  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 05/01/2017 PreS-Gr 2—You can do anything at the library. Seeing this message on a poster has given Magnolia an idea: she will bring a circus to the library! Will the child upset the librarian and the patrons with her circus? Will she entertain everyone or cause a commotion? As Magnolia performs acrobatics, she reminds her audience to hold their applause, because you can do anything at the library, except clap. Bright, fun illustrations convey the absurdity of her statements. Magnolia's circus includes a clown, pie throwing, concessions, and a human cannonball. Magnolia is mortified when her cannon is a dud and her audience gets antsy. Looking for a distraction, she grabs a book. Reading to the crowd does the trick. Her audience responds so positively to the story that Magnolia learns the power of a good read-aloud. She also discovers that a library is not a good place for a circus. VERDICT This enjoyable romp through the library with Magnolia will engage young readers and keep them looking forward to her next adventure.—Susan Small, Salve Regina University Library, Newport, RI - Copyright 2017 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Booklist - 06/01/2017 As in If You Ever Want to Bring an Alligator to School, Don’t! (2015) and If You Ever Want to Bring a Piano to the Beach, Don’t! (2016), spunky little Magnolia continues to push rules to the limit and offer not-so-useful, but always entertaining, advice in her latest outing. Taking the “You Can Do Anything at the Library” poster literally, Magnolia dons ringmaster attire and rides her toy train, laden with circus props, into her library’s storytime. There she sets up her show and wows the crowd with acrobatics, a high-wire routine, and a clown act, but Magnolia has to get creative when her human cannonball trick hits a snag. The instructional narration, which often contrasts with the scene depicted in the illustrations, creates humor as more and more things join the list of things you can’t do in a library: clap, cheer, hand out concessions. Though the ultimate conclusion is that circuses aren’t library-appropriate, the story offers a fun way to address proper library behavior without ignoring the joy books can bring. - Copyright 2017 Booklist. Loading...
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