The Most Magnificent Thing written and illustrated by Ashley Spires and published by Kids Can Press (2014) is a picture book. Clever, humorous and truthful, it celebrates creativity. But not the “it’s magic” kind. In this story a little girl makes a magnificent discovery–creating something often involves trial and error.

Children will relate to the little girl. They will see themselves (and we the readers will also find ourselves) in the little girl’s enthusiasm for her project. I think they will know her disappointment when she can’t create what she has imagined, and they will feel sad when she quits. But the story turns and the little girl discovers that she doesn’t have to be done with her “magnificent thing.” Hurray!

Though the book is being marketed to children as young as three, I think the age range is more appropriately five- to eight-years-old. (School age children more often have greater expectations for themselves and for the things they create than younger children.) Upper elementary children could, particularly, benefit from The Most Magnificent Thing, but they often shun picture books. However, if you can get your older kid to read it to a younger child, then . . . .

The line drawings and the colors are a little more sophisticated than those found in many children’s books, but I think they work for this story. The language is expressive with a number of grown-up words that children will be delighted to wrap their tongues around.

The assistant that the little girl hires, her dog, provides a number of humorous touches to the story-telling.

The Most Magnificent Thing is a worthy book to have on your shelf. I’m going to keep my copy handy especially for those days when my characters aren’t talking to me and my plot twists aren’t twisting.

Nancy Ellen Hird is a mom, a writer and a credentialed teacher. (She taught seventh grade and preschool.)  Her latest work for children is We All Get a Clue, a mystery novel for girls 10-13. It is the second book in the series that began with I Get a Clue. For several years she was a freelance reviewer of children’s and teen’s literature for the Focus on the Family website.