Birthdays Books

I bought this book and it was a perfect birthday present for my friend's daughter.

This book is such a great present for "little ladies". It teaches them all about birthstones, and then they can use the pretty "gem" stickers and punch-out jewelry to play dress-up. I just gave it to a 6 year-old girl who loved it!

The birthday jewlery book, is a wonderfully written beautifully illustrated childrens book. We've read it many times to our children who have loved every word of it. Both our children and us learned a lot about birthstones and we highly recomend this book. This would make a great birthday gift for any child.

I sat down to read this book and quickly got hooked. I could not put it down.

It is a great narrative about life in Miami as a Cuban-American mother -- I know because this is my life as well. Ana Veciana-Suarez writes beautifully and has a gift for expressing those thoughts and moods that are the undercurrent of our lives. She describes Miami and the realities of the Cuban exile experience so that others can understand all of the textures and subtleties that type of existence - caught between two lives.

The daughter of refugees, she is caught in between the two worlds : the Cuban (Hispanic) culture and the American world in which she is raising her own family. She is articulate and precise when she expresses the Cuban attitude about "Baisbol" and all of the passionate history of that sport in our culture; her description of her parents and the tremendous struggles they faced in beginning a new life in the United States; what fishing on Biscayne Bay feels like; and the subtle complexities of family relationships. The reader grieves with her on the suddend death of her husband and childhood sweetheart. That chapter in particular tore my heart gave me a new appreciation and gratitude for the man I share my life with. She shares her surprise at finding love in mid-life and the complications and joys of being part of a blended family which is not only from different cultures, but also different religions.

The book is full of laughs, tears, and many smiles. I highly recommend this book. I know that I will personally be purchasing a few as Holiday gifts.

It is a great book!

In the book, "Birthday Parties in Heaven: Thoughts on Love, Life, Grief, and Other Matters of the Heart," Ana Veciana-Suarez provides interesting, sad, inspiring, wonderful, insightful, moving and humorous reflections from which the reader could relate or learn.

Inspiring are the chapters on the writer's parents.

In the chapter, 'My Father, Mi Papi,' the author writes about her father, who she describes as the "first man I loved" and "a man for impossible missions."

'Stitchwork' is a chapter where the author provides a beautiful description of her mother, a strong and courageous woman who has positively affected Veciana-Suarez. "In the face of necessity, you can do anything," her mother has said.

Hilarious is the chapter entitled, 'Cellulite, Schmellulite,' where the author writes about her experience in the gym.

Touching, wise and encouraging is the chapter, 'Open Letter to My Son (As He Leaves for College).'

Probably, most powerful is the chapter, 'Birthday Parties in Heaven.' Here, Veciana-Suarez writes of her experience when her first husband unexpectedly passed away at the age of 37, leaving her and their five children. Anyone, especially someone who has lost a loved one, can appreciate this chapter. The author, truly, writes from the heart and experience.

I was happy to read that the author was able to find love again.

Other chapters deal with baseball, parenthood, sisters, a mother-in-law, a household of different religious backgrounds (Catholic and Jewish), and much more.

Once you start reading the first chapter, you will look forward to reading the following chapters to see what Veciana-Suarez has to write about on other varying topics. There is something to take away from each chapter. It's like receiving a treat.

So, go ahead and treat yourself!

Fafa Demasio

Her carefully chosen words tug at your heart. Her raw experience, written from the deepest emotion, is universal. She crafts words as a Vermont craftsman cuts marble: so expertly you don't even realize how brilliant she is.

Here in Miami, Ana Veciana-Suarez is in a league all her own. Beloved and supported by the community after her husband's early death, she openly shared her pain and re-emergence with us all through her Miami Herald columns.

When she found love and married again, we as a community, each in our way, rejoiced. Her observations of merging her Cuban heritage with her new husband's Jewish background are both sensitive and humorous.

This book tells what her frequent columns did not. It reveals an even deeper side to a remarkable woman.

As a writer, I am in pure awe of her ability to say what she does. She never asks for sympathy. She simply observes -- and includes her readers as she shares.

If I were to choose only one gift for this holiday season to tell people around me that I love them, this wonderfully rich book would be my choice. I warn you that your tears will flow, and you cannot just plunk down and read this book all the way through. Like a fine wine or a decadent dessert, this small book takes time to savor and appreciate. It is worth every delicious moment.

...Cynthia Rylant has created a beautiful gift - not for the child saying goodbye to five, but for the parents who are smiling through tears as they remember the transformation of their tiny infant to a full fledged "kid." ...

Wow! I picked this up by chance at the library and we read it on my daughter's first birthday (yesterday). What a special book! Both the story and the pictures capture little kids' personalities so perfectly at their various phases. The book shows a little girl's first few birthdays, starting with her birth, and emphasizes her development and the bonds between her and her parents. It's really more of a book about parents and how we love our kids than a kids' book, but my daughter liked it, too. It's a bit of a tearjerker-- keep in mind that it's an emotional time for us, since it's hard to believe that our little baby is a year old already-- but I got a little weepy and my husband got a lump in his throat while reading it. It's just a perfect book for us-- it captures our joy at our daughter's birthday and our nostalgia for the past year. Since it covers the little girl's first several birthdays, it also gives us a chance to look forward to birthdays to come. I'm so glad I happened upon it, and I'm now purchasing a copy to keep.

I have now found the perfect book to give to all of my friends and family members on the special occasion of the birth of a new baby! Cynthia Rylant's 'Birthday Presents' is a touching story about the beauty of family traditions. As a new baby comes into their life, the parents make each birthday special by giving meaningful, non-commercial, oral traditon gifts to their child as she grows up. Each year the whole family revels in the pleasures of the heartwarming tokens. As the child grows older, she realizes how wonderful it is to share important memories. The family is setting up lasting traditions that create a sense of belonging and a sense of joy. Finally, the little girl continues the tradition by giving the parents a very special gift for their anniversary. I wholeheartedly reccommend this book to anyone and everyone.

This book contains 10 heartwarming stories. I think that every story has its own perspective of what life is all about. Some of them make you laugh, and some make you cry. The author of this this book should pat herself on the back. This is a book that you don't want to miss.

Many great heartwarming stories packed into one terrific book! These stories make you want to send a "birthday surprise" of your own to someone very special! This book will surely be on your shelf for many years. Don't miss the short stories from your favorite authors in Birthday Surprises.

I fell in love with this book when it was named to the Texas Bluebonnet Awards List in 1996-97. Since then my students have LOVED reading the stories...each of them unique...each with a special message! What a treasure! It is the perfect motivator for inspiring students to write!

This book delivers on the promise in its jacket cover with Rose's enchanting, lilting rhymes and Munsinger's uproarious and lively watercolor illustrations of a zoo full of animals putting on a birthday party for a delighted young boy. It is "a birthday present to open again and again." The irresistible rhymes include: "'But where to begin?' asked the shy tamarin. `Blow up balloons.' puffed the raccoons." Laughter or at least a broad smile will erupt when this verse is read in its full-spread illustration of eight raccoons eagerly blowing up colorful birthday balloons and cheerfully floating up to the ceiling with them while a bewildered tamarin looks on. Similar hilarious delights fill the entire book as the animals progress from setting up the party to a playful and joyous celebration complete with presents, games, and cake. But, don't forget to turn the over the last page or you'll miss a great surprise. Highly recommended for ages 2 to 6

Birthday Zoo is a joyful picture book by Deborah Lee Rose about the most exciting birthday celebration ever. A whimsical poem about fun activities suggested by various playful animal friends, and cheerful color illustrations by Lynn Munsinger make Birthday Zoo an upbeat, entertaining, and highly recommended picture book for beginning readers.

What do children enjoy more than a birthday party? Young folks find a visit to the zoo exciting. The combination of the two in "Birthday Zoo" is bound to bring smiles of delight.

Illustrated in engaging watercolors and presented in catchy rhyme, the story opens with a question, "`Hey, what's the big deal?'" noticed the seal." When it's discovered that the big deal is a birthday preparations begin.

"`What do we do?' asked the emu. `Make everyone happy,' said the okapi." And that's precisely what this joyful narrative will do as balloons are blown up, party hats distributed, and refreshments served.

At the last, imagine being wished happy birthday by a whole zoo!

- Gail Cooke

The second in the Cul-de-sac Kids series and they have been hit by the chicken pox. A fun story which also teaches without being preachy. Abby plans a surprise for her brother and helps her friend solve the mystery of her childhood. Nothing scary in this story, it's one to make you smile.

I realy liked it because Abby kept a secret from her Korean broter Shawn. I think this is a funny book because Abby made a huge mess when she was baking a cake shaped like South Korea. I think this is a great book and you should read it too!

Wonderful & funny. Teaches kids what to do when something special goes wrong & how to still have fun. My boys ages 7 & 9, had a hard time putting the book down. The book keeps one's attention & is never boring.

For teachers who have a student who is a little different and not easily accepted by the others in the class, this book is an excellent springboard for a discussion about compassion. My 4th graders were able to talk about how Della would have been treated at school and how they could make a difference to someone who is never chosen as a partner.

The reviewers might consider it didactic, but my kids loved the story! I also enjoyed reading it to them. And I think they took an important lesson from it!

A picture is worth thousand words. Reading the story can choke up the maturest of woman. But when you see the pictures next to the paragraphs, you could just stare at the images and truly feel you were there even if you never had an experience like this

I had this book as a child too - my mother made the piano cake, the baby doll cake and many more which I remember vividly. Now I have two little boys and they love looking through the book to choose their own birthday cakes. So far we have made number cakes, dump trucks, barns and ducks together - not always quite from the book, but using it as inspiration. The kids love it and it's great fun. Highly recommended!

This was an absolute favourite with the kids in my family when we were growing up. Getting to choose what cake you were going to have was a favourite family tradition. You should REALLY get this book for your kids.

I had this book when I was a kid and everytime my birthday would roll around I would flip through this and admire all the doll cakes, sprinkled cakes, chocolate cakes and so forth. One year the piano cake was recreated for my birthday and we added some musical accessories to it. Some of the other highlights I enjoyed in here were the tea party cake, the candy shop cake, the doll cakes, the number cakes, the musical instrument ones, fairy tale ones and this really pretty cake with vanilla frosting with sprinkly hearts on the sides. People used to really treat cake baking as an art form as shown in this book, but now people just want to get the same old cake from a grocery store or a plain cake with a picture of the latest cartoon fad or something, where's the art in that? Definitely buy this book and make creative cakes together with your kids or anyone at all, it's a great pasttime

Clifford books are classics! I read them when I was a kid, now my daughter loves them! Great for teaching number concepts!

my grandson who is severely deveolpmental delay and does not speak because of his early illness absolutely loved it.He pointed to the numbers for you to say what they are and laughed.He also loves clifford

A great book with an interesting story that is also about counting. My daughter and I love the Clifford range and read them over and over.

The Mom's Choice Awards® honors excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. An esteemed panel of judges includes education, media and other experts as well as parents, children, librarians, performing artists, producers, medical and business professionals, authors, scientists and others. A sampling of the panel members includes: Dr. Twila C. Liggett, Ten-time Emmy-winner, professor and founder of Reading Rainbow; Julie Aigner-Clark, Creator of Baby Einstein and The Safe Side Project; Jodee Blanco, New York Times Best-Selling Author; LeAnn Thieman, Motivational speaker and coauthor of seven Chicken Soup For The Soul books; Tara Paterson, Certified Parent Coach, and founder of The Just For Mom Foundation(tm) and the Mom's Choice Awards®. Parents and educators look for the Mom's Choice Awards® seal in selecting quality materials and products for children and families. This book has been honored by this distinguished award.

The Curious Polka-Dot Present is a charming picturebook about a young girl who receives a mysterious present - large, oddly shaped, covered in polka-dot wrapping. She wonders what could possibly be inside, until she opens it and discovered it's a birthday present from her grandmother - a big soft doll hand-made to look just like her! Illustrated with warm color illustrations featuring soft purple, blue, pink and yellow highlights, The Curious Polka-Dot Present is a simple yet fun read-aloud story for parents to share with children.

Every child dreams of that 'surprise present' for their birthday or special day. This book is about a little girl who receives a surprise present in the mail. The verses are lovely, and pique curiosity right to the end. The ending is wonderfully warm. The illustrations are beautiful and text leads the eye from one page to the next.

I highly recommend Cheri L. Hallwood's book, The Curious Polka-Dot Present to anyone with small children. Grandmothers would especially appreciate this for sharing with their young grandchildren.