Griso: The One and Only [Hardcover]

A unicorn searches for others just like him in this vibrant and shapeshifting tale by Batchelder-Honor author and illustrator, Roger Mello

The last of his kind, Griso travels the world searching for unicorn companions. He asks beetles, chameleons, and buffalos if they’ve seen any mythical creatures like him, and all send him on his way saying, “Neither here nor at the edge of the world.” Griso gallops across plains, marshes, and mountains, he trots into the sunset and chats with fearsome narwals by the sea. On each spread, we see Griso rendered in a new artistic style, portrayed as a shadowy cave painting, a chivalrous medieval stead, or lost along a mind-bending surrealist horizon. Griso, the Unique introduces young readers to artistic movements spanning the 7th to 18th century, leaping across time and color with the flip of a page. In Daniel Hahn’s exquisite translation, Griso, the Unique opens the doors to a world of African painting, Tang Dynasty murals, medieval tapestries, and art hidden beneath Egyptian pyramids. A song of color, time, expression, and a fantastical search for belonging by Brazilian visionary, Roger Mello.“Award-winning author and illustrator Mello weaves a simple story firmly punctuated by breathtaking artwork . . . This book would be an excellent resource in an elementary art classroom or as part of a unit, introducing students to different art styles from across history and the globe.”
—Children’s Literature

[Griso, the One and Only] is an artistic masterpiece introducing readers to centuries of artistic movements, while reinforcing the strengths and merits of being one’s authentic self.
— School Library Journal