What do you think?
Magnolia Mudd and the Super Jumptastic Launcher Deluxe
Meet Magnolia Mudd: an inventive girl who'd rather tighten a nut and a bolt than tie a ribbon or bow.
For Magnolia Mudd, her Uncle Jamie is the very best grown-up. He always invents cool things with her . . . until the day he and Miss Emily announce their engagement. That's bad enough but even worse, Miss Emily wants Magnolia to be a FLOWER GIRL! No way is Magnolia tossing petals. But it turns out that Uncle Jamie s new bride-to-be may be more fun that Magnolia ever imagined . . .
For Magnolia Mudd, her Uncle Jamie is the very best grown-up. He always invents cool things with her . . . until the day he and Miss Emily announce their engagement. That's bad enough but even worse, Miss Emily wants Magnolia to be a FLOWER GIRL! No way is Magnolia tossing petals. But it turns out that Uncle Jamie s new bride-to-be may be more fun that Magnolia ever imagined . . .
40 pages, Hardcover
First published January 2, 2018
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
November 26, 2018
Magnolia’s uncle is getting married, and Magnolia is roped into helping with the wedding. Could she do more than be a flower girl? Could she invent something to help?
Lots of zany inventions and fun illustrations.
Lots of zany inventions and fun illustrations.
December 30, 2017
This review was originally written for The Baby Bookworm. Visit us for new picture books reviews daily!
Hello, friends! Our book today is Magnolia Mudd And The Super Jumptastic Launcher Deluxe, written by Katey Howes and illustrated by Valerio Fabbretti. This sweet tale tells the story of a science-minded girl learning to never judge a book by its cover.
Magnolia’s favorite day of the week is Friday, because that’s when her Uncle Jamie comes over. Together, they build inventions and conduct scientific experiments, always using teamwork to form Maggie’s favorite power source: Mudd Power! One Friday, however, Uncle Jamie brings his girlfriend Miss Emily with him. They have an announcement: they’re getting married, and they want Magnolia to be their flower girl. Magnolia is less than thrilled at the idea: floofy dresses and delicate flowers are not for her. Uncle Jamie understands, and encourages her to find her own way to be involved with the wedding. So with a little engineering, Magnolia sets out to make her uncle’s day extra-special with a Mudd-powered invention – she may even find an unexpected partner along the way!
Awesome! We love a book about girl scientists, and Magnolia easily joins the ranks of Rosie Revere and Ada Twist as a favorite. The best lesson of the book, however, is about female friendship: Magnolia assumes that Miss Emily wouldn’t understand her scientific passions because she is a girly-girl, but Miss Emily is excited to help her build a unique contraption for the big day! It encourages girls to not judge each other by their interests, and to support each other’s pursuits. The cartoon-style illustrations are colorful and lively, and the text is filled with fun-to-read exclamations and invention names. The length is good, and JJ enjoyed it. A wonderful story that encourages girls in STEM and sisterhood, and it’s Baby Bookworm approved!
(Note: A copy of this book was provided to The Baby Bookworm by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)
Be sure to check out The Baby Bookworm for more reviews!
January 27, 2017
Magnolia's beloved Uncle Jamie is getting married and wants Magnolia to be a part of the wedding. But Magnolia definitely doesn't want to wear a flower girl dress. Luckily, Magnolia's smart enough to think of something even better! Any kid who loves building their own creations will love this book!
March 27, 2018
MAGNOLIA MUDD
and the Super Jumptastic Deluxe Launcher 🌸
🌸 🌸
🌸 🌸
Magnolia Mudd is an exuberant young kid inventor who loves to invent with her favorite grown-up, Uncle Jamie.
Together they make a great invention, called the Super Jumptastic Rocket 🚀 Launcher, which runs on mud!
Magnolia & her uncle discover that their invention still needs adjustments after a test launch.
To Magnolia’s dismay, her uncle refuses to help with the repair right away, as he is bringing Miss Emily over to her place.
That’s when Magnolia learns her uncle’s getting married to Ms. Emily and they want her to be a flower girl for their wedding! Yikes! The book also highlights how Magnolia wants her uncle to herself and can't comprehend how Ms. Emily and her uncle (who are two poles apart) will get on with each other.
Apart from that ruffles & roses isn't Magnolia’s style. She'd rather be tinkering with her bolts and nuts of course.
Hence she is the least bit happy or excited at this time-wasting task (in her opinion of course) and instantly declines.
Uncle Jamie tells Maggie she could make herself useful with some other wedding task, even if it involves Mud Power! Yay!!
With the help of a book, Magnolia is inspired by different cultures to create something magnificent.
Along the way and after some failed attempts she comes up with an idea for her masterpiece! She works on her idea with none other then Ms. Emily, who approves of her idea. At this point, they together launch their invention at the wedding and any resentment Magnolia has towards her aunt ebbs away. So its a happy ending for Magnolia and the Mudds.
and the Super Jumptastic Deluxe Launcher 🌸
🌸 🌸
🌸 🌸
Magnolia Mudd is an exuberant young kid inventor who loves to invent with her favorite grown-up, Uncle Jamie.
Together they make a great invention, called the Super Jumptastic Rocket 🚀 Launcher, which runs on mud!
Magnolia & her uncle discover that their invention still needs adjustments after a test launch.
To Magnolia’s dismay, her uncle refuses to help with the repair right away, as he is bringing Miss Emily over to her place.
That’s when Magnolia learns her uncle’s getting married to Ms. Emily and they want her to be a flower girl for their wedding! Yikes! The book also highlights how Magnolia wants her uncle to herself and can't comprehend how Ms. Emily and her uncle (who are two poles apart) will get on with each other.
Apart from that ruffles & roses isn't Magnolia’s style. She'd rather be tinkering with her bolts and nuts of course.
Hence she is the least bit happy or excited at this time-wasting task (in her opinion of course) and instantly declines.
Uncle Jamie tells Maggie she could make herself useful with some other wedding task, even if it involves Mud Power! Yay!!
With the help of a book, Magnolia is inspired by different cultures to create something magnificent.
Along the way and after some failed attempts she comes up with an idea for her masterpiece! She works on her idea with none other then Ms. Emily, who approves of her idea. At this point, they together launch their invention at the wedding and any resentment Magnolia has towards her aunt ebbs away. So its a happy ending for Magnolia and the Mudds.
March 2, 2018
The kids loved this book and voted to give it 5 stars.
It's a humorous book for kids who love inventions, STEM and rocket launchers & blasters. It's also a good book for children who will or have attended a wedding ceremony, since the main character attends her Uncle's wedding and learns about different wedding traditions in the world.
Magnolia Mudd is an inventive little girl, who loves to blast things into the air by jumping on a bag of air attached to a hose. (Shops sell rocket blasters for kids that work like this, so kids who have seen those toys will relate.)
Magnolia's favorite time of the week is Friday evening when her Uncle Jamie comes to help her build launching contraptions. But when Uncle Jamie announces he is getting married to Miss Emily, Magnolia is horrified. She doesn't want to be a flower girl and wear a fancy dress. Fortunately, there's more than one way to take part in a wedding, and Magnolia finds an inventive (and fun!) way to participate.
I would recommend this book for older preschoolers and elementary school students. It would be great for STEM discussions in school.
It's a humorous book for kids who love inventions, STEM and rocket launchers & blasters. It's also a good book for children who will or have attended a wedding ceremony, since the main character attends her Uncle's wedding and learns about different wedding traditions in the world.
Magnolia Mudd is an inventive little girl, who loves to blast things into the air by jumping on a bag of air attached to a hose. (Shops sell rocket blasters for kids that work like this, so kids who have seen those toys will relate.)
Magnolia's favorite time of the week is Friday evening when her Uncle Jamie comes to help her build launching contraptions. But when Uncle Jamie announces he is getting married to Miss Emily, Magnolia is horrified. She doesn't want to be a flower girl and wear a fancy dress. Fortunately, there's more than one way to take part in a wedding, and Magnolia finds an inventive (and fun!) way to participate.
I would recommend this book for older preschoolers and elementary school students. It would be great for STEM discussions in school.
January 27, 2017
Magnolia Mudd loves to create and invent--and she has an incredible Uncle Jamie who experiments with her weekly. My kids have an incredible Uncle Jamie that they adore, so this story resonated with us from the start.
I love this book on so many levels. Magnolia is an endearing girl who loves science and isn't afraid to be herself. Uncle Jamie is the kind of Uncle who encourages her to solve her own problems and experiment. Although Magnolia doesn't like Uncle Jamie's fiance, she accidentally finds something she has in common with her and realizes that we can't really judge someone until we know them. Themes of family, love, STEM, creativity, being ok with our differences, and problem solving make this the kind of book that will evoke discussion with your kids. And the bright and emotive illustrations only add to a zany and re-readable story! This book is filled with humor and heart. LOVE.
I love this book on so many levels. Magnolia is an endearing girl who loves science and isn't afraid to be herself. Uncle Jamie is the kind of Uncle who encourages her to solve her own problems and experiment. Although Magnolia doesn't like Uncle Jamie's fiance, she accidentally finds something she has in common with her and realizes that we can't really judge someone until we know them. Themes of family, love, STEM, creativity, being ok with our differences, and problem solving make this the kind of book that will evoke discussion with your kids. And the bright and emotive illustrations only add to a zany and re-readable story! This book is filled with humor and heart. LOVE.
September 16, 2018
A promising story featuring a young scientist and her uncle doing cool experiments together explodes with his wedding announcement and subsequent planning for the launch of the bride’s bouquet. A chaotic plot is further confused by experiments with weird wedding lore, a sexist message about gender stereotypes, and a demoralizing lesson for the impressionable Magnolia on how to attract the male gaze (and score lab time) with sex appeal. Cartoonish illustrations don’t help to clarify matters, particularly the rendering of Miss Emily, which seems more appropriate for an older, male-dominated comic-book audience.
April 19, 2019
Magnolia and Uncle Jamie get together every Friday to work on their inventions. But one day, Uncle Jamie postpones their inventing. Instead, he brings Emily over (“No fair! ... Miss Emily ruins everything!”) and announces that they are getting married. And they want Magnolia to be the flower girl! “Who has time for ribbons and bows when there are nuts and bolts to tighten?”
Reading through a book of wedding traditions, Magnolia tries to find a job that suits her better than Flower Girl. She finally lands on something and with the help of the bride to be, her Dual-Directional, SUPER-JUMPTASTIC Flower Launcher Deluxe (with Confetti Blaster) is a big hit at the wedding.
Reading through a book of wedding traditions, Magnolia tries to find a job that suits her better than Flower Girl. She finally lands on something and with the help of the bride to be, her Dual-Directional, SUPER-JUMPTASTIC Flower Launcher Deluxe (with Confetti Blaster) is a big hit at the wedding.
January 3, 2018
Magnolia Mudd's favorite uncle is soon to be married and Magnolia is less then thrilled that the bride-to-be wants her to be flower girl and wear a DRESS. Magnolia and Uncle Jamie are all about science -- "we can make it go higher" -- not dresses. They both agree to let Magnolia figure out how to be part of the wedding. And she does in her super scientist way and brings another Mudd into the fold in the process.
October 20, 2017
Am adding Magnolia to my list of favorite feisty girls in books. Her cheerfully inventive spirit is contagious and funny (and as a mother of daughters, I appreciate the way gender stereotypes are gracefully undermined here in non-cliche ways). And the lively colorful illustrations match Magnolia's personality perfectly.
February 7, 2018
Katey Howes is one of my favorite new picture book authors. She is a masterful storyteller with a special skill for weaving together strong characters, layered plots, an unique voices. Magnolia Mudd and her other recently released book, Grandmother Thorn, are both great books to include in any picture book collection.
October 10, 2019
Nice book about a little girl who loves to invent. I also love that she started with a perception about her uncle's fiance but getting to know her realized that they could combine their interests to make something fun and relevant for the wedding. Nice little book especially for girls who like to invent and/or girls who like flowers and weddings :)
January 26, 2018
What happens when a wedding interrupts invention time? You figure out a new invention to make the wedding even more fun!
April 23, 2018
Magnolia Mudd loves her uncle and creating experiments with him. She's not very happy when he announces he's getting married.
August 8, 2018
Love this little inventor! Magnolia (Maggie) experiments and solves her own problems. This story is not only engaging and funny, but it shows how science can help with every day problems.
October 15, 2018
STEM-lovers, don’t miss this awesome book!
October 21, 2018
A good STEM focused read aloud for the k-3 classroom with a girl scientist protagonist. It's also culturally responsive because it depicts an interracial relationship.
January 8, 2019
Great children's book , with a wonderful message.
February 16, 2020
I don't like that the word "primitive" is used to describe a Swedish wedding tradition.
March 10, 2018
Inventor Magnolia Mudd gets an addition to the family in the form of her favorite, co-inventing Uncle Jamie’s wife-to-be, Miss Emily. Magnolia already feels this subtracting from her own relationship with Uncle Jamie - and on top of that she’s asked to wear a dress to the wedding! Magnolia solves this problem in her own inventive, Mudd way. A fun, humorous, STEM-powered story that teaches us to be open to possibilities and the potential in others.
February 19, 2018
I'm a sucker for books that feature girls as scientist.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews