book cover

Unicorn Seekers: The Map of Lost Unicorns

by Cerrie Burnell, illustrated by Lucy Fleming

Interest age: 7 to 8
Reading age: 6 to 7

Published by Scholastic, 2022

  • Chapter books
  • Fantasy

About this book

Every morning, Elodie Lightfoot and her dad load up their coffee van with pastries and go to the park, where Elodie roller-skates with her friends before school. All pretty usual.

One night, awoken by a storm, Elodie watches a dark horse canter along her road – and in a flash of lightning she spots a translucent horn on its forehead. Could it be …? Before she can think properly, a red car screeches round the corner, in pursuit of the shadowy creature, and it flees.

When she tells her friends the next day, Caleb says he’s seen a black horse hiding in the park. But it seems that only Elodie the Unicorn Seeker can communicate with Astra the unicorn, and she and her friends must save the beautiful creature from the sinister Bureau de Secrets.

With a cast of excellent friends including an autistic boy, this satisfying tale has the perfect balance of thrilling plot, unicorn lore and swirling magic. The delightful illustrations and the inclusion of diary entries from Unicorn Seekers throughout history mean the reader is wholly drawn into this mysterious and secret world. It is perfect for fans of magical adventures that crackle with mystery.

About the author

Cerrie Burnell is an actress and writer best known for her work on CBeebies, a role that has earned her critical recognition and a devoted fan base. Alongside this, she works very closely with a number of charitable organisations linked to childhood and diversity, as Cerrie is passionate about these subjects.

In 2011, Cerrie was named in the Observer’s top ten children’s presenters and in the Guardian’s list of 100 most inspirational women. Cerrie is author in residence for Great Ormond Street hospital and a patron of Polka children’s theatre.

She trained at Manchester Metropolitan and her credits prior to CBeebies include Eastenders, The Bill, Holby City, and Comedy Lab for Channel Four and various plays, including Winged, an original play she wrote and starred in at the Tristan Bates theatre.

Cerrie’s one-woman show The Magical Playroom opened in Edinburgh in 2013 and she has published seven books for children with Scholastic. Harper and the Sea of Secrets was a World Book Day title in 2016. Cerrie recently adapted her picture book Snowflakes for the stage, which was performed at the Oxford Playhouse in December 2016. Harper and the Night Fox was published by Scholastic in 2017, and her novel, The Girl With the Shark’s Teeth, was published by Oxford University Press in January 2019. Her novel, The Ice Bear Miracle, was published in February 2020.

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