The Most Magnificent Thing

The Most Magnificent Thing - by Ashley Spires

Story books are for lifelong learning. The best ones deal with the same universal themes as the greatest pieces of literature; the delivery may be different, but the messages are very much the same. Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss is about being true to your word, and making judgements based on appearances. The same themes are examined in texts as diverse as Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, and Tolstoy's Anna Karenina.

The introduction of a great book (picture or otherwise) into a course for which literature isn't a focus always feels like a small victory for me. Perhaps it's my history as an English teacher; I love a metaphor.  I am always on the lookout for new and different ways of looking at and understanding situations. Picture books, films, music, theatre, and various forms of art provide unique perspectives on familiar themes and concepts.

The Most Magnificent Thing is no exception - it deals with the idea of creation, failure and success. It addresses attitude, imagination and collaboration. It explores the inquiry process in all of its messiness. The little girl struggles with her creative vision. She is unsuccessful more than once, bur she finds the grit necessary to follow her project through to completion. Like the inquiry wheel on the left, there are many entry points the creation of The Most Magnificent Thing. The lessons learned in the story transfer beautifully to the Canadian World Studies classroom, Learning Commons and Makerspace.