It’s great to be part of the blog tour for this exciting new series, Unicorns in Uniforms. I was given the chance to pose a few questions to the author, Tracy Curran, and her replies are brilliant. Grab a copy from your local library or bookshop and have fun!
This is a new series about jobs in uniform featuring a dynamic cast of characters- where did the idea come from?
In 2021, I signed up to a The Golden Egg Academy’s brand new ‘Concept Creation Course’ which focused specifically on creating series fiction for younger readers. We all bandied about ideas, which was a very fun and collaborative process, and then we chose the concept we wanted to work on. I was immediately drawn to Unicorns in Uniforms because of the alliterative title and, during Covid, I’d realised just how important our keyworkers are.
I wanted to spread that message and so I set the first draft in a hospital with nurses, doctors and paramedics. In the second draft, I ended up moving away from that to give the concept more scope as a series – kids love emergency vehicles and action, don’t they? So the idea grew from there.
This is an ideal short chapter book for emerging readers- did you always want to write for a younger age range?
Yes, I love all children’s fiction but chapter books are particularly special to me. I used to teach 5-6 year olds who are just becoming independent readers, rather than having picture books read to them. Therefore it’s the perfect age to instil a love of reading for pleasure. To do this, I believe you need fun, bold, accessible and engaging texts and chapter books fit the brief so well. They’re short and just so joyful to read. At that age, children are still full of wonder and belief and so you can go BIG with your ideas and take them on a wild ride to magical places.
The illustrations are bright and bold- what were your first impressions?
I was completely blown away! Steve Wood has brought the characters and story to life beyond my wildest imagination. When I was writing unicorns, lots of people kept bringing up how difficult unicorns are to draw, let alone unicorns who drive emergency vehicles, wear uniforms and save the day! Steve has just nailed it, though, and I can’t imagine the unicorns looking any different.
When UCLan offered to publish Unicorns in Uniforms, they were very passionate about wanting full-colour illustrations. This was an incredible vision but a big commitment in terms of cost. My agent gently reminded me of this and explained that the full-colour idea might not come to fruition. However, UCLan (and Steve) have made it happen. I just think the final result is stunning and so engaging for the target audience. Thank you UCLan!
Who will have the next Unicorns in Uniforms adventure and what can we expect from their story?
Ooh, I don’t want to give too much away but the next story centres around Sunny, the air and mountain rescue unicorn. His vehicle is a brilliant but rather vain unicopter called Bee and their adventure involves a mountain rescue as a result of some very strange weather! You can expect to see a bit more of Dash, the paramedic, in this book too. Although their jobs are very different, the unicorns work as a team, which is a theme that I really wanted to highlight. It’s rather like the collaborative effort of writing a book – you can only do so much alone!
How many books will be in the series?
Well, UCLan have committed to publishing the first two books but I have five potential storylines plotted – one for each unicorn. Two books is a dream for me but I’ve course I’d LOVE to write more and that depends on how much readers enjoy the series. I can’t wait to get out into schools and libraries and spread the word about Unicorns but it’s the children’s opinion that matters at the end of the day. I have everything crossed that it will go down well!
What do you hope young readers will take from this series?
A love of reading! My biggest hope is that readers will love the characters and the world and become fully immersed in the story. When that happens, it’s a magical thing and the characters feel like your friends. If even just one reader experiences that when they read Unicorns, I’ll be made up.
I’d also love readers to take away a couple of other things from the story: the importance of teamwork, inclusivity and friendship, inspiration to become whatever they want to be and some gentle knowledge of how to stay safe or what to do in an emergency. Here’s hoping…
My Shelves Are Full 