Oscar's Half Birthday [Hardcover]

Bob Graham (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 10, 2005 | Age Level: 2 and up

Baby Oscar's half birthday is full cause for celebration in this amusing tale of an urban family outing, affectionately told by the inimitable Bob Graham.

"Perfect day for a half birthday,"
says Oscar's dad.
The birthday boy waves his wet fists.
"And a picnic," says Oscar's mom.

Oscar is six months old today, but the truth is that no one can wait for his whole birthday. So there's nothing else for Mom and Dad to do but pack some sandwiches, park Oscar in his stroller, and take older sister Millie — handmade fairy wings attached — to the "half country" of their urban park for a half-birthday party. As always in the warm, quirky world of Bob Graham, the joy is in the details — a stop in a graffitied tunnel as the train rushes overhead; the expressions on Oscar's face as he watches a single leaf fall; the little half candle on his cake; and the impromptu gathering of admiring park visitors who join, one by one, in the hearty birthday song. With his jaunty watercolors full of charming surprises and a gently humorous text, Bob Graham creates an endearing, unconventional family readers will be happy to meet, and they'll be tickled to join in their celebration.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

PreS-K. Graham, the author of Let's Get a Pup (2001), introduces a similarly unconventional family (both Mom and Dad wear their hair in braids), whose love for one another overflows the pages. The interracial family's star is Oscar; it's his half-year birthday. To celebrate, Oscar, his parents, and his older sister, Milly (complete with fairy wings made from hangers), head off to the park. The story ambles rather than actually takes off. The family crosses the bridge to the park. Traffic noise begins to drone, and birds can be heard. Once the blanket is down, Oscar attracts other picnickers with his cute looks, and everyone joins in a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday." Back at home, after baths, Milly falls asleep, knowing that her birthday will be next. More than in the events, the charm here lies in the ink-and-watercolor artwork, which highlights family close-ups and (literally) bird's-eye views of city life that subtly slide into a more bucolic setting. Equally important is the story's mood: the characters' happiness is contagious. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Bob Graham is the award-winning creator of many books for children, including JETHRO BYRD, FAIRY CHILD, winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal; "LET'S GET A PUP!" SAID KATE, a BOSTON GLOBE-HORN BOOK Award winner; MAX, a PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Best Book of the Year; and, most recently, TALES FROM THE WATERHOLE. Of OSCAR'S HALF BIRTHDAY, he says, "This book germinated from a perfect Sunday spent on London's Hampstead Heath looking at a birthday party close by. When the cake was produced and the well-known chorus began, the song caught like wildfire as most of the picnickers on the hillside joined in." Bob Graham currently lives in Australia.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 2 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick (May 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763626996
• ISBN-13: 978-0763626990
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 0.4 x 9.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #839,808 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Quiet enchantment, January 11, 2006

By 

Brenda G. Mcdonald "FatPossum" (Iowa, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Oscar's Half Birthday (Hardcover)

A young couple, along with their little daughter and their dog, celebrate their baby son's six month birthday with a picnic in a city park.

This story brought a long, slow, quiet smile to my face. Memories of my own days as a young parent came flooding back. This is a very simple story about family love and a sense of community. The patient, indulgent parents obviously enjoy their two little children, which makes reading the text and looking at the pictures a joy. The illustrations are lovely and uncluttered, I like that both the beauty and the gritty reality of the city are shown. (My only change would be to show more diversity among the people in the park - I was disappointed that everyone was white. City populations are generally much more colorful!)

Many picture books are full of weird creatures, slam-bang action, and excitement. But to a 3 year old child, the world is still so new and big that everyday life is already exciting - watching traffic, seeing planes in the sky, a leaf falling, taking a walk over a bridge and under the train tracks - these are wondrous things for a very little person. "Oscar's Half Birthday" captures this enchantment perfectly. This would make fine bedtime reading for small children, and big people too!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gentle family times, August 6, 2006

By 

Snow Wildsmith (Mooresville, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Oscar's Half Birthday (Hardcover)

This sweet, light little book is as airy as angel food cake and just as delightful. There's not a lot of story, just a simple tale of a family outing. Oscar's family is loving and caring and the depiction of almost-4-year-old Millie is very accurate.

"She wears coat-hanger fairy wings on her back and a dinosaur puppet on her hand. She's excited and the dinosaur squeezes Oscar's arm. 'Careful, Millie,' says Mom. 'A little more fairy and not so much dinosaur,' says Dad. 'But he's so CUTE,' says Millie. "I know," says Dad..."

An added bonus is that Oscar and his family are multi-racial, something not often seen in children's books. As a person from a rather...funky family myself, I also liked that Mom has cornrows and Dad sports a ponytail, but both are shown as loving, caring parents who act as any other parent does. A book that can be enjoyed by families of all types, especially if the older sibling is very excited about their new brother or sister.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice change of pace..., October 16, 2006

By 

DJ Joe Sixpack (...in Middle America) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Oscar's Half Birthday (Hardcover)

It's nice to see a picturebook set in an dingy, urban environment for once, rather than the endless procession of books set in idyllic, pastoral New England farmhouses with smiling, priveleged, upper-middle class nuclear families. Nice, too, that this hip, young "nontraditional" family is completely loving and sweet, and that the urban setting isn't used as a backdrop to hash out some social issues or whatever. City folks can have joyful lives, too.