Title: THE MOST MAGNIFICENT THING
Author/Illustrator: Ashley Spires
Publisher: Kids Can Press
ISBN: 1554537045
Release Date: April 1, 2014
All about it:
When an unnamed girl and her best friend, a super cute brown and white dog set out to make THE MOST MAGNIFICENT THING, they soon discover that seeing a vision of something and having that something turn out perfectly are two very different things. After many trial and error attempts she does something that all children (and adults!) tend to do when things aren’t going their way. She gets MAD! Really, really mad! In a fluster to get her magnificent thing perfect, she works harder than ever —smashing and jamming until she crunches her finger and EXPLODES! With a hurt finger, the little girl calls it quits and her trusty assistant cleverly suggests a walk. It’s during that walk that she realizes that each of her not magnificent things have something special. And when she pulls all of the special parts together and works carefully tinkering, hammering, and painting, she ends up with something not quite perfect (it leans to the left, is a bit heavy, and could use some paint) but it’s just what the little girl and her dog wanted. To them it’s THE MOST MAGNIFICENT THING!
Opening lines:
This is a regular girl and her best friend in the whole wide world. They do all kinds of things together. They race. They eat. They explore. They relax.
She makes things. He unmakes things.
One day, the girl has a wonderful idea. She is going to make the more MAGNIFICENT thing!
Favorite page spread:
What will kids (and adults) take away after they’ve read it:
Kids will enjoy seeing themselves in this little girl as she explores natural feelings of frustration when things aren’t going as planned and joy and happiness when the solution to her problems are finally solved. Adults will enjoy the overall message of not giving up and that sometimes a new perspective, a little patience, and a fresh attitude can solve problems and leave you with a better outcome that you ever imagined.
About the author: (From Amazon)
Ashley Spires grew up in a little town on the coast of British Columbia called Tsawwassen with two parents, an older sister, eight cats, a dog and the occasional newt.
For a while she thought that animation was her future, but then photography caught her eye, which led her to bookmaking courses. These classes opened her eyes to the world of illustration and she never looked back. Delighted that there was, in fact, a career that allowed her to remain in her pajamas, hang out with her cats and be productive at the same time, she knew illustration was the perfect job for her.
Ashley spent time living in Toronto and Saskatoon before returning to her home turf of Delta, British Columbia where she now resides with three cats, a dog and her extremely patient fella.
Sharon Chriscoe 