Cover Image: Most Magnificent Idea, The

Most Magnificent Idea, The

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

This was an absolutely brilliant book - a wonderful story, exquisitely drawn and inspirational. I love that it’s the story of a little girl who is empowered to create.
Bravo! We need more children’s books like this.

Was this review helpful?

The is such a great book. A perfect follow up to The Most Magnificent Thing! It would be great to read in a classroom setting to get ideas going and the two read together would be great to read while talking about inventors.

Was this review helpful?

I love the way this story takes a look at the creative process!

It is just as important for young readers to understand that creative thinking is oftentimes a process!! I adored the one illustration with the web diagram demonstrating that sometimes there is even logic behind creativity. The perspective in this story is just so cutting edge and STEM related I think this is a wonderfully important book for young readers to experience. The illustrations are crisp, detail oriented and very colorful and sure to capture a young readers attention throughout the story.

Grateful to have received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley & Kids Can Press

Was this review helpful?

Ashley Spires has come up with the most magnificent sequel to her previous bestseller! As we all know, our protagonist from The Most Magnificent Thing makes all kinds of things assisted by her canine friend. In her latest adventure “The Most Magnificent Idea”, she wakes up one day and realises she has run out of ideas. But ideas are everywhere – so she goes out for a walk, in search of inspiration, admires other builders, goes through her journals, brainstorms, researches, does everything possible in search of one. She does not give up and just like that, from the most trivial of situations, pops up an idea!

What a great book to introduce children to the concept of creator’s block! Even before I turned the first page, the book dedication won me over with a Don Murray kind of appeal – the book is dedicated to “…anyone who has ever stared helplessly at a blank page.”

Was this review helpful?

This is a really unusual book about that all too familiar frustration felt when you want to do something, but you can't decide what. The illustrations are beautiful and I really like the range of page layouts used.
My only critique is that the page with "she realizes she isn't the only one who is lost" doesn't seem to fit with what's happening on the story. I understand that the cat is lost but I wasn't sure in what sense the girl was lost. I felt the message at the end was therefore a little muddled.

Was this review helpful?

I absolutely adored this picture book! I’m a fan of The Most Magnificent Thing, the companion book to The Most Magnificent Idea, and am thrilled that the story of the intrepid young inventor continues in this story. The theme explores ideas and where they come from (and how hard they can be to find, sometimes). It is a fantastic picture book for young readers and encourages them to continue to try and seek inspiration rather than give in and give up. I will be adding this book to my go-to pile for young students. Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Was this review helpful?

The Most Magnificent Idea is a humorous and engaging story from a young girl’s point of view who loves to build things with her furry assistant. This young girl who never had trouble coming up with an idea for her latest build suddenly and surprisingly it became a struggle. The ways the young girl strives to come up with the most magnificent idea is entertaining for any young reader.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. Unfortunately, since it is only a protected pdf I don't have the capability to read it in that format. Thank you.

Was this review helpful?

Love love. It's just as good as the first! It shows children not everyday you have to excel on the item you are good at. That it's okay to have an off day and to have a "writers block". With time things will happen on their own. I love how it shows just like in the first that it's okay to explode and it happens to everyone but you can find a way to calm down. The first is a favorite to my girls and this seems to be a new favorite! The relationship with the girl and dog is very cute and my girls love it as well!

Was this review helpful?

This book, dedicated to, "anyone who has ever stared helplessly at a blank page" is about what happens when someone whose brain is full of ideas suddenly doesn't have an idea for the first time. So she goes looking for one by helping others, admiring other builders, playing, brainstorming, researching great ideas and more. She tries to do anything and it doesn't work, so she takes a break. She even goes and gets new supplies to make herself a new idea! When she worries that she may never have an idea again, she gets the most magnificent idea.

This is another charming book that fans of The Most Magnificent Thing will love The illustrations show a lot of personality in the character and add to the playful nature of the text. The story is perfect for aspiring engineers, inventors, writers, artists, and anyone else who may find that they don't always have an idea when you want one. It also provides many great options to help someone come up with an idea.

This book is a fantastic addition to bookshelves to encourage children to go into STEM or even just to continue being creative.

Was this review helpful?

We love Ashley Spires. We love this little girl. And we love her doggie assistant. This book is perfect for the little person in your life who has ever struggled or been frustrated or bored without any ideas of what to do or make. The premise of perseverance and taking a break to just be outside really resonated with my 4yo & honestly with me too. Sometimes us adults need a reminder of this as well.

Definitely the perfect book for classrooms— we need more books showing female characters in STEAM.

Thanks to NetGalley & Kids Can Press for this preview!

Was this review helpful?

This is such a cute book! The illustrations are great and the premise is wonderful- what did you do when you can’t find an idea?

It models problem-solving ideas for kids and grown-ups alike, and in the end serves as a reminder that so many things come through our connection to others.

There were some stylistic things that grabbed my attention, but they were all personal presence issues, not inherent narrative issues. Highly recommend!

4.5 ⭐️s (rounded up to 5)

Thank you to Kids Can Press and Netgalley for this ARC.

Was this review helpful?

This book tells the story of a creative and inventive little girl who loves coming up with ideas. She enjoys exploring the world around her and designing things she can build. The illustrations are really neat, some have a black and white sketch for the background and more colourful details in the foreground. I could see using this book for inspiration for science, inquiry and art units. It is well written, easy to read and tells important stories about being inquisitive. As a grade 3 teacher, I would recommend this book to parents and teachers of children in the age 5-10 range. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book!

Was this review helpful?

This book is all about persistence when working through the creative process. Sometimes an idea doesn't come right away... and that's okay!

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to the published and NetGalley for the early copy of this title.

I love this series for so many reasons. This book makes us reflect on what happens when the ideas won't come no matter how hard we try to conjure them. It is a great example of the importance of perseverance and looking beyond ourselves with our idea energies. I can see many ways to use this with leaners, particularly when they get stuck and are struggling to get unstuck. Wonderful book that I am excited to add to our school library.

Was this review helpful?

I really really loved this book.

It's main character is an inventive young lady with loads of ideas. I hate the fact that a book depicting a young lady building and using STEM is still not overly common, but it is.

She steps away from her work room when she has blank space instead of her next idea. Great lesson to teach and she also helps her neighbor which is again a great lesson to walk away with

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to Kids Can Press and Netgalley for the opportunity for this ARC.

I loved this book! I love the story and the illustrations! Illustrations are so adorable. The story is about a little girl who is very good at creations and ideas. She has lots of ideas and things she makes into something. And she runs into not having an idea what to make. So what I loved about the story is that it was teaching kids on how to brainstorm. It also discussed her frustrations of not being able to create when she want to. I like the message of a little girl making creations out of things that are practical and useful. It also points out the creation process and sometimes it's not always with a straight line.

Was this review helpful?

A nice, simple follow up to The Most Magnificent Thing, which my daughter read in kindergarten last year. She lit up when she saw the little girl in this story, giddily explaining that she had read the first book and that she couldn't believe there was another one! This was a story about how discouraging it can feel when inspiration doesn't strike even when you really want it to (maybe even especially when you want it to!). As the parent to a very creative, big imagination-having child, I appreciated that they showed how it can be frustrating and sad to not be able to get your brain to cooperate in your art or projects. I would have liked to see many one extra page that focused on how it felt to not know what to do and how to find the motivation to keep going, but overall this was a wonderful follow-up encouraging kids to give their brain a break and know it's okay to not always be "on"!

My 6 year old sidekick's thoughts: "I definitely get frustrated and sad when I want to create a machine (drawing) but my brain is busy doing other things. I love this book and I can't wait to tell my new teacher that I read it!"

Was this review helpful?

My six year old daughter definitely enjoyed this one. It was just a tad long for her attention span, but I think that was partially due to her being in her first full day of kindergarten and already being maxed out on stories.
She did say, “I think I could create something in the morning!” So I count this as an inspirational win!

Thank you Kids Can Press and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

Was this review helpful?

This was a great book! Sometimes we need a reminder to take the pressure off ourselves to just create nonstop and let the inspiration come to us. I enjoyed this a lot!

Was this review helpful?