The Most Magnificent Thing

The Most Magnificent Thing
By Ashley Spires
Kids Can Press , 2014
Reviewed from NetGalley
Audience:  Preschool to Grade 3
ISBN:  9781554537044
Publication Date:  April 1, 2014


A girl and her very best friend, her dog, love to create things, and one day she sets out to create the most magnificent thing!  She sets to work interviewing an assistant, also her dog, and sets up shop in a little out of the way place, the city sidewalk.  But her thing isn't magnificent.  She fixes, and prods, and pulls, and works until she is furious, but her thing remains un-extraordinary.  Finally, she takes a walk with the dog and calms down.  When she comes back to her workshop, she sees that each prototype has a magnificent component, and when put together, makes a pretty magnificent thing.  

I'm a little head over heals for this book.  It had me from the dedication:  "For all the little perfectionists in the world".  This girl wants so badly to succeed, and without realizing it, she does.  All of her prototypes are the perfect thing for her friends and neighbors as they pick them up for their own needs.  Plus all those failures led her to her final creation, which is a great lesson for any reader, no matter the age.  

And the illustrations!  The dog is adorable in each spread has he "helps" her work, sometimes by chasing squirrels away from the work site.  Readers will also clearly see her frustration as the project fails, but joy as it comes back together.  

I'm a big fan of Ashley Spires Binky books because they are expressive and a little subversive.  They have something for kids and adults to chuckle about.  The Most Magnificent Thing is exactly like that, plus there is a great message about not giving up on your dream.  I want to buy so many copies of this book and distribute them at every baby shower I attend.  So much better than some sappy old copy of Love You Forever.  

For more fun with girl inventors, be sure to check out GoldieBlox, a whole toy line with the dream of inspiring girls to put down the dolls and pick up a socket wrench.  You might have seen their commercial during the SuperBowl and trust me, their product looks amazing.  And I love their tag line--"More than just a princess".  That is the perfect message to send to little girls everywhere!

I just can't say enough good things about this book.  Love, love, love it!  All aspiring inventors out there, or anyone with a dog, will absolutely adore this book.

Happy Reading!