The Most Magnificent Thing

Locations
Call Number: E SPI, Kids Book / Picture Books / General / Spires, Ashley
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Malletts Creek Branch, Pittsfield Branch, Traverwood Branch, Westgate Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown Kids Books 4-week checkout	E SPI	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown Kids Books 4-week checkout	E SPI	4-week checkout	Due 05-24-2024
Downtown Kids Books 4-week checkout	E SPI	4-week checkout	Due 04-29-2024
Downtown Kids Books 4-week checkout	E SPI	4-week checkout	Due 05-06-2024
Malletts Kids Books 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Picture Books / General / Spires, Ashley	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Pittsfield Kids Books 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Picture Books / General / Spires, Ashley	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Traverwood Kids Books 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Picture Books / General / Spires, Ashley	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Traverwood Kids Books 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Picture Books / General / Spires, Ashley	4-week checkout	Due 05-13-2024
Westgate Kids Books 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Picture Books / General / Spires, Ashley	4-week checkout	On Shelf

"Edited by Yasemin Uçar"--Preliminary page.
A little girl has a wonderful idea. With the help of her canine assistant, she is going to make the most magnificent thing! She knows just how it will look. She knows just how it will work. But making the most magnificent thing turns out to be harder than she thinks.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

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Summary / Annotation
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Author Notes

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Inspiration submitted by hadleysnicole on June 26, 2018, 9:12am The Most Magnificient Thing by Ashley Spires is a cute kids book about never giving up on what you are trying to accomplish no how frustrating or difficult it may be. The main character is a girl who wants to make something unique something magnificent.

The illustrations are simply beautiful and elegant with bright high quality color. I loved the idea of the story and the with that the author included in this beautiful story skillfully. The simplicity of the story and the concept is something that made this picture book special to read.

I love the different ways the girl tries to make the magnificent thing better. At the peak of her frustration she she quits then she gains a little perspective with the help of her assistant and comes back to examine the many wrong things she made only to realize they all have things about them that she likes. After closely examining all of the wrong things she finally knows how to make her thing magnificent and she does! It’s not perfect, it leans, it’s heavy, it’s not the best color but it’s just what she wanted and she’s no longer disappointed.

I like that the protagonist is unnamed. She is just “the girl”, she could be any girl. The story has a nice sense of humor to it. I like the way the neighbors found uses for the girls “failures.” What I enjoyed most was how the author conveys emotions. The girl is consumed and a little oblivious of the world around her as she works toward her goal. She tries many things until she nearly reaches exhaustion where she explodes with frustration. After a little break she comes back with a new perspective and can see what she created wasn’t so bad after all. She takes all of the things she liked best about her failures and puts them together to make her magnificent thing.

This is a sweet book that anyone who has tried to create something from a picture in their mind will be able to relate to. It’s a great message to children that they should not give up if they are not immediately successful.

Frustration and Persistence submitted by corywill86 on June 18, 2019, 4:21pm I loved the message of this book. I loved the illustrations. I loved the story. My 3yo was not able to really get into it. Recommend for an older child. Maybe we'll try again now that he's 4.

Absolutely love this book! submitted by TLW1998 on July 30, 2019, 8:44pm It is a great book to teach kids about frustration and persistence. This book has an excellent lesson, is well written, has great illustrations, and highly recommended.

Love this book! submitted by smgop on August 6, 2020, 6:27pm I love this book - mistakes are just opportunities to learn and try again!

An Anger Management Story submitted by Meginator on July 29, 2023, 11:47pm This picture book follows a girl and her trusty canine assistant through their many attempts to create an unspecified “magnificent thing” and the resulting emotional fallout when their creations don’t quite make the grade. I loved the reveal at the end (the thing really is pretty cool in the context of the story) and the book’s treatment of anger, along with a suggested way of cooling off; however, the main character doesn’t face any real consequences for an outburst, which may not be a productive message for all readers. I found the visual style hit-and-miss: while I loved seeing the different iterations of the girl’s invention, found the assistant charming, and appreciated the contrast between the characters and the outlined backgrounds, the stick-leg design for the human characters doesn’t appeal to me at all. This book has its merits and will be very useful for many readers who experience explosive frustration, but its slow pace and its way of dealing with anger might not work for everyone.