Happy Birthday to Me - Hardcover

The dreamlike, illogical quality of the text may pass over the heads of the preschool crowd (despite the parceling out of a few words per page); it's Sandford's (Tale of a Tail) art that's cause for celebration at this birthday party. "It was an ordinary day," begins Selkowe (Spring Green), tipping off readers to the extraordinary things in store. A bunny finds in his mailbox "a key/ which opened the gate that led through the garden/ to the great pink house" where a surprise party awaits him. Sandford grounds the enigmatic text with familiar flourishes. He populates the pink house with rosy-cheeked dolls that dance with a dapper brown bear, and three wide-eyed little pigs who can't wait to get their snouts on a rose- and candle-festooned cake. Working in muted tones that cast a scrimlike quality on the surface, the artist composes full-bleed, double-page watercolors from subtly distorted angles and close-ups, and embellishes them with extravagant, painterly detail such as drawing every leaf on the vine that braids through the pink house's ornate gate. Such tangible touches may be just enough to aid readers with the abstract twists of the tale. Ages 3-up. (June)
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 3-5. The preschool crowd will enjoy this playful picture book about a young rabbit who embarks on an enchanting birthday adventure after finding a mysterious key. He is eventually led to a magical room where dancing dolls, a juggling monkey, and other lively characters join for a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday to Me!" The entire text is one long, fragmented sentence set down on a flowing white ribbon swirling from one page to the next. The ribbon device nicely complements the words, which beg for a quick turn of the page: "It was an ordinary day . . . until I found a key . . . which opened the gate . . . ," and so on. Once the story is finished, youngsters will want to look more closely at the finely detailed, double-spread illustrations. Their eye-catching patterns and unusual perspectives combine with an exceptional use of light to create interest and add dimension. Lauren Peterson
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