In this episode, Rosie Reads The Most Magnificent Thing, a book written and illustrated by Ashley Spires in 2014!

The story begins when a “regular girl” decides to make “the most magnificent thing.” But no matter how hard she tries, and how hard her assistant – her dog! – assists, it just isn’t right. All of us can relate to the pitfalls she encounters on her journey to make the most magnificent thing.

When you’re finished reading The Most Magnificent Thing, ask kids these comprehension questions:

  • How many “tries” (count them!) does it take the book’s heroine to make her “magnificent thing,” and
  • Are there clues in each version of her magnificent thing that hint at what it might be (it’s revealed at the end)? Were you able to guess what it was before that?

For our Rosie Reads activity, ask kids to think about a time when they had an idea that was really difficult to get right and how many tries it took to get there. Once they’ve thought about this experience, ask them to share it with two people – friends, relatives, teachers, you name it! And once they’ve shared their story, they should ask the person they’re sharing with about a time when they’ve had a similar experience. Overall, this is a great book for talking about problem solving and failure. By sharing stories about challenges and how we’ve overcome them, we’re reframing our relationship to failure. Because when things don’t go exactly according to plan, is that a failure? Or an opportunity?