The Best Birthday Party Ever

April 1, 2011

K-Gr 2-When her birthday is more than five months away, a six-year-old girl starts planning her party. She'll make her own invitations and blow up 9000 pink balloons. There will be cake and ice cream galore. As the countdown continues, her imagination goes into high gear, and she adds a magician named Merlin. Girl guests will get real tiaras and boys will get clown hats with bells. Dad will build a castle complete with towers and a moat. There will be elephant rides and a Ferris wheel. The President of the U.S. and the Queen of England will send cards. A squadron of fighter jets will fly overhead in formation. Finally there will be a parade and fireworks. When the big day finally arrives, there is a normal party with her family and friends, a couple of balloons, ice cream, and a cake with seven candles. "I'm having the best birthday party ever. Just like I planned." And then she starts the new countdown and plan for next year. The cartoonlike watercolor illustrations are predominantly pink and exuberant. There is a lot to look at as the girl's flight of fancy gets more and more involved, including party-favor hamsters parachuting out of an airplane and Grandma scuba diving in the moat, about to come face-to-face with a dragon. Kids will enjoy this one.-Ieva Bates, Ann Arbor District Library, MI

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2011
Grades K-1 Energetic watercolor artpredominantly pinkby the illustrator of the Alvin Ho series complements Hugets first-person narrative about a girls eager anticipation of her birthday. This irrepressible young party planner begins early (My birthday is 5 months, 3 weeks, 2 days, and 8 hours away. Today I started to plan my party), and the level of her absorption comes through in the image of her forlorn hamster, sitting alone in his cage, wearing a party hat and looking as if he needs some attention. Itd be possible to dislike this ambitious party girl, who expects nothing less than cards from the president of the U.S. and the queen of England, free hamsters for all the party guests, a parade, and more. Thankfully, the character is redeemed when the actual event arrives and features simple balloons, a cake with only two layers, and other regular seven-year-old party fare. A testament to grand aspirations and humble satisfactions alike.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)