4.5 STARS
I loved reading The Most Magnificent Thing to my Grade 2 students, so when I saw this new addition to the series, I was excited to read and review it.
In The Most Magnificent Team, a girl and her dog head outside to create something magnificent—but when they arrive at their favourite spot, they discover her neighbour and her cat are already there. At first, they decide to work together on one big project, but as their ideas clash and frustrations rise, things don’t go quite as planned. What follows is a relatable and heartwarming exploration of teamwork, compromise, and emotional regulation.

This latest instalment beautifully explores the highs and lows of teamwork, highlighting what it means to collaborate through challenges, differing opinions, and unique approaches. It’s a thoughtful and accessible introduction to social-emotional learning, especially around cooperation and problem-solving. I especially appreciated how the book models strategies like taking deep breaths, asking for help, and regrouping when things don’t go as planned—skills that are so important for young learners.

One note of feedback: the font choice may be a bit challenging for early readers, especially those with reading difficulties. A more accessible typeface would help ensure all children can enjoy the story independently.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kids Can Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I love the other "Most Magnificent" books and this one is another winner! Working with other people who have different ways of accomplishing task and who offer different ideas/perspectives can be hard and it's a lesson all kids (and adults!) can learn from!

A very good story for my 2 and 4 year old grandkids in cooperation and learning from each other and respecting different standpoints. I’m guessing it would be a five star if my littles were a bit older. Loved the graphics.

I haven't read the series but this is a solid read from Ashely Spires. This is a story about team work showing the disappointments and disagreements. It's not all sunshine and rainbows in building something together. However, the reward is way better that doing it solo. The flow of the story is good and the interaction of both characters are excellent and enjoyable to read as the illustration helps the story to step another notch. Kudos to Spires and Kids Can Press for publishing the awesome read!

This book teaches young children about teamwork. It’s okay to do something your way, but sometimes you’ll find that someone else’s way may work just as good…if not better. This is a tool that they can take with them in life.

Highly recommend this book.

This is a great way to teach students about teamwork. It’s really hard to help kids understand how to work in groups, especially when so often one person ends up doing all the work. This book shows how different working styles can clash, but also how teams can grow stronger when everyone learns to listen and compromise. The story is fun and relatable, with just enough tension to feel real but not overwhelming. It opens the door for great conversations about fairness, communication, and sharing responsibility. This would be perfect to use before starting group projects in both elementary and middle school. It helps set expectations and gives students the language to talk about teamwork in a more meaningful way.

Another fantastic book by Ashley Spires! For fans of The Most Magnificent Thing, this is a great addition. Many creative, makers find it hard to work with others when their idea is “perfect”. This story shares how to handle frustration, compromising and revising a vision, showing that teamwork is the dream work. ARC on NetGalley

The Most Magnificent Team by Ashley Spires is a delightful picture book that beautifully blends vibrant illustrations with an important message about collaboration. The artwork is fantastic ~ each page visually captures the emotions and creativity of the story, perfectly complementing the narrative.

The story follows two girls as they team up to tackle a tricky building project. Their journey highlights the ups and downs of working together, offering young readers a relatable and engaging look at teamwork, patience, and problem-solving. It's a fun and thoughtful story that encourages meaningful conversations with students and children alike.

This book is not only enjoyable to read aloud but also offers valuable lessons that make it a great resource for classrooms or bedtime reading. A strong 4.5 stars for its creativity, message, and beautifully matched illustrations! I will be adding this to my library for read alouds and also for my students to check out.

Thank you NetGalley and Kids Can Press for the ARC.

In a continuation of Ashley Spires' series, a young girl is learning to work with others. This continues the "maker" theme of the series. The importance of communication and flexibility is shown to readers. Good for teaching collaboration in grades K - 4

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. A new book in the Magnificent Series about team work and how working together is better than working alone.

I love books by Ashley Spires and this was another great one! I love how well she shows kids that they can disagree with someone but still work with them. This would be a perfect read aloud before having students do group or partner activities. Loved the illustrations as well!

I love Ashley Spires’ books, and this one did not disappoint! Working with partners is hard, and I think a lot of students will relate to this story. I like how it didn’t gloss over the fact that these girls are definitely going to disagree again. You can get past it and make something good together. I love these books for our library and makerspace- we’ll definitely be adding it to our collection!

Sweet Story About Finding Common Ground & Working Together!

Overall: 4 ⭐
Plot/Lesson*: 4📍
Smiles: 3😁
Illustrations: 5 🖌️
Suggested Ages: 0 - 3 y/o

“Mom's” Review:

As this is a children's book, and my older daughter, A°., is a new reader, we read this one together. Overall, a really cute story, roughly 40 pages. It's nice to not give names to the characters, instead being ‘the girl” and ”the neighbor.” It ends up giving them some small level of “any girl” and “any neighbor” which was nice!

The lesson of learning to play well with someone whose process is totally different than yours is quite well translated. Kiddo picked up on that right away. Both act poorly and both need to step back a moment to reevaluate. However, the story did seem to favor one character’s process over another - enough so A. seemed to think the story initially was trying to make that point.

I loved the illustrations! With the background settings either black and white or monotone, the focus remained on the beautifully drawn, adorable characters and their pet “assistants” (who each had delightful personalities, too!)

This was our first time reading Ashley Spires and A. already requested to find the other books. So cute!

A’s^ Review:

“My favorite part is when the two friends take a breath - b/c when they got mad, they took a deep breath to calm down & then they started working together. That's what we're supposed to do and I try to remember that even if it's hard sometimes.

I also really liked the pictures! The neighbor had mismatched socks, just like me, which was so cool. And my fave picture was when the dog was kissing the cat. That was so funny!”

Thank you to Ashley Spires, Net Galley, & Kids Can Press for the opportunity to read and review and early copy this book!
All opinions are our own.

* I count Plot/Lesson as how well the intended message or story-line translates to the target age group.
° A. is my daughter, currently at a ”Ready To Read” Level 3, who read the book to/with me.
^ A. had the smallest bit of trouble with a few new-to-her words, but nothing major.

Thank you NetGalley and Kids Can Press for my copy of "The Most Magnificent Team."

🐾🐾🐾🐾 4 Paws from Aubrey the Lab Mix... aka, the Labrarian!

The Most Magnificent Team was a tail-wagging treat! The story reminds young readers that teamwork can be ruff—but also rewarding. A perfect pick for friends (new and old) learning how to build something together!

This book has a wonderful message and is a good example for kids on how to work with others. Something I have had to work of with students is listening to each others ideas and this book shows not only that but also how you can get frustrated with the feedback. I thought it was good that it show this because it also teaches that you can feel those feeling but you still need to be respectful of them and taking time to process is ok. I think it would have been good to include a page about one of the girls asking for a break to show a little self advocacy.

A very sweet book that helps us (even adults) remember that we can do more together than we can apart. Can't wait to see more from this magnificent team!

This book continue to teach us about working together as a team and being successful. I love that they created a magnificent team and how they work to garner support together and just show kids from different backgrounds working together. I loved it.

Terrific addition to this series. Excellent readaloud to prepare for group work or to talk about conflict and conflict resolution. Also a good prompt to talk about how different people can approach a task in different ways without either one being "right" or "wrong." As always, the illustrations are spectacular - Spires' work calls to me from across the bookstore/library every time.

A very decent look at young scientists not getting along. This is the fourth in a series of books to feature the star maker of the neighbourhood – but lo and behold there's a second one, and they could collaborate, couldn't they? Well they could, if they could agree on all the important parts, and design, and process, and that bit with the rope… Books showing kids falling out and making up are quite common, but this, with the focus on STEM thinking and construction, is distinctive. The whole look is wonderful, too, with the backgrounds in wireframe and the characters much more like full-figured, full-coloured creations, so they really pop. I like the way the text and illustrations alike get to have so many mentions of the intended product, but we're never privy to what it is until as late as possible. There's probably more work put into this than was strictly necessary for it to be a success, and I'm all for that – so four and a half stars.

This fun adventure is all about working with others and working as a team. When a young girl and her
dog want to go to their favorite workspace to create something things don't go as planned. There they find their neighbor with her cat. They decide to create together but soon discover they have their own idea and ways of doing things.
A great story sharing with our little ones the importance of team work and learning to work together. They see how important it is and learning to compromise can help with many problems they may face. The story
is humorous but at the same time sends a great message about letting others be themselves be creative all while getting along with each other.
Great to share with your little ones or in a classroom. Enjoy this adventure together.