- Picture Books
- Ages 3–7
- Everyday Life
Best Thing Ever!
Book 2 of 2 in PascalineView the full series
Part of the Beatrice Alemagna universeOpen the collection
A second Pascaline picture book about wanting something to be the best thing ever and coping when big expectations wobble. It is funny, expressive and especially good for children who feel things intensely.
- Best for3–7
- FormatPicture
- Length48 pp
- Read aloud~10 min
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Repetitive
- Conversational
- Comedic
Tone
- Funny
- Silly
- Warm
- Heartwarming
- Cosy
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
Pascaline is back, and once again her feelings are enormous. This time she is caught up in the excitement of something being the best thing ever. But when expectations become very big, disappointment, frustration and uncertainty can become big too. Like Never, Not Ever!, this Pascaline story uses Beatrice Alemagna's wonderfully expressive little bat character to turn an everyday childhood emotional storm into something funny, theatrical and reassuring. Best Thing Ever! is a useful companion to the first book because it stays close to the inner life of a young child: wanting, hoping, insisting, wobbling and recovering. Alemagna's artwork makes Pascaline's moods visible without making her seem naughty or difficult; she is simply small, intense and learning. The book is particularly strong for read-alouds where adults want humour and emotional recognition rather than a heavy lesson.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- Best fit · 3–7
- Read aloud · 2–7
- Independent · 5–7
Prose load
Light
Visual support
Very high
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Excellent
Works well for
- Reading aloud
- Bedtime
- Reading together
- Gift-buying
- Reluctant readers
Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.
Bedtime suitability
5 / 5 · Bedtime-friendly
Sensitive-child
4 / 5 · Good fit
Graphic intensity
1 / 5 · None
Best for
- Pascaline fans
- Big feelings
- Funny picture book
- Emotional wobble
- Beautiful picture book
Avoid if
- Needs highly literal plot
- Prefers rhyming books
- Wants quiet realism only
Particularly good for children who are…
- Anxiety and worry
- Starting school
- Anger management
- Low self esteem
In the classroom
How it works in school.
A warm, beautifully illustrated picture-book series about growing up and being brave — a lovely read-aloud that opens talk about feelings.
A book children love that happens to support school — never a stand-in for the texts a class is taught with. Reviewed for the classroom · June 2026.
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
The specific weight is the wobble — Pascaline the small bat caught up in something being the best thing ever, the disappointment and frustration arriving when expectations swell too big, the recovery quiet and earned. The Alemagna picture book for the intensely-feeling preschooler.
- Transformation
- Being special or chosen
- Family belonging
Why parents love it
The Beatrice Alemagna second Pascaline — expressive bat character making big-feeling emotional storms theatrical and reassuring, never naughty. Strong for read-alouds where adults want humour and recognition rather than lesson.
- Shared humour
- Conversation starter
- Bedtime appropriate
- Beautiful illustrations
In the series
Pascaline.
2 books · open the series →
About the author & illustrator
Beatrice Alemagna.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Come into this from…
Easier or preparing reads — perfect lead-ins.
Where to go next…
Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.
Buy or borrow
Pick up a copy.
- Bookshop.org ↗
- Waterstones ↗
- Amazon UK ↗
- Hive ↗
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