Birthdays Books

Whatever happened to poetry? Growing up it was the (only) highlight of my Language Arts classes. Then I hit college and it seemed that poetry lost its flavor and popularity. Johnson's book has brought good poetry back into my life and I am grateful for it. With my busy schedule I know that I can rely on her book to help me drift away at any given time.

Michael James D'Amato, author of "The Classroom"

HOT and Bothered By It does have its moments. But the poems don't have much substance. While I understand this book is meant solely for humor, the writing is paper-thin and the few smiles it provides are not worth paying for. Often, the humor just falls flat.

The writing is amateurish and just high school literary magazine worthy. Being a rhyme Nazi, when I read rhyme, I must see it done well or not at all; in "Senior Discount", the rhyme falters and is very noticeable. The author can't decide whether she wants to rhyme or not in "Hopscotch and Double Dutch". "Like the Essence of a Fine Wine" is out of place in collection of humor poems, and the author goes out of her way to walk the reader through the metaphor of flowers and women. "Pucker Up" is difficult to read; any established meter is trampled on by the end of the poem. A few of the poems end awkwardly.

If you want a quick diversion, there are better poetry books, but Ms. Johnson does give a few good dashes of humor. If you are considering buying, HOT and Bothered By It is good for a long Sunday morning. Please, just buy it at bargain bin discount.

Great gift. I bought two copies, one for my mom and one for my aunt (Mom's sister). They enjoyed the read and there was a lot of nodding and laughing from what I hear.

It made such a great gift I've ordered one more extra one --- for my best friend who has a "landmark" birthday coming soon.

Thanks for the laughs Phyllis. Life is so serious --- laughter is a priceless gift.

I absolutely loved this book! My friends and I are experiencing this lovely phenomenon--either through our own direct experiences or with a loved one in our lives. You will be in stitches, and you'll relate! ~Very clever, so much fun!

As a male poet I found the poems to be telling -- particularly as I have a midlife wife. I'm midlife too so I found material for me as well. A great book to start a group discussion.

Put all your birthdays and anniversaries in this book, hang it on the wall and you will be set to remember important dates all year long.

I purchased this calendar and two others for holiday gifts. My kids love the Boynton books so I chose this one for myself as well. It's cute but very simple and has plenty of space to write, but I wish it was a little smaller.

Although this cost a bit more than I initially wanted to spend, I'm very happy with it. It has nice pen-friendly stiff pages, cute graphics, and a sturdy hook to hang it with. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that I would have liked the spaces for each day to be just a tiny bit bigger. Oh well, when I fill up the available space in this one, I'll just buy another!

Finally I don't have to copy birthdays from the calendar from year to year and risk putting it on the wrong date when the day of the week is different! It is a quick way to keep up to date, and has plenty of room to add information as you need to.

I love this because you never have to buy another calendar again for birthdays. I loved this so much that I bought one for each of my friends. You will always know who's birthday is coming.

Not up to the standard of the Betsy and Tacy series, but it does allow one more visit to Deep Valley for those who long to go there.

When Maud Hart Lovelace first wrote the "Betsy-Tacy" series, did she know how much so many people, from children to adults, would love them? The series has at least one book that anyone of any age can relate to. 10-year-olds will love "Over the big Hill," high-schoolers will love the books about when Betsy was attending Deep Valley High, etc. And it doesn't end there! Even if you're not the age that Betsy was in one of the books, you can still love all of them! Maud has a way of capturing real feelings and experiences--even bad ones--and turning them into works of art. The "Betsy-Tacy" series really is a work of art, even if it was painted with a pen, and not a paintbrush.

After many years, I finally tracked down a library copy of "Winona's Pony Cart," and I am glad to have read it. It's a nice look at Winona's home life at the age of 8, when the "main" characters haven't really encountered Winona yet. What a riot of a character she is! I've always liked her character in the rest of the series, so I was happy to get a peek into her life, meeting her sisters and parents. And she really is kind of a funny character, all on her own. I hope this book comes back into print eventually, I would buy several copies!

Thank goodness Harper has brought this Maud Hart Lovelace gem back into print! This book offers a glimpse of Betsy Ray's friend Winona Root at age 7, planning her 8th birthday party. Winona is such an outgoing girl that the guest list just keeps growing, and there is much merriment involved. Adult readers will be delighted to discover Winona at an early age, and I am reading this new editon aloud to my three year old niece who keeps begging for another look at all the Vera Neville illustrations.

Fans of the Betsy-Tacy books will enjoy a look at Winona's homelife. Winona is having a birthday party and the guest list keeps growing! With Vera Neville's illustrations, this book is a joy!

I didn't realize this was for newborns and toddlers. It's too small for even my three year old. I'm returing it.

My 2 yr old daughter loves this! Its very colorful & she loves all the animals.. the stickers that come with it are a great idea!

Inexpensive and very cute. Constructed well, love that it has photo holders. My daughter loves animals, so this was an easy pick.

I was happy to see the appearance of hand painted detail and the product met my expectaions from what I saw online.

Like all of the "Angelina Ballerina" series, this one is beautifully illustrated and has content interesting to pre-schoolers, including the idea that children can do some work to earn something they really want. Angelina and her friend Alice have set-backs and successes with, of course, a happy and satisfying ending.

Unlike previous books, however, the cover has shiny silver among the lovely pastel colors making it a must-touch book among others on the shelf. "Angelina" is my granddaughters' favorite book but they are too young to write their own reviews so I have done it for them.

If you already own 'Angelina's Birthday Surprise', don't buy this book! It is identical in every way. I know because I purchased both to complete my daughter's Angelina book collection, since there we no details on either book at the time. It is another cute Angelina book. This one is about Angelina having a bicycling accident which ruins her old bike, then getting a new one as a surprise birthday gift after working hard to earn the money to purchase it herself.

Angelina loved her bicycle and rode it everywhere. Her best friend was Alice. This year for her birthday they were going to have a picnic. Angelina and Alice went to the village to buy some decorations for her party. On the way back they raced, and Angelina hit a rock and crashed. She hurt her leg and ruined her favorite bike. Angelina and Alice started doing odd jobs to earn money so Angelina could buy a new bike. They mowed grass, picked apples, hung laundry, watered the garden, planted raspberries and strawberries, and washed floors. Angelina still didnýt have enough money to buy a bike. On their walk back from the village to buy more balloons, Angelina saw the best bike ever in the window of the bicycle shop and she wished she had enough money to buy it. The day of her party came and Angelina received hair ribbons, books, a ballerina, and a silver horn for her new bike. Everyone had pitched in to buy Angelina the bike she had wanted. She was so surprised and decided to take everyone on a bicycle ride through the hills. I think this was a good book because Angelina worked to buy herself a new bike, and in the end everyone realized how hard she had worked so they decided to get her it for her birthday. ~ Katelyn Carson

In this next book in the Angelina Ballerina series, Angelina prepares for her birthday. However, getting into a bike race with her Alice, Angelina hits a rock and damages her bike beyond repair. When her mother suggests that she can work to raise the money for a new bike, Angelina throws herself wholeheartedly into her work, and birthday are such wonderful times...

Such a wonderful book! I do love Katherine Holabird's work! Although I should say hers, and Helen Craig's, for the illustrations do make this book come so alive. My daughter and I love this book, and recommend it to you.

I found the first Lilly Bennett book by accident during a browse of the library....and have read them all as fast as she can get them published. I want to be LILLY! Who else has money, a great office, a family that provides comic relief at just the right moments, a husband who picks YOU over a Las Vegas showgirl,AND a badge? If you enjoy your mysteries with a pinch of danger, unusual characters, and a whole lot of fun....read this series! Start at the beginning, or start with this one...you'll be glad you did!

During a charity dinner, a well known ex cowboy star is murdered in front of a room full of Wyoming's rich and famous. Then one by one, a whole family of ruthless land grabbers are murdered. There seems to be a connection with Las Vegas and Lilly enlists the help of her brother and some other old and new friends to solve the murders.

As always, this series features heiress, PI, and US Marshall Lilly Bennett. As unrealistic as the series is, it is very entertaining. The book is full of colorful and fun characters, from crazy ranchers to transexual rodeo stars. Great fun!

A boring tribute party quickly gets exciting when a commando dressed intruder blows a large hole in Clay Parker, hasbeen cowboy star, before U.S. Marshall Lilly Bennett Jerome can react. Soon Lilly is involved with visiting Las Vegas showgirls, missing Faberge eggs that belong to a former flame of Lilly's and current Mafioso, family feuds over land use, and brother Elias Bennett's pending marriage. And murder after murder.

As satisfying as the previous Bennett books, with more than normal confusion. Lilly's family, friends and associates are a delight, but at the rate people in Roundup are dying, it won't be long until only the Bennetts will be left.

This is my first read by Kelloggand what a kick! One murder afteranother keep US Marshal LilyBennett with no clues but pressureby Janet Reno to get the casessolved. Wyoming has lots of landand lots of people scheming underthe table to get that land. Theauthor tosses humor into the mixand finally puts all the piecestogether to solve them all. Ihad no idea who was behind themurders and there is plenty ofsuspense to keep you reading right up to the end and you finish the book with a smile onyour face knowing that the birthday gal ends up far awayfrom where the party was to beheld. This s just the book toread between the more seriousmurder-mysteries. I intend to readmore of Marne Kellogg's books.

I purchased this book for my seven-year-old niece who rides for Christmas.
In scanning it, I thought it was just the thing for a young girl very interested in horses. Had I more time I might have given it a read myself.

The Birthday Pony
By Gillian

The Birthday Pony by Jessie Haas is about a horse being born the same day as a little girl! The birthday ponies theme is helping because the little girl Jane and Grandma Aggie helped Popcorn` s mother from the woods. I think the message is never give up you should never give up gust like when the girl gave up on taking care of popcorn. In this storey Popcorn changes a lot because everyone changes his life when Jane takes care of him. Letting Popcorn go is a symbol I think this because Jane has to let Popcorn and Sweatpea go. The problem is Jane is to far away to ride horses and the solution is her father got a new job a few blocks away. Now Jane can ride the horses. Before I read the Birthday Pony I thought no one could take care of a wild pony but now that I have read it my schema has change and I know that people can even take care of 2 ponies. I recommend this book for kids that ride horses or have a horse or love horse because it is all about loving horses.

I love Birthday Pony! It's a good book for horse lovers! It's about horses! The book gives you tips like sit deep in the saddle. You could use that for when you ride a horse! It's pretty easy for beginners to read! Especially girls in second grade would like this book. I think most girls would like this book if they like horses! By Erin, age 7

Jane is the main character in the book. Her grandmother buys a pony that she had sold years ago and gives it to Jane for her birthday. The horse is named Popcorn and he's trouble. Jane has to send him to a camp to get trained so that she can ride him. Meanwhile Jane takes riding lessons to become a better rider. The horse learns to take commands and Jane learns to give them well. The are together again and even win a ribbon in a horse show.

The book has large print text. This is good for young readers.

I would recommend this book to girls who are interested in horses. Girls ages 7-10 will relate to the main character Jane well.

This book had a very interesting plot. It also was illustrated very well. The book lost my attention. You could use the book to teach children about erosion. The book seemed to be very monotone and was hard to connect with. I would not choose this book to read to my class because it has no character deapth beyond the fact of the eroding island.

this book has beautiful pictures and the writing is very realistic the disapearing island really makes you want to be there at the beach finding all those treasures

The Diasappearing Island by Corrine Demas is the story of a nine year old girl. On the little girls ninth Birthday, here grandmother gives here a perfect sand dollar saying that they will sail to the disappearing island. An Island the grandmoher visited as a child. This is a beautiful book with stunning water color illustrations by Ted Lewin.

Based on actual events, this story is told by Grandmother to 9 year old Carrie, as they picnic on the remains of sunken Billingsgate Island, now visible only at low tide. Grandmother gives Carrie a sand dollar she collected on the island when she was Carrie's age. Carie collects a brick from the original lighthouse as proof that the island existed (for when she passes down Grandmother's oral history to her future granddaughter about the island that used to be). Illustrations by Ted Lewin, who won Caldecott Honor for "Peppe, the Lamplighter". Interesting author's note relates Billingsgate Island's fate to the sinking of Atlantis.

This is a story of a typical young boy, part good, part brat. The story is rather funny and fun to read and certainly teaches the consequences of poor choices. This illustrations are not really my cup of tea, but are eye catching in their own way and I certainly cannot be all that critical of them as it is my taste in this case and not the child's who is reading the book. The kids at school seem to like it and that is a pretty good indorsement to my way of thinking. It is indeed, as on reviewere pointed out, a good teaching tool and I am quite comfortable using it as such.

I think it's a funny book with a good ending. It's about a 7-year-old who questions logic and hates sharing, even argues that it's not a good idea, but that's the lesson of the book. There are many springboards for other lessons about eating, opening
presents, social laughter, etc.

Favorite quotes...

"Why do [adults] laugh when something isn't funny?"

"Chocolate cake is delicious and chicken tastes boring, so why do you
have to eat all of your chicken and not all of the cake?"

"Sharing makes no sense at all. Why share? If a toy is fun, why let go of
it? Who knows when you'll get it back?"

"I was lying in bed, dreaming a nice dream, when all of a sudden I woke
up and thought, Presents are in this house."

"I didn't want to say something that wasn't true, so I told him, "No." Then
he got mad at me, too."

"Flora kept wanting to TOUCH everything. I told her to back off. My
mother gave me a look."

"I even invented a new rude noise that sounded kind of squishy. But
there was no one there to hear it. If you make a rude noise and no one
hears it, is it still gross?"

I love this book. As the parent of three small children who has been through my fair share of "bad" birthdays, it rings true and is funny and sweet. I highly recommend it.

"My name is DUNCAN RUMPLEMEYER, and I am not a bad kid--but sometimes I act like on." So begins this not-very-impressive book about mischievous Duncan's birthday. "), Duncan's parents punish him for trying to take an advance look at his birthday presents. Author Alexander Stadler "treats" the reader to Duncan's punishment-breakfast of cereal and the tired, indifferent looks of his parents.

I suppose Duncan is the voice of honest childhood: He states that the hired birthday clown is not funny, he complains when his friends play with his presents, and he tells us how he is thrown into "PRISON." (Actually, his parents put him into his bedroom after he grabs all his toys back, upsetting some of his friends.) Alone with his new toys, he finds that it's just not as much fun without someone to play with. After 90 minutes of hard time with his toys, Duncan asks his parents if he can make one phone call:

"I called Flora. I told her I was sorry for snatching the toys away all the toys..." "Flora told me I was a selfish baby, and then she accepted my apology."

The book contains a few humorous lines. When his friend gets sick from eating half of Duncan's toothpaste, the sharing-averse Duncan observes," Sharing isn't even good for the people you share with." And, after his post-party birthday time out, he says, "...the most important thing I learned today is this...A disgusting sound is a lot more disgusting if somebody's there to hear it."). However, the plot seems thin, and ultimately Duncan is not nearly as interesting as his contrived-sounding own name. Moreover,the illustrations are basically unappealing. Stadler purposefully draws the characters squiggly and blurred (with un-pretty aura-like outlines), and his gouache and ink compositions are sometimes cluttered. For younger readers only, if at all, the "Simpsons" and other series (e.g., Dav Pilkey's books) have raised the standards on playful mischief.

My 2 year old son loves all the Elliot Moose and friend's stories (since we started reading them to him when he was a few months old). He loves to have us read them to him over and over. Recently, he started "reading" them to us! Elliot is such a loving character, that has fun adventures with his friends. These books also have wonderful illustrations we use to teach our son, and have him point out things he knows and learn new words.

"Elliot Bakes a Cake" is another wonderful story from Andrea Beck in which Elliot works together with his friends to do something nice.

In this one, it's their friend Lionel's birthday. They've decided to make a cake, but haven't quite mastered the art of cooking. Though things are rocky, in the end, they come with a great way to still celebrate Lionel's birthday.

This is the second book in the Elliot Moose series.

I love this story and the pictures of the toys are really good.It made me happy and sad and parts of it were funny. I like how everyone helped each other figure out the recipe. Elliot is very cute. My mom and I are going to make the cake and I think everyone should get this book!

Elliott the Moose leads his stuffed animal buddies in an adventure to make a birthday cake for Lionel Lion. They've got lots of problems in the kitchen, the least of which is how to open the full-sized oven! Separating eggs proves to cause great problems as do other directions in the recipe. The stuffed animals are cute. The fabrics the illustrated has used to create them have wonderful texture and colors. The cake recipe is at the end of the book. Good book to share with young ones who are learning to cook.