A BIRTHDAY CAKE IS NO ORDINARY CAKE (PICTURE BOOK)

PICTURE BOOK
A BIRTHDAY CAKE IS NO ORDINARY CAKE by Debra Frasier (Harcourt)

What goes into a birthday cake? 365 sunrises, four seasons , and one heck of a trip. A merry little baker helps readers to mix it up in a way that affirms the big deal that a birthday really is, from the perspective of the universe. "We're traveling in a circle. This recipe is a circle. It's all coming round again." Notorious for being slightly esoteric and slightly scientific, Frasier achieved fame with her book ON THE DAY YOU WERE BORN, and some have considered her style a little "new age-y." For me, I see two themes recurrent in her work: celebration, and an appreciation of nature and the environment, both of which are right on time for our up-and-coming generation of children. A nice thing to do at a birthday party would be to have a copy of this book available, and have friends and family autograph it like a yearbook as a keepsake. For classroom use, children will enjoy making up their own recipes for what goes into their year. The cheerful cut-paper collage illustrations make this his book is as irresistable as a piece with a frosting flower on it and sprinkles on the sides. A recipe is included (your choice of chocolate or vanilla topping), as well as scientific notes about counting circles in nature, and a visual map to our annual trip around the sun. Fortified with food for thought, don't wait until a birthday rolls around to serve up this booklover's just dessert. (6 and up)

Also of interest:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JAMELA! by Niki Daly (Farrar Straus and Giroux). Set in South Africa, a high-spirited girl seeks to add some sparkle to her school shoes in an effort to get what she really wanted for her birthday. Will her fashion faux-pas get her into trouble, or make her wish come true? This book granted my wish; I always want a Jamela story, and this is the latest in a picture book series. (5 and up)

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