A Gluten-Free Birthday for Me!

December 1, 2013

PreS-Gr 1-Birthday party preparations and activities occur with their usual anticipation and fun, save for the not-so-notable-in-the-end difference of the celebrant being allergic to gluten. This upbeat rhyming story of a simple, no-frills party pairs well with the full-page cartoon illustrations of familiar scenes where a multiracial cast of guests partakes in the birthday traditions of games, opening gifts, blowing candles, and eating a cake that everyone can enjoy (even the boy who initially thought he would be the only one who couldn't). The sweetly delivered message that it is easy to be inclusive to children with food allergies is clear, especially with the provided recipes for Chocolate-Cookie-Crumble Cake and Very Berry Pie with Ice Cream. Tips and websites for people with gluten allergies are included.-Joanna K. Fabicon, Los Angeles Public Library

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2013
Simple rhymes, pictures and idea combine in this story that's nevertheless a little too heavy on the instructional side. It's a summer birthday, with celebrants in shorts and sandals, baby and dog on the lawn, and the "birthday girl" wearing her crown. She and her mom bake a gluten-free cake together. Her friends, a multiethnic group with button eyes and comma noses, join in the pinata fun and the face-painting, until it is time to go in for cake. One boy sits forlornly outside, and when the protagonist goes to get him, he explains he cannot eat gluten. Surprise! She says she cannot either and that all can be merry. It is hard to believe a child who needs to avoid gluten would not already know that one of her guests does too, as is the notion that the boy would have gone to a birthday party without his parent checking the gluten situation out. In any case, it ends with a promise for ice-cream pie the next year. Included are two gluten-free recipes (although the Chocolate-Cookie-Crumble cake does include half a cup of brewed decaf coffee, which may give some pause). There are also tips for friends and family with gluten sensitivities (the author uses the word "allergy" but does not talk directly about celiac disease, which is not an allergy) and a short list of websites. Somewhat useful if not particularly artful. (Picture book. 4-7)

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