If You Ever Want to Bring a Circus to the Library, Don't! (Magnolia Says DON'T!, 3)

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!

Our 2 year old son absolutely loves this book and so do we. It's long for his age group but the illustrations and the story keeps him involved the whole way through. It's now on our nightly rotation of books that he requests to read and as the parents we're not board of it yet. Highly recommend the book so much that its now the book we give for all the kid birthday parties.

My kids love, love, love this book...as in crying when it had to go back to the library...so I bought a copy, and truth be told I love it, too. Preschool through early grade school. Great illustrations that bring the story to life. Fun for parents to read to little ones and fantastic for new readers to read aloud as well!

My five-year-old thinks this is hilarious. She reads along with with me, finds something new to laugh at each time. It’s preschool/kindergarten humor, but it’s a winner in our house.

I purchased this book to donate to my school library. It will be a fun book to read at the beginning of the school year while reviewing library rules.

Love this series. Both my children are not quiet by any means and they got a kick out of her antics. The illustrations are just as funny as the story.

These books rock! I love Magnolia!

Another great story! Grandkids loved it! Fun series by author