It's My Birthday

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A simple, scrumptious birthday story from beloved author-illustrator, Helen Oxenbury."It's my birthday and I'm going to make a cake," a little boy tells his friends. Will they all help? Yes. The chicken gets some eggs; the bear gets some flour; the cat gets butter and milk; the pig gets a pinch of salt.... And they'll all help to eat the cake too!

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

One by one a host of animals offer ingredients when a child decides to bake a birthday cake. PW called the story "perfectly paced" and said that the "understated" watercolors "shine with the quiet resplendence of happy family life." Ages 2-up. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

School Library Journal Review

PreS-K-Wanting to make a birthday cake, a youngster asks various animals to provide the ingredients, and they do. A chicken supplies the eggs; a bear, the flour; a cat, the butter and milk; a pig, the salt; a dog, the sugar; and a monkey, cherries for the top. The creatures then help the child make the cake, and help eat it, too. This is a wonderfully simple story. The soft watercolor illustrations are warm and gently humorous, particularly the depictions of the endearing animals, who stand on two legs and are just as childlike as their human friend. The preschooler's gender is nonspecific, which gives all children the opportunity to identify with the main character. A charming addition to preschool story times.-Elaine Lesh Morgan, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

Ages 2-4. A toddler gathers the ingredients one by one and makes a cake for his birthday with the help of his animal friends. Without being cute or condescending, Oxenbury tells a cumulative story for the very young child with clear watercolors and a simple, cheerful text. The telling has a satisfying rhythm and repetition. "It's my birthday and I'm going to make a cake," says the boy each time he names the ingredients he has and asks for the one he needs. The pictures are funny and surprising: the cat grabs the butter and milk from the refrigerator when no one's looking; the pig gets a pinch of salt from a friendly beaver family on a picnic; the monkey picks some cherries for the top of the cake. In the end the friends help the boy mix the cake, and he invites them all to the party to eat it. ~--Hazel Rochman

Horn Book Review

George Ancona and Mary Beth Miller Handtalk Zoo Illustrated with photographs by George Ancona. Molly Bang, Illustrator The Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher A Caldecott Honor Book. Janina Domanska, Author-Illustrator If All the Seas Were One Sea A Caldecott Honor Book. Lois Ehlert, Author-Illustrator Feathers for Lunch Denise Fleming, Author-Illustrator Lunch Kevin Henkes, Author-Illustrator Sheila Rae, the Brave Lois Lenski Sing a Song of People Illustrated by Giles Laroche. Margaret Mahy The Great White Man-Eating Shark Illustrated by Jonathan Allen. Helen Oxenbury, Author-Illustrator It's My Birthday Jon Scieszka The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! Illustrated by Lane Smith. Mary Wormell, Author-Illustrator Hilda Hen's Happy Birthday From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Book Review

A sweet young epicene sets out to bake a birthday cake. The little one is aided by a parade of animal friends--a chicken, a cat, a bear, a pig, a dog, a monkey--all of whom scurry about to pull together the various ingredients and then lend their expertise to the baking. The odd company gather on the last page to share and celebrate in typically cheerful Oxenbury (Tom and Pippo on the Beach, 1993) style. The pencil and pale wash illustrations are also distinctive Oxenbury: amiable, affectionate, and like old pals by the end of the story. (Picture book. 2+)