American children may find it hard to believe that in some cultures, birthdays aren't even celebrated, such as Vietnam, where everyone's birthday is on New Year's Day. Use this list of titles to get kids thinking about why birthdays are important to them, and discuss how their families observe birthdays.
KHAN, Rukhsana. Big Red Lollipop. Illus. by Sophie Blackall. Viking. 2010. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-670-06287-4.
PreS-Gr 4-Learning about traditions in a new country is often left to children who are more quickly assimilated into society than their caregivers. Khan used an event from her own life as a child of Pakistani parents to create the story of Rubina, who is forced to take her younger sister Sana to a birthday party. Her mother doesn't understand why this is wrong, and the day ends badly for all involved. When the tables are turned and Sana is asked to take her baby sister to a party, Rubina steps in. Blackall's illustrations create a warm and humorous backdrop for Khan's thoughtful title.
LUCAS, David. Cake Girl. Illus. by the author. FSG. 2009. Tr $15.95. ISBN 978-0-374-39909-2.
PreS-Gr 1-A seemingly mean witch starts to transform after she creates a cake girl to help her celebrate an otherwise forgotten birthday. What joy this girl brings! Rather than consume the cake girl, the witch "adopts" her and allows this precious friend to use her magic to become whatever she wants. The cake girl choose to be an orange calico cat. This is a wonderful story about finding a new friend and leaving one's old persona behind.
RODMAN, Mary Ann. A Tree for Emmy. Peachtree. Illus. by Tatjana Mai-Wyss. 2009. Tr $15.95. ISBN 978-1-56145-475-4.
PreS-Gr 3-There are lots of things that kids wish for on their birthdays: a pony, a big party, or maybe a trip to the zoo. But Emmy wishes for a tree, a duplicate of the mimosa tree that grows in her beloved grandmother's backyard. When her family goes shopping to find one, they are told since mimosas grow wild, stores don't sell them. Luckily, a young mimosa is found sprouting under Emmy's favorite tree, and is soon planted "under my window...where I can see it all the time." Mai-Wyss's watercolor and collage illustrations are full of color and light, a perfect match for this sweet story.
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