The Backwards Birthday Party

PreS-Gr 2—This is an admirably illustrated version of a catchy tune created by Chapin and Forster in 1994 on the album Zig Zag. Youngsters will delight in the story's wackiness: "On my birthday/morning/the sun/was/sinking/low./I put my clothes on inside out/and down the stairs did go." Nonconformity abounds with an incongruous progression of events and backwards text among the title and illustrations, along with the silly refrain "The backwards birthday party! The partyday birthwards back." The birthday boy, with his modish look, is surrounded by almost two-dozen happy animal friends in colorful yet muted tones created with pencil, Photoshop, and gouache. The detailed illustrations, the backwards text, and the illogical succession of events offer great opportunities for discussion, especially letter knowledge and narrative skills, and, of course, there's the added benefit of singing the text as well. Music is included on the endpapers.—Gaye Hinchliff, King County Library System, WA