Arthur's Birthday Party (I Can Read Books) [Hardcover]

Lillian Hoban (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1999 | Age Level: 4 and up | Series: I Can Read Books

Arthur the chimpanzee ( "Arthur's Christmas Cookies, Arthur's Funny Money" ) is planning a birthday party. After defensively putting down the "babyish" ideas of younger sister Violet, Arthur settles on the idea of a gymnastics party, where there will be prizes and he will win. Norman and Wilma and Violet et al enthusiastically throw themselves into practicing for the big day, with Arthur out of sorts because they are all too busy practicing to play with him. On the day of the party, Arthur performs wonderfully-but so do all his friends. Fortunately for Arthur, although Norman is best on the trampoline and Wilma and Violet are the best team, Arthur gets the prize for "best all-around gymnast." "'Just like I said I would!' yelled Arthur." Hoban manages to pull off the unusual feat of a complete and empowering absence of grown-ups by setting the book outside-mostly in the vicinity of Arthur's play structure and yard-so that the presence of adults somewhere inside is reassuringly implicit. The happy resolution is not at all bland: there are some realistic sibling tensions and less than selfless impulses along the way. A welcome, and perhaps last, addition to the series.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2?Hoban continues her successful series with this fast-moving story with lots of child appeal. Arthur is planning his gymnastics birthday party. He begins by showing off his athletic prowess in front of his little sister Violet and her friend Wilma. At his party, he plans to win the prize for best all-around gymnast. In fact, he brags so much it's a wonder that Arthur's friends even show up on the special day. At the party, however, all of the guests win a prize for their stunts, and Arthur is bestowed the honor he coveted. Hoban uses simple words and straightforward sentence structure in this easy reader. Longer words such as "trampoline" and "gymnastics" have obvious picture clues and are repeated frequently. Here, the artist uses more colorful pastels than in her earlier books. Action-filled pictures of various sizes appear on every double-page spread. Birthdays have always been a favorite theme of new readers and they will be happy to celebrate with this little chimpanzee.?Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Lillian Hoban's books for children have been working magic for nearly thirty years. Her illustrations can help change an unfamiliar setting-like a museum filled with dinosaurs and whales-into a wondrous adventure, and her words and pictures together can transform chimpanzees and badgers into very real companions for the youngest reader.

Ms. Hoban was born and raised in Philadelphia. Among the first books she illustrated were the ever-popular "Frances" books, and several years later she wrote and illustrated Arthur's Christmas Cookies, thereby ushering in her beloved 'Arthur" series.

In 1967 Ms. Hoban was asked to illustrate Will I Have a Friend? by Miriam Cohen. It was the beginning of an enormously popular collaboration that produced more that a dozen books about Jim, Paul, Danny, Anna Maria, and the rest of the first-grade classcharacters as familiar to children as their own classmates.

Perhaps the key to the unfailing popularity of Ms. Hoban's stories and illustrations is that she's long been a keen observer of children, having had firsthand experience raising four of her own.

Lillian Hoban lives in Connecticut.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers; 1st edition (January 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006027798X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060277987
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,021,634 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Unsportsmanlike behavior rewarded, September 21, 2003

By 

Eleanor Lin (Worcester, ma United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Arthur's Birthday Party (I Can Read Book 2) (Paperback)

The main character, Arthur, decides to have a gymnastics contest at his birthday party. He announces to his friends that he will win the award for the best all-around gymnast, and repeatedly tells them that he is better at gymnastics than they are. Then he spends his party sulking because they can do gymnastics well also. His friends then decide to give him the award for best all-around gymnast.