it means to think of others above yourself.
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