When you’re six years old, your biggest concern might be your mom not getting you that one toy or not taking you to the park. Of course, many six-year-old girls claim to want to be a unicorn, which seems to be a reasonable claim. However, Em Dennis takes this a step further in her piece “When a Six-Year-Old Girl Says She Wants To Be a Unicorn.” She considers the implications of being a unicorn, which most six-year-old girls don’t contemplate, and why little girls would want to be this specific magical creature. I, too, have not been a six-year-old girl for some time, so I found the analysis of six-year-old reasoning fascinating.
     The true reason this piece stood out was its comparison between being an innocent child and growing up and having to deal with the harsh realities of the world. At the end of the piece, Em Dennis states, “But sometimes, when I see / The headlines tattooed with nuclear war… I’d rather be a mythical creature too.” A small child’s reason to become a unicorn and the author’s reason differ greatly in their maturity. The six-year-old wants the superficial aspects of the unicorn, such as the love it receives, its magic, and the horn that apparently shoots laser beams. The author wants to escape the messed up world we live in, listing problems like starving children and melting icecaps. Em Dennis flawlessly delivers an important comparison between innocence and maturity, all while entertaining us with a humorous poem.