Magnolia is, once again, magnificent. Her cautionary tales capture perfectly how the imagination of a child works. They also capture the imagination of our children to the point that we're often asked to "read me this book?" several times a day.
We looked forward to this new Magnolia story eagerly. It did not disappoint. The facial expressions on all the characters are very funny and so accurate to how kids react to the world. The little details reward re-reading the book with your kids as they discover what happened to that feathery headband thingy that Magnolia was wearing way back at the beginning of the book.
The story structure is well-crafted. Magnolia's growing anxiety as she tries repeatedly to impress her audience (while staying within the strictures of the library environment) build an effective story conflict for our 4-year-old and 2-year-old. Second-Born's concerned warnings to Magnolia on every read-through get louder every time, until the tension is released as he shouts, "BA-BOOM-BAAAA!" at the appropriate moment - his favorite in the book. First-Born is much more concerned with Magnolia avoiding making messes, being kind, and helping clean up. Her favorite moment is a bit unexpected. It's the moment near the beginning when the librarian warns Magnolia in a whisper to "Just don't let it get too noisy." I asked her why it was her favorite part, and she said, "He just looks like a really good librarian."
The comic relief moments are plentiful and multi-level - parents will appreciate some subtle touches too. And there are a few references to previous Magnolia books that loyal fans will appreciate. That girl loves her egg and cheese sandwiches.
The book facilitates discussions with children on multiple levels, too. Some of the topics that have just organically come out of this book (without our trying to force anything) include: following rules, being kind, making (and cleaning up) messes, being selfless (e.g. being quiet so the teenager in the library can finish his apparent dissertation research), trying to impress an audience, making decisions to get others' approval, taking things too literally (a poster that says "YOU CAN DO ANYTHING AT THE LIBRARY!" is a key tension in the plot), problem-solving, and the power of imagination.
I originally gave the book six stars, but was regretfully forced to remove one because of its irresponsible condonation of the inappropriate indoor use of crew-served field artillery by small children. Shocking!
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From the Publisher
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| If You Ever Want to Bring an Alligator to School, Don't! | If You Ever Want to Bring a Piano to the Beach, Don't! | Neck & Neck | How to Catch a Clover Thief | If You Ever Want to Bring a Pirate to Meet Santa, Don't! | It's Tummy Time! | |
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| Price | $11.32 | $13.29 | $13.90 | $17.99 | $15.81 | $6.39 |
| Get ready to laugh out loud with more hilarious hijinks from Elise Parsley! | The first book in the hilarious, New York Times bestselling Magnolia Says DON'T! series. | Magnolia is back with the perfect entertainment for a trip to the beach: a piano! But it isn't exactly music to anyone's ears… | Leopold is the star of the zoo, until an unlikely look-a-like comes along. How far will he go to be top giraffe? Get ready to laugh! | Roy is determined to protect his clover. But as he gets absorbed in the books about guarding it, the clover continues to disappear. | Deck the halls, and walk the plank, with a festive and fun holiday fiasco that only Magnolia could dream up. | Play time, nap time, TUMMY TIME! This playful board book illustrates baby's daily activities in fun verse. |
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