Customer Reviews

Birthday Presents

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have now found the perfect book to give to all of my friends and family members on the special occasion of the birth of a new baby! Cynthia Rylant's 'Birthday Presents' is a touching story about the beauty of family traditions. As a new baby comes into their life, the parents make each birthday special by giving meaningful, non-commercial, oral traditon gifts to their child as she grows up. Each year the whole family revels in the pleasures of the heartwarming tokens. As the child grows older, she realizes how wonderful it is to share important memories. The family is setting up lasting traditions that create a sense of belonging and a sense of joy. Finally, the little girl continues the tradition by giving the parents a very special gift for their anniversary. I wholeheartedly reccommend this book to anyone and everyone.

...Cynthia Rylant has created a beautiful gift - not for the child saying goodbye to five, but for the parents who are smiling through tears as they remember the transformation of their tiny infant to a full fledged "kid." ...

Wow! I picked this up by chance at the library and we read it on my daughter's first birthday (yesterday). What a special book! Both the story and the pictures capture little kids' personalities so perfectly at their various phases. The book shows a little girl's first few birthdays, starting with her birth, and emphasizes her development and the bonds between her and her parents. It's really more of a book about parents and how we love our kids than a kids' book, but my daughter liked it, too. It's a bit of a tearjerker-- keep in mind that it's an emotional time for us, since it's hard to believe that our little baby is a year old already-- but I got a little weepy and my husband got a lump in his throat while reading it. It's just a perfect book for us-- it captures our joy at our daughter's birthday and our nostalgia for the past year. Since it covers the little girl's first several birthdays, it also gives us a chance to look forward to birthdays to come. I'm so glad I happened upon it, and I'm now purchasing a copy to keep.