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Olivia Forms a Band (Hardcover)

by Ian Falconer (Author, Illustrator)

4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (36 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Book Description:
Everyone's favorite Caldecott Honor-winning porcine diva is back and with fanfare! There are going to be fireworks tonight, and Olivia can hardly wait to hear the band. But when she finds out that there isn't going to be a band, she can't understand why not. How can there be fireworks without a band?! And so Olivia sets to putting a band together herself... all by herself. Using pots, pans, her brother's toys, and even her father's suspenders, Olivia forms a band spectacular enough to startle any audience. Lavishly brought to life in Ian Falconer's signature style, and introducing an eye-catching shade of blue, here is Olivia doing what Olivia does best--making noise

Exclusive Art from Ian Falconer's Olivia Forms a Band

Why wasn't this picture included in the book? Here's a look inside the creation of a blockbuster picture book.

There were 60 images selected for Olivia Forms a Band out of over 70 pieces of art submitted by Olivia creator Ian Falconer. Sixty images may sound like a lot, but many pages are filled with multiple depictions of our porcine heroine. For instance, when you look at the page where Olivia is removing Daddy's suspenders, this page has nine separate drawings. On the other hand, the glorious fireworks scenes are all composed of one piece of art per page.

For this particular image of Olivia provided exclusively for Amazon.com customers, Falconer didn't feel like this artwork captured Olivia's true character. However, many people in-house at Simon & Schuster loved the picture and thought it was typical of a 5-year-old playing with her mother's lipstick. While there's a lot to love in this picture, Ian Falconer after all is the man behind Olivia. He knows better than anyone what makes something up to "Olivia standards." Sometimes that is as simple as being able to know which image works best for a particular moment in the book. In this instance Falconer felt the drawings that were used in the final book served the scene better, and with that this one was left on the cutting room floor.

All About Olivia

Teatro Olivia

Olivia... and the Missing Toy
Olivia Saves the Circus
Olivia

From School Library Journal
Starred Review. PreSchool-Grade 3–The latest escapades of a precocious piglet and the mother who attempts to both nurture and civilize her opens on the morning of a fireworks display. The charcoal-and-gouache scenes with their signature red highlights on uncluttered white backgrounds depict Olivia's family, but readers are soon treated to a series of surprises that include the introduction of a new color (turquoise), collage elements, a fold-out, and full bleeds. When the protagonist declares that a band is essential for the evening's entertainment and that, lacking one, she'll fill in, her mother's thought bubble fills with a photograph of a leaping rock band; Olivia's depicts the marching variety. The fold-out starts with the heroine as the sole majorette and reveals a full-size band of Olivias, with the score of a Sousa-like march printed boldly above. Falconer builds to a crescendo of two and a half pages that portray a picnic at sunset followed by a dazzling display of feathery fireworks. These compositions are predominantly charcoal; the family members, backs to readers, are outlined in the reflected yellow glow of an ascending rocket. The palette returns to the original color scheme in the denouement, a bedtime moment to which all ages will relate. With perfectly nuanced dialogue and a mixture of comical and artful scenes, Falconer explores the logic, invention, and humor emanating from a talented youngster, serious about the mission of the moment.–Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 50 pages
Publisher: Atheneum (June 6, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 141692454X
ISBN-13: 978-1416924548
Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (36 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #37,494 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in these categories: (What's this?)
#16 in Books > Children's Books > Holidays & Festivals > Non-religious
#32 in Books > Children's Books > Animals > Pigs > Fiction

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	69% buy the item featured on this page: Olivia Forms a Band 4.2 out of 5 stars (36) $12.21
	10% buy Olivia Saves the Circus 4.4 out of 5 stars (67) $12.21
	9% buy Olivia 4.7 out of 5 stars (141) $14.03
	7% buy Olivia . . . and the Missing Toy 3.8 out of 5 stars (54) $14.03

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Customer Reviews

36 Reviews

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

Average Customer Review

4.2 out of 5 stars (36 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grrrreat BooK!, June 12, 2006

By	G. J. Kalajian (new york, new york United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have all of the Olivia books (keep them here for my godsons) and have been reading 'Olivia Forms a Band" to them every night the past three nights before bed and before naps. I enjoy it and of course they can't get enough of it. I'd certainly recommend it highly. Even the kids marvel at the illustrations. Kudos to Mr. Falconer for bringing interesting and sophisticated childrens books to the market.

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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Keeps Getting Better, July 11, 2006

By	My Uncle Stu (Boston) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Ian Falconer's Olivia series just keeps getting better. It's so refreshing to see a kid's lit franchise where the work deepens over time (okay, the Olivia counting board book, composed of pictures from other Olivia books, was a touch on the crass side, but that's the exception). With the Olivia series, you don't get the sense the author is trying to cash in on a successful book with a series of uncreative knock-offs (I'm looking your way Numeroff, Boynton, Christelow...)

Olivia decides to start a band. She has the idea that her whole family should participate, but their silent reaction- an illustration in which her parent's backs have slightly turned towards Olivia, the pets and infant fleeing- is momentarily crushing. But the charm in the Olivia series is the obstinate irrepressibility of her spirit. She's been told her commotion is like a room full of people, so she figures out that she can be a one person band. We get the classic Falconer spreads with inserted pictures, generous thought bubbles, Olivia picturing a marching band and her mother picturing something a little more hardcore.

I guess if I had to come up with constructive criticism, I might point out the closer, which is a bit of an anticlimax, as Olivia lays in bed picturing herself as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. It's sort of clever, with a picture of Olivia amid photos of the real life justices in all their sinister splendor, sitting proper with the Dick Cheney/Doctor Evil hand-wringing thing going on. But it's clearly a joke just for the parents. The best part of the series is that it is artful and sophisticated enough to entertain parents while being a really fun kid's book as well. I just thought it was a touch of a let down, closing on a pure wink to the parents. The only other problem I had with it was a purely personal one, I can't really hold Mr. Falconer accountable. But there is a picture of Olivia's mother diapering the baby piglet. The baby piglet is lying supine, arms splayed, legs akimbo, and it caused a sudden flashback to the fetal pig I dissected in high school Biology. Kind of overwhelmed me for a moment, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't an intentional reference to my dear lifeless Wilbur. ...or was it?....

Overall, great book. The series continues to improve, there is something magical and yet so spot on real about Olivia and her family. All those details and complementary descriptions of the illustrations from the other reviews, I'll second those as well. I'll continue buying these books as quickly as they are published.

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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous addition!, June 22, 2006

By	New mommy (Tustin, CA USA) - See all my reviews

My now 2 year old daughter has been obsessed with Olivia for about six months now. We've read all of the books dozens of times so when Olivia Forms a Band was released, we made a special trip to the bookstore just to get this book -- and it was worth it. She is even reading Olivia's and Ian's names and a few other short words in the stories now. In this book, she is particularly fond of the pages when Olivia is making all that noise with her band.

Ian Falconer's little piglet never fails to present loads of teaching opportunities for toddlers (when we were reading the first Olivia ad nauseum we had a lot of discussions about what happens when little girls paint on the wall -- "trouble" -- what happens when little girls get in trouble -- "time out," that mama still loves the little girl even if she gets in trouble, where little girls are supposed to paint -- "paper," etc.; similarly my daughter has learned forgiveness, that doggies don't always understand the rules, etc., from Missing Toy, and that there are times for make believe and times when we have to tell the truth from Olivia Saves the Circus. She also has developed an interest in playing the piano because Olivia plays the piano). This book carries on that grand tradition. Olivia wants her family to be in a band with her for the fireworks, but no one wants to join her. She does not let that deter her, but decides to make her own one-pig band. She borrows and collects all sorts of noise makers and is very creative in choosing her instruments and putting the band together by herself. She also is clever in how she collects the instruments she needs. Instead of just grabbing the toys from her brothers, she trades them other things they want and remembers to say, "thank you." We have had a lot of talks about sharing, trading and "please" and "thank you" that this book helps to reinforce.

Since I have to read these books every night (sometimes we read ALL of them every night for a week or so), I appreciate the humor that is aimed at adults, and this book is no exception to Mr. Falconer's wry humor. I particularly enjoy Olivia's search for a matching red sock among the sea of red socks already on her bedroom floor. I also love Mr. Falconer's ability to understand and portray the mind of a small child. For example, Olivia, having made her band and played with it for a bit, is completely done with the band (except putting it away, that is) by the time the family is leaving for the fireworks -- even though that was the reason she wanted the band in the first place.

The pictures are spectacular, particularly the sunset at the beach and the fireworks, and my daughter and I both can enjoy these stories. This new Olivia story does not disappoint in the least and is a pure blessing for a mom that has been reading about Olivia every night for months on end.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Incomplete and disappointing
My sons and I loved the first Olivia. It is an introduction to a character, and not a story as such. Read more

Published 17 months ago by Ellen B. Fauver

5.0 out of 5 stars Olivia forms a band
In this story, Olivia and her family are preparing for a night of watching fireworks. Olivia asks if there will be a band. Read more

Published 18 months ago by Sarah Sammis

5.0 out of 5 stars Another excellent Olivia book
Olivia Forms a Band is one of my 3 year old's favorite books. In fact this is our second copy of it because the first one was enjoyed so thoroughly that it fell apart. Read more

Published 18 months ago by Brandy Foster

5.0 out of 5 stars Adult and Toddler Humor Vie for Honors with Spectacular Art
To an adult, Olivia in this story displays all of the most frustrating aspects of crossing the generation gap such as obsessing over something that doesn't matter (matching two... Read more

Published 20 months ago by Professor Donald Mitchell

1.0 out of 5 stars Not up to scratch
I loved Olivia and Olivia saves the circus, this one is no way near as god as the first two, no even my children asked for a second reading.

Published 21 months ago by SW

5.0 out of 5 stars 3 CHEERS FOR OLIVIA AND MADE IN USA!
This olivia book is awesome! I own all olivia books and i cant wait for the Christmas Book.
BEST OF ALL, THIS IS PRINTED WITHOUT CHINA LEAD INKS!!!

Published 22 months ago by printbooks intheUSA

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Book- Too bad the cover arrived dirty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I ordered this book as a gift for my 4 year old niece. It is a great book- but I don't like giving gifts that are dirty and the cover of this book arrived dirty. Read more

Published 22 months ago by yankee downunder

5.0 out of 5 stars Olivia Rocks!
Olivia rocks! Ian Falconer - you are a genius! These wonderful children's books are a must in every child's library. Love them!

Published 22 months ago by Yellowlily

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite Olivia book
I love the Olivia books for myself, even though I am 28. They are great comfort reading and the humor hits me just the right way!

This was the best so far, I think. Read more

Published 23 months ago by Gen of www.LibraryOfEden.com

5.0 out of 5 stars First impressions of Olivia, through this book
I first met Olivia at a school book fair. I was taken in by her charm and her extrovert personality. Read more

Published 23 months ago by Suzanna Querido

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