Starred Review for Publishers Weekly

With marvelously economical narration and line drawings, Agee (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">The Incredible Painting of Felix Clousseau) conjures a formidable tale of a struggling magician. Milo could be Little Orphan Annie's uncle or a caricature of John Lennon. His brick-red mop of hair and thick mustache bracket pupil-less eyes and a voluminous nose, and a too-tight gray suit adds to his hangdog appearance. Onstage, he's no Houdini. He doesn't even have a rabbit for his act, and in trying to catch one (by dangling a carrot from a stick), he attracts a brown bear. This incident provides the absurd turning point of the story, for the immense animal executes a flawless dive into Milo's top hat ("You just pretend your bones are made of rubber. It's a secret I learned from a rabbit," the bear explains). Sitcom developments follow: the bear nonchalantly agrees to perform, Milo loses his furry friend on the train and the top hat walks the New York City streets on two clawed feet. Agee sets off the delectably far-fetched story line with pared-down charcoal-and-watercolor illustrations, and the strong planes and diagonals of his cityscapes recall Ben Katchor's comics. Understated writing complements the surreal images; when the hat finally reaches the theater, "Milo whistled and out popped the bear. 'Boy,' said the bear, 'am I glad to see you!'" In this accomplished book, Agee's plot twists are as surprising as, well, pulling a bear out of a hat. Ages 3-up.<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC""> (May)

School Library Journal Starred Review

K-Gr 3-Make room on your shelves for this laugh-out-loud story about a rather untalented magician whose tricks are tangled, botched, and "just pathetic." He sets off in search of a rabbit for his bag of tricks when his boss gives him just one more chance to enhance his act. Instead of finding a rabbit, Milo catches and befriends a bear that teaches him a few tricks and they become a wildly successful magical duo. The theater manager is delighted, but the bear gets "pooped" from popping out of 762 hats, leaving Milo with a dilemma. Agee's amusing illustrations use interesting perspectives and close-up crops to focus on the characters and action. The deceptively simple lines provide just the right expressions and feelings for the bear. The book is an enchanting combination of a humorous text with rich vocabulary that children will enjoy and illustrations that extend the text and prompt prediction. Readers will love and identify with the failures and success of Milo the Magnificent and will be charmed by the bear and this endearing relationship. Agee has a hit on his hands with this fresh and funny crowd pleaser.-Helen Foster James, University of California at San Diego Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

ALA Booklist

Milo the Magnificent is a horrible magician. When his theater manager gives him an ultimatum (Tomorrow night you better pull a rabbit out of your hat), Milo panics and heads out in search of an animal prop, but it's a bear, not a rabbit that he meets in the meadow. Luckily the bear learned the secret of hat tricks from a rabbit: You make your bones like rubber. Eventually the pair becomes a hit act, but winter comes, and the bear returns to his cave. By that time, though, Milo has learned the hat trick and makes himself disappear into the brim of his own top hat. Agee's bold, angular pencil-and-paint illustrations drive this warm story about perseverance, luck, and courage, which becomes more magical once the trick's secret is revealed. The simple, well-paced text is spiced with endearing dialogue that will earn children's sympathy. A winning read-aloud.

Horn Book (Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2018)

Agee brings charm, empathy, and humor to this story of a magician whose boss gives him one last chance to "pull a rabbit out of your hat--or else." The deadpan delivery of the text expertly punches up the humor in the illustrations, and Milo's unlikely savior, an uncannily graceful bear, is a natural for situation comedy: popping out of a hat in a crowded restaurant, hiding in a mailbox, and so on.

Kirkus Reviews

<p>Agee displays his masterful drollery to particularly good effect in this tale of a semiskilled magician in need of a good trick. Milo is about to get heaved from the show, if he doesn't stop botching the card tricks, and tangling the rope trick, and most of all if he doesn't get a good hat trick going. He's been using a mouse, which hasn't impressed the crowds, so he retreats to the woods, where he tries to lure a rabbit into his hat. Instead, he attracts a bear. But the bear is a good soul and agrees to help Milo by hiding in the hat and popping out on command: "You just pretend your bones are made of rubber. It's a secret I learned from a rabbit," says the bear. Unfortunately, Milo grabs the wrong hat when he gets off the train back in the city, causing a major stir when the bear jumps out of the hat at the wrong place. The bear, though, is a crafty creature that ends up saving Milo's bacon and even teaches him a trick or two, like jumping into a hat. "It's a secret I learned from a bear," Milo tells his admirers. A beautifully shaped story, symmetrical and decidedly odd and bright with laughter. The pacing and delivery are stage-worthy, as is Agee's vastly expressive artwork, which is chockful of visual humor. (Picture book. 3-8)</p>