Are their children in your life who love all things castles and unicorns like there are in mine? If so, they may enjoy Lita Judge’s latest book, BEATRIX AND THE UNICORN, which came out in Feburary of this year (2026) from Simon and Schuster.

This winter I had the great fortune of marveling at immense, intricate tapestries hung in the Vianden castle near Luxembourg, tapestries of royal family events and armored knights on horses. It was fun to imagine my grandchildren running around that castle and pretending they belonged there. And it’s not hard to imagine that if there were a tapestry of a unicorn, their imagination would go wild. In fact, Lita reports that it was the Unicorn Tapestries, woven in the Netherlands in the late 15th century, that got her own limagination going.

The main character, Beatrix, is a Cinderella-ish character with a lonely servant life who makes friends with a unicorn in a tapestry in the castle’s great room. It seems to smile at her “like a friend,” like a beautiful, soft, huggable friend. If only it were real. So, she goes on a journey and finds things that are real and in need of friendship.

The story reminded me of Disney’s 2015 live-action film Cinderella, with it’s “have courage and be kind,” theme, combined with another book whose name I can’t seem to recall. I do recall that the main character went in search of needed treasure only to discover that it was buried in his house all along. Let me know if remember the name. I like the theme of a child finding friendship by noticing others similarly suffering. Some of my best friends have been “on the fringe,” so to speak. And I often feel I am too, so maybe that’s why I like it so much.

But really, Lita’s book combines charm and powerful theme in a very sweet way. The story is lovely and the illustrations are captivating. Well done Lita Judge. I’ll add it to my “to buy for grandkids” list.

I loved the view out this window