Birthdays Books

Karen's Half Birthday is good, but Karen's idea of a half birthday is juvenile. Even for a seven year old. I recommend #7- Karen's Birthday much more than this one

The part about Karen's party was good, but when she returnes to school, I couldn't tell if the kids that were not invited to Karen's party happy or not. I wouldn't say not to read this book, but I wouldn't exactly reccomend it either.

My granddaughter adores anything about Madeline. This is a great activity book if your child enjoys Madeline books. It is well-crafted and reasonably priced.

This is an adorable book. Kids will love it.

The idea of this book is great for teaching/reinforcing math skills for beginning counters. I did enjoy the text. One monster has a birthday party and more and more monsters show up and then leave. Your child is supposed to count the monsters. The book takes them up slowly from 1-10 and then jumps from 10 to 20 to 30 to 40 to 50 and back down quickly from 50 to 10 to 5, 4, 3, 2 to 1 (the birthday girl).

Love the idea of this book; however, there is a major flaw in it surrounding the illustrations. While they are interesting and cute, they do not make for "easy" counting for little ones. For example, one of the monsters has two heads - does that count for one monster or two then? (counts for two) and some of the monsters, you can only see an arm, leg, or part of a head (like a horn), so it was confusing for the little kids who were actually trying to count them all. My children even mistook the pinata for a monster on one page. Also, the birthday girl's mother (who is a monster) is in some of the pages, but you are not supposed to count her as one of them - see what I mean? The rules, logic, and order are missing in the illustrations and that is the foundation of math. The pattern of 30 or 40 or 50 monsters on a page to count is so random that even I couldn't remember if I had counted "that one" yet or not. So this might be better suited for an older counter if you are just beginning with a younger child. I think when the kids are young, it is especially important to build their confidence and skills with consistency, simplicity and when they succeed by counting the right number, that positive success makes it more fun for them and they want to keep learning. This book made my 4 yr old twins frustrated. They kept counting and winding up with the wrong number and they are actually one year ahead in math, so I know it's simply the illustrations. Me having to explain that "technically" there are 41 monsters on that page, but you're not supposed to count the mother as a monster. And they retort, "But isn't she a monster, mom?" - well yes, she is. It ended up being more of a frustration than the great counting book it could have been. I hope someday they reillustrate the book and keep these things in mind.

I'd recommend "Math for All Seasons" by Greg Tang for young children. In his book, the illustrations are clearly laid out and organized and make it fun for the kids to count and succeed.

Check it out from your library before you spend the money on it. I'm glad I did.

This is an excellent teaching tool for beginning counters! I gave this book to a group of toddlers and they absolutely loved it! I have read this book over and over again. With the great rhyming words and great pictures, this book will surely help your child enjoy counting. This book tells a cute little story (while counting by ones, then tens, and then back down again) about a monster having a party that gets out of control in which the mother monster shoes them all away! It is a great book!

I like Carol Deacon's designs but was very disappointed with this book because a lot of the designs were repeats from other Carol Deacon books that I already had. In fact, I bought two (2) new books by Carol Deacon and found the books to be over half-filled with repeat designs from other books by this author.
If you are looking for new cake design ideas like I was and already have book/s by this author, do not bother to buy this book - try someone else.

This book is wonderful. Includes step by step instructions to make the cakes illustrated in the book or you can simply take ideas from it and design your own. Includes easy to make recipes for sugarpaste, etc. This book is a great place to start if you're just venturing into cake decorating. You can go from having no experience to making professional looking cakes that will wow everybody!

An excellent picture book that depicts an African Naming Ceremony. It illustrates the roles played by various members of the family and tribe.

This little book is not what I expected. Not well written and tells very little about how to organize a Naming Ceremony...which was what I had expected. I don't recommend.
Laura

If you can get past the completely selfish, spoiled, sappy protagonists, you may enjoy this book. The ending had a high amount of redeeming value to me... heck, I even almost liked the little brats.

The beginning was a struggle for me b/c I cringe at the whole "like" overuse prevalent in childhood speech patterns. Yes, I know that is a slightly unfair generalization, but the stereotype definitely holds true in the book.

Guess it would be nice to be that fabulously rich though. The Ashleys are 7th graders with ginormous egos and attitude problems that make you want to smack them, but in the end, they're actually likable kids.

The writing style was easy enough to swallow. If you like kid friendly books, this one's safe enough and fairly interesting. Go for it.

This is a first for me. My first unfinished book. That's right I didn't finish this book! Had I been reviewing this novel for the author or publisher I would have sucked it up and plugged through, but it's not, and I'm not going to waste my time!

I hope, I really hope that there are no middle schoolers that are this superficial and shallow. I'm sure there are, but I really don't want to read about them. I love Melissa de la Cruz, but I just can't do it, not even for her. Her writing doesn't even redeem how terribly horrendous this story is.

This book could be a fun read for a young girl if her name is Ashley.

The book is about some girls in their own elite clique. An Ashley clique. Their names are Ashley, Ashley, Ashley, and Lauren. Ashley Spencer goes by "Ashley"; Ashley Li goes by "Lili"; Ashley Alioto goes by "A.A.". The original friends - all Ashleys - allowed a Lauren to join their group of Ashleys.

At the beginning of the book, I didn't think I would like it. It seemed to be a book about rich, arrogant, materialistic snots. I definitely couldn't relate to them, as I am the opposite: humble, modest, conservative country girl. But as I read on, I realized I liked the book. I like reading about young people's friendships and fun times.

At first I had to keep reminding myself that these girls are twelve years old, and not twenty-two. The way they act, the things they do, their language, the things they have: I feel their lifestyle outages them.

Can you imagine being so extremely rich and powerful that you can have the whole world at your fingertips? Just call up a hairdress for the rich and famous in New York and have him immediately fly to you in California to be at your personal service. (And you're only twelve years old!) Just have your dad bring home an elephant from the zoo (the only thing stopping him is some type of city laws).

I enjoyed their friendships, their fun, their boyfriends, their social life.

This particular book ia about Ashley's upcoming Sweet Thirteen birthday party. She is having an unbelievably extravagant party. The party was fun just reading about it.

I recommend this book only to mature young people - those who understand that not all people can be this rich and powerful. I would not recommend this book to be on a school reading list or reading program or even in a school library. It can be a fun, five-star book to those young people who realize that reading takes the reader to different situations, different worlds, and different lifestyles - and we cannot always make our world like theirs.

Lime green vomit. Looking "unbelievably hot" at age 13. Strip Hall Queens. Ho's. Kids being spiteful and, yes, vicious to one another. OK, I'll just come out and say it. Social messages or not, this book has no redeeming qualities that I could find. Any "lessons" that kids are supposed to absorb here are too deeply buried in the trash. With all the good young adult literature out there, Birthday Vicious is a waste of money and time that could be spent on something worth while.

I had really enjoyed the first two Ashleys books, so I couldn't wait to dig into this latest. I'm 29, but I love reading teen books for pure relaxation and fun, and this didn't disappoint.

Ashley's 13th birthday is coming up and it is going to be the event of the season - that is, if Ashley's Mom doesn't ruin it all by insisting (after puking on the wedding planner!) she tone down the preparations. How can she? Her awesome, circus-themed party to be is already the talk of the school and beyond.

One other small problem: everyone else seems to have a boyfriend but her. When she meets a mysterious hottie on the dock and invites him to her party, it becomes even more important that her party will knock everyone's socks off.

And Lauren? Her old pal Sadie Graham is back, but doesn't yet realize that Lauren is an Ashley now. Lauren's trying to convert the babyish Sadie into an Ashley so that they can all be friends (while keeping her and Sadie's friendship under wraps from the Ashleys so they don't ban her, Lauren!), but Sadie's shockingly resistant. Why won't she just dress nicely and act reasonable? Doesn't everyone want to be an Ashley?

Lots of drama and new revelations in this book, and if you enjoyed the last two, you'll love this one even more. I'm waiting eagerly for the next one.

There are better books out there for Ring Bearers than this book. As other reviewers have already stated, it's WAY too specific (the narrator has to miss a soccer game). Also, the illustrations are virtually identical from page to page: an oversized bowtie in different colors.
Save your money.

I bought this for my son from my first marriage, he is 5. He is the ring bearer for my upcoming wedding. I was mad that it has a story of some other little boy who was the ringbearer for his brother. I also hated the fact that he talked about his gift from the groom, a watch that could go under water, so now that is what my son seems to think he will get. It would have been nice if the story had not gone into so much detail, and left it a bit open to the imagination.

At first I thought the book was really cute, but I agree with other reviewers that it was too specific. I realized I'll have to return it when I got to the page that said that his mom and dad held hands through the wedding, as my little ringbearer's parents are divorced. Disappointing that they wouldn't take that possibility into consideration.

I recently was married and in addition to flower girls, I had a young nephew as the ring bearer. He was a little timid about performing the task as he was going to have to walk by himself down the aisle! At the rehearsal dinner I gave him the book and he loved it. For the first time he realized that he was an important part of the ceremony and at the wedding it was clear that he took great pride in his job. The book made him feel better about the whole process and was a great way to give him something special for helping me on such an important day. I would recommend this book for anyone having a young boy (3-7 yrs old) as a ring bearer.

We were a little disappointed that the story said the ring bearer collected $5.00 from guests at the reception and was able to go to the Zoo. We had to have my sister skip that page or we would have a four year old thinking he is able to collect money at the reception. Otherwise it was a good book and perfect for our young ring bearer.

Not perfectly written; has at least one cliché. And I was disappointed they didn't go to the Oregon coast. But otherwise an enjoyable story.

This book was about a boy who had to visit his uncle who had made tragic things happen in his life. Read to find out about what happened....trust me, it's a good book once you get into it! I would probably suggest this book to people 9 or 10+!

Benjamin Hunter had a tragic past that started with an accident at the age of two. His uncle Ian made him a chair and was working on one of the wooden legs one night when some of his tools slipped, cutting little Benji's pinky right off. Ever since that day Benjamin didn't see his uncle and after his thirteenth birthday, he was invited to finally visit him. His mother gave him a room for his birthday, to be treated as an art studio. Benjamin had a talent in art and drew extraordinarily well. He hoped for a big screen TV or something better, but the letter from his uncle cheered him up. After acquiescingly agreeing to go, his mother goes to her brother for a visit to erase their past hatred and become better siblings.

I thought this story was a bit pointless. The plot seemed to be thought up in a few hours and I still don't understand the title. However, there were some good aspects of the story that drew me to the end. The author got detailed in the environment, calm and serene, that made me feel like I was in the scene. The characters were humans that made mistakes and basically were set up realistically.

I don't recommend this book to advanced readers above 8th grade level because after reading it for a few hours, the plot got to seem pointless. The level of comprehension this book requires is average and maybe less. The vocabulary was plain, and simple adjectives described everything. If you read all the Harry Potter books, Stephen King books, and Tolkien books, then you can give this book a try, but don't expect a spectacular adventure.

Yes, Yes, I know the title and the cover aren't that appealing, but once you get started, you'll finish. Benjamin Hunter was just 2 years old when he first visited his Uncle Ian and after that he never did visit again because of the accident (read to find out what the accident was). 10 years later on Benjamin's 12th birthday, Ben's parents give him a room as a present. A room. Ben is highly disappointed. That same day however he receives a letter from his Uncle Ian asking him to visit. Ben values the oppurtunity of the visit more than the room. Due to fights during their childhood, Ben's mother is hesitant. Finally she gives in and they are on thier way to his home. The rest of the book, you must read yourself. I think that all of Henke's books are family reads and should not be judged by their cover.

Am I the only picture book reader who noticed the extremely strong resemblance between this book and MAMA DOES THE MAMBO by Katherine Leiner (Hyperion 2001)? Both books feature little Hispanic girls whose mothers stop dancing when their husbands disappear. Aren't publishers supposed to check lists to make sure that perhaps unconscious imitations or at least obvious similarities between books don't happen? Who dropped the ball here?

The illustrations are lovely and lively, though.

There are some 13 million single mothers raising kids in America today - so most timely is MAMA, I'LL GIVE YOU THE WORLD which tells of a daughter who watches her mother work at the beauty salon. Mama's birthday is coming - and Luisa decides to do something special to change her world. A gentle story will appeal to many a child with a single parent.

I liked this book almost as much as I did the first time I read it--when it was "Mama Does the Mambo" by Katherine Leiner. It's too bad some authors and publishers lack the expertise (and integrity?) to recognize that this is a virtual (and verifiable) ripoff of Leiner's story, which has inspired, comforted and delighted children since it's publication 10 years ago.

When's the last time you did something nice for your Mama? Huh? How about for her birthday? What, you ask, flowers aren't enough? I write, I call ...

Well, little Luisa has you beat hands down. Her Mama works at Walter's World of Beauty transforming the neighborhood divas into raging beauties, or, uh, at least gussied-up versions of their middle-aged selves. But Mama wears a tired expression, now that Papa's out of the picture. We never learn why, but then it's probably none of our business anyway.

Walter's World is Luisa's world, where she does her homework, creates playful pictures of the customers and deviously plots to put a smile back on Mama's face. No spoilers here - the plot's about as predictable as can be, but Schotter has such lovely phrasing and vivid descriptions, you don't mind traveling down this oft-visited street where a happy ending lives.

Gallagher used oil paints, which makes the compositions seem older, yellower and faintly cracked, emphasizing Mama's fading youth and diminishing bloom. Exaggerated features, particularly noses, give everyone a comic air, but their softly padded frames and round, shining faces could only belong to a generous, kindly bunch. Only Mama is slender, but she looks more shopworn than chic.

Between Gallagher's loving details and Schotter's artful descriptions, I knew the World so well, I found myself firmly in joyful Luisa's orbit.

The text is boring, the pictures are uninspiring, and the textures are bland (and sometimes repetitive).

Nobody in the family ever got into it, not as babies or toddlers.

I would not buy it again if I had a chance.

I bought a bunch of these to give away as favors to the little ones at my son's first birthday. Cute book- especially for birthdays! But, I wish it had more pages. Very short.

I was hoping this book would be spectacular due to the high ratings of other DK touch-and-feel books. I was disappointed to find that the range of textures are pretty small....and just not as exciting or realistic as other books we have. I'd stick with bigger books with more on each page that don't cost much more, such as the touch-and-feel books put out by the author of the Baby Einstein series.