I read this book to my niece and she smiled the whole time. What little girl dresses up as a Warthog for Halloween! I think it is a great book about dreaming big and thinking a little outside your own box.

A must-read for all tomboys as well as all princess-y types. Olivia is having an identity crisis (again) and is concerned that she's the only one who doesn't want to be a "princess". What's wrong with her? Or rather...what's wrong with everyone else?

TOO funny! Although I've never seen a kids picture book ("ages 3-7") with the word "malfeasance" used! Kudos to the author for not dumbing things down! Loving the Olivia books :)

For: Olivia fans; readers wanting a book about finding a way to stand out.

Possible red flags: references considered artsy or obscure to the target audience; could be seen as cultural appropriation in parts.

"Why is it always a pink princess? Why not an Indian princess or a princess from Thailand or an African princess or a princess from China? There are alternatives."

There is always at least one Olivia book in our library stack - they are just fantastic, and this has to be my favourite yet. Olivia has real ideas and knows her mind, she doesn't want to be the same as every other kid because that would be boring! And I love her for it!

My daughter loves Olivia too, although for much simpler reasons - Olivia has fun and does fun stuff. There is a lot of pretending to be Olivia at our house!

Cute and thoughtfull.

I love Olivia's individuality!

Olivia, with her flair for drama, shows kids of all ages it's ok to be different. The story begins where Olivia is bemoaning the fact that all the girls, and some of the boys, in her grade are all going to be fairy princesses for Halloween. ("I seem to remember last year you wanting to be a ballerina." "That was when I was little.") Now Olivia wants to be something a little more edgy, that fits with her "stark, modern style" and sets her apart from everyone else. And in the end, after much thought, she hits on the perfect costume.
Ian Falconer shows Olivia unapologetically embracing her individuality, encouraged by the adults around her. This is emphasized by the drawings, which are mostly black and white line drawings, where Olivia has the contrasting, brightest, or sometimes the only colors on the page. Each illustration is designed to make Olivia stand out, which highlights her uniqueness and individuality.
This book has some difficult words in it ("corporate malfeasance" is one such phrase), so younger readers may have an issue with the vocabulary. I chose to use this as a read-aloud, (which would work great for K-2), because the illustrations are large and easy to see, and because it is a great way to show kids that they should be proud of the things that make them different, and they should not be afraid to show their individuality.

Adorable, simply adorable. In a world full of cliched little girls dressing up as cliched little pink princesses, Olivia is having an identity crisis. Why be a pretty pretty princess when there are so many other options out there?