Rating: 
Summary: To Not Judge a Book by it's Cover
Review: From the cover of this book I thought it was going to be a who done it. That the inside illustrations were going to reflect what was on the outside cover. When Olivia does discover her favorite toy is missing, I could see the atmosphere slowly shading to dark. My daughter is too young to get it, it was deffinately lacking in the atmosphere the that the cover of the book set. Also the mystery is solved quickly, without any investigation, only Olivia placing the blame on different members of the family with one question, "What did you do with my toy?".
I was a bit confused with the begining of the story. Olivia is upset her soccer uniform is green so her mother makes her a red one. That was the end of that. My daughter wanted to know what happened when Olivia went to the soccer game wearing a color different from the team. How were the other soccer players going to feel and how would that make Olivia feel. I was waiting for this to tie into the story of the missing toy some how and it didn't. This story is not a story at all. There were no key elements to a story nor was there any flow. It was pretty much a documentry of events in this particualr day in the life of Olivia. My child and I had different expectations after reading the first Olivia book, but were dissapointed. I suggest borrowing this book from your library before purchasing it for your child's collection.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: "Olivia . . . and the Missing Toy" is about Olivia trying to find her toy and eventually found that her dog destroyed it. She sewed it back up and finally forgave the dog.Positives:
1. Olivia did forgive her dog so it does 'somewhat' teach forgiveness. Negatives:
1. Olivia is a brat and demanding. While searching for her toy she does not say please or ask nicely for help & she falsely accuses her baby brother. 2. It is very disjointed. The story begins with Olivia wanting a new soccer uniform that is a different color & the missing toy episode comes in about halfway through the story. The book does not return to or resolve the new soccer uniform part of the story. I would not recommend this book & will not be reading it to my child.
Rating:
Summary: Obviously has potential.....must try harder
Review: After the first two books 'Olivia' and 'Olivia Saves the Circus' this story comes as a dissapointment. The wonderful art work and the wry humour are still there, but as others say the story is weak and disjointed. Don't be discouraged the first two are still superb.
Rating:
Summary: Obviously has potential.....must try harder
Review: After the first two books 'Olivia' and 'Olivia Saves the Circus' this story comes as a dissapointment. The wonderful art work and the wry humour are still there, but as others say the story is weak and disjointed. Don't be discouraged the first two are still superb.
Rating: 
Summary: Real life, but not real lessons
Review: As mentioned by others, this book illustrates all the typical toddler bad behaviors. I can live with that if the book comes around to explaining that these behaviors are not acceptable and there is a consequence for bad behavior. This book never gets around to that. Instead, Olivia is rewarded for her shouting and demanding and lack of appreciation. The artwork is standout, that is why I bought it, but my twins won't be given this book until they are parents too. I think the author is writing for parents and the parents who have given it high ratings are obviously buying books for their enjoyment, not for the education of their children. I would never recommend this book for a child.
Rating: 
Summary: not as saucy as other olivia books
Review: At least she isn't talking-back and name-calling as usual. This is, in my opinion, the least offensive of the Olivia books. If you can't tell from the other reviews, Olivia is not exactly a role-model. She's pretty much a brat. Unfortunately, Ian Falconer's illustrations make the series not so easy to dismiss outright.
Rating:
Summary: Not what I want my child reading
Review: I bought the book for my 1 year old before I had read it. I am quite the bookworm and am building up my daughter's collection of books. I was extrememly disapointed and will NOT be reading this book to my daughter. Olivia is demanding of her mother without even so much as a please, she yells at her brother, and is just otherwise, in a word, a BRAT. I am just upset I didn't keep my receipt to take it back!
Rating:
Summary: Very Disappointed
Review: I bought this book sight unseen(taught me a lesson)for my granddaughters birthday. After receiving it in the mail I decided I better read it before giving it to her and I am sure glad that I did. This book starts out with Olivia wanting a different color uniform than the rest of her soccer team and then in mid-stride the story switches to her missing a toy. Very fractured and no closure to the uniform problem. Needless to say i am returning the book without ever letting my granddaughter know of its existence.
Rating: 
Summary: FYI
Review: I just read a Bio on Ian Falconer & he writes his books based on his sister's family. In real life Olivia is his niece and the boys are his nephews.
My 2.5 year old adores Olivia & her grand imagination. She giggles everytime I read Olivia books to her. This piggy is great fun!
Rating:
Summary: Falconer's foible
Review: I was a big defender of Olivia when she first came out. Though she's been criticized as being yet another New York based picture book character that only the trendiest of parents enjoy, I really loved both "Olivia" and its sequel "Olivia Saves the Circus". Both books show an imaginative gutsy heroine with just the right combination of verve and oomph. Unfortunately, it appears that success has gone to Olivia's piggy little head. In her third offering, "Olivia...and the Missing Toy", she's gone from whimsically precocious to spoiled, demanding, and greedy. This is not the Olivia I grew to love. This is not the Olivia I want to read about.
In "The Missing Toy", Olivia is not happy. Her soccer uniform comes, "in a really unattractive green". Never mind that the particular shade of the uniform is the same green that appears throughout the story in toys, books, and sofas. She insists that her mother make her, by hand, a new red soccer uniform so that she'll stand out. Ignoring the question of, "what kind of mother makes a new soccer uniform for her child just because the kid wants it?", her mom does but instead of a thank you Olivia demands to know the current location of her favorite toy. It was near her very recently and now it has left. After interrogating all available brothers and searching the house, Olivia discovers the furry culprit with a very chewed up toy. She wails a little in the presence of her parents and her father promises her a new toy the next day. Hugging him Olivia proclaims that, "I love you more than anyone" (to the frowning still unthanked disapproval of her mother). You might expect that at this point Olivia would then turn to her mother and thank her for making her such a nice new uniform. Maybe she'd be apologetic for failing to do so earlier and ask, very politely this time, if her mother would sew up her toy. Not so much. One of the last shots we have of Olivia is her carrying four large books for bed demanding, "Only books about cats tonight, Mommy".
It looks as if Falconer has attempted to make his little heroine charmingly individual in her tastes and styles. Instead, it's come off as a story about a spoiled kid who gets what she wants (even when it's a bad idea) and wins in the end. The illustrations are, as always, beautiful. It's the story that needs work. A LOT of work. It's all well and good to want to be unique. But if you're on a team, particularly a sport-like team, you should learn how to help others and work with them. Olivia doesn't seem particularly interested in anyone but herself and getting what she wants (like new toys from her somewhat absent but free with the cash father). That's the moral of the story as I read it, anyway.
Having defended "Olivia" to a vast number of people, it's seems a pity that this third book should disappoint me like this. If Falconer is planning on any additional Olivia-like outings in the future, he should probably avoid making his heroine so self-absorbed. I'm a fan of what Olivia is capable of. I am not a fan of what she has become.
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