Olivia

My kids loved it - and I loved reading it - so much so that twenty years later I’m still buying this book regularly to share it with young parents and their kids.

Olivia, a Caldecott Honor Book, by Ian Falconer is a children's picture book that captures the heart of a confident, strong-minded child. This is the first in a series of Olivia books by Falconer that incorporates the supposed personalities of his own children. Olivia has a wide range of interests from soccer to drama but puts her own flair on them all. This book goes through snippets of Olivia's days. Some say it it disjointed, but the movement from activity to activity speaks well to a young child's short attention span. The short sentences and simple format of the black, white and red pictures and words make this a visually interesting book as well. The pages of words are not overwhelming for a young reader/listener. There is also criticism of Olivia's attitude. I think a parent of a strong-willed child might recognize this as real life handled with humor. Falconer introduces young readers to artists when Olivia visits an art museum. She is disciplined with a "time out" for her Jackson Pollock "reproduction" on the wall at home showing that she does not go unpunished. The book is also honest about Olivia's tenacity, "She is very good at wearing people out. She even wears herself out." This look at a girl who feels her potential is unlimited is a timely, funny read for both children and adults.

While the product was great, it took over 3 weeks to arrive! The book was a birthday gift & arrived 16 days after the child’s birthday.

Cute book!! Classic.

This board book about Olivia the precocious pig that imagines she can do anything is the pervect gift for a new baby named Olivia. My adult grand daughter enjoyed these stories as a little girl, and I hope to encourage another generation of adventurous little girl readers to be confident and brave enought to try new things. The book is easy to clean, durable, and the binding is secure to last for years.

I bought this for my five year old, and wish I bought it when she was a little younger. Despite the simple story line, she still likes to look at it, and I hope it's a book that will help her on the way to reading. I was at first put off by the simplistic writing, but then realized that it was rather sly and rather good. Perhaps I was more put off by the fact that I have my very own Olivia living in my house, and the similarities are rather too striking. The artwork is by far the best I've seen in a children's book, and I am happy with this purchase for the artwork alone. Since my daughter is old enough to appreciate and care for books, I bought the very good hardcover edition. The quality of the art on paper is superb, and leads me to wonder if we should add a child's book as a category of fine art.

Olivia is a delicious, wonderful book for young and small. Its humour, the illustrations, the character of Olivia. It is just priceless. I have bought them all. An heirloom.

This was one of my daughter's favorite books growing up and how she actually learned to read. She would point at the words as I read them and she eventually memorized the book. Then she started recognizing the words when she saw them in other books! Maybe every child won't learn to read the way she did, but it's a cute little book and I buy a copy for every new baby that comes into our lives!

An adorable gift for baby Olivia. ❤️

Meine Tochter hat vor 3 Jahren das erste Olivia-Buch von ihrer Patentante geschenkt bekommen. Seitdem gibt es für sie an die Patentante immer nur einen Wunsch: das nächste Olivia-Buch. Die ganze Familie inkl. jüngere Schwester, Teenie-Schwester, Eltern, Großmutter, Tanten, Onkel, Cousinen, Cousins etc. amüsieren sich jedes Mal prächtig.

Bought with a very special little lady in mind so I hope she'll enjoy it. Nice simple stories with bold illustrations

My daughter loves this book already!

c'est un de plus beaux livres pour enfants que je n'ai jamais lu et d'une simplicité total, des beaux dessins. Je suis linguiste et c'est en anglais, donc parfait pour l'éducation bilingue de mon enfant.