Three Cheers for Catherine The Great! [Hardcover]

DK Publishing (Author)

Book Description

A little English, a little Russian, and a lot of heart make a birthday celebration you won't want to miss! When Sara's grandma, Catherine the Great, suddenly announces, "This year for my birthday, I want no presents! I have music in my Russian bones, and laughing in my heart. I have the day and the night, and I have all of you," Sara is surprised. How can Grandma have a birthday party with no presents?" Her mama explains that a NO PRESENT can be anything from a kiss or a hug to a game of gin rummy -- as long as it comes from deep inside you. But what kind of NO PRESENT would be good enough for Catherine the Great? Mr. Minsky, Monica, and her dad, Mary Caruso and her baby, Mimmo, already have good ideas. But it isn't until Sara is surrounded by Grandma's bundles of Russian newspapers and books that she gets her won idea: She will teach Grandma to read and write English. This lively borscht-and-blintzes birthday celebration shows that sometimes NO PRESENTS can be the best presents of all.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

It's Sara's Russian grandma's birthday, and she has made a proclamation: "I have music in my Russian bones, and laughing in my heart. I have the day and the night, and I have all of you. That's why for me the best presents will be no presents." No presents? Sara is baffled. Her amazing grandma gives so much to everyone. How can they have a birthday party for her without gifts? Sara realizes that any "no present" for Grandma has to be pretty special. And the "no present" she finally gives is the best kind of all.

With deep warmth and love, Cari Best captures the sweet bond between grandmother and granddaughter. Set in an urban apartment building, with quirky, friendly neighbors, the story digs around family roots, portraying the trunk, branch, and blossoms of an immigrant family tree. Best's first picture book, Taxi! Taxi!, won the Ezra Jack Keats Award. Giselle Potter's art frequently appears in The New Yorker, and one of the picture books she illustrated, Gabriella's Song, was an ALA Notable Book. Here, her eye-catching watercolors invite young readers to join the neighborhood in celebrating the great Catherine's birthday. Includes a recipe for Russian borscht! (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter

From Publishers Weekly

Best (Last Licks) and Potter (When Agnes Caws) join their considerable talents for a not-to-be-missed borscht-and-blintzes birthday party for a hardworking Russian grandmother. The tenants in Sara's apartment building have all been invited to Grandma Catherine's party, and Grandma has insisted there be no presents. Sara (along with the neighbors) decides to study Grandma so she can think up the perfect "no present." Over the course of the week, Grandma plays a Russian clapping song to quiet Mary Caruso's baby, Mimmo; bakes a sardine pie for Mr. Minsky's cat; and listens as Sara recites her poems. Best's folksy tale is freckled with offbeat imagery (an "alphabet moon" describes a C-shaped crescent) and appealing human and animal characters. Potter's delectably skewed watercolors extend the intimacy of Best's narrative and capture the tender bond between Sara and Grandma. Patterns of flowers and stripes, stars and polka dots run riot on dresses, rugs and even Grandma's underpants ("as big as tents and as loud as six firecrackers on the Fourth of July"). Such details as Russian nesting dolls, Grandma's "saving jars" and short Russian phrases followed by their English equivalents, contrasting with the contemporary lifestyles of the building residents, heighten the sense of two worlds harmoniously coexisting. Three cheers indeed! Ages 4-8. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: DK CHILDREN; 1st edition (September 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789426226
• ISBN-13: 978-0789426222
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 10.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,262,717 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:

4.0 out of 5 stars Really original and fun., August 13, 2003

By 

traceybeehive "traceybeehive" (Laguna Beach, Calif.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Three Cheers for Catherine The Great! (Hardcover)

The 4 year old I am a nanny to has asks me to read this to her over and over and I am happy to because it is so charming.
It is grandmas birthday and she wants "no presents". By the end of the story she is given things of real value by her family like a poem, a dance and best of all, the gift of a new language. It holds a wonderful sentiment for kids. But, don't expect miracles....when I asked the little girl if we should make her 5th birthday a "no present" birthday she quickly said, "NO!"
A must have for any kids library.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Your presence, not your presents is required, November 3, 2004

By 

E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird" (Manhattan, NY) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Three Cheers for Catherine the Great! (Paperback)

Some picture books find a variety of different ways to incorporate words from other languages into their text and pictures. For example, Simms Taback's, "Joseph Had a Little Overcoat" cleverly combines Hebrew texts and pictures throughout the story. I expected something similar with Cari Best's, "Three Cheers For Catherine the Great!" so I wasn't surprised when I came across pages where Russian script dots books and writings. Though the cover illustration of this book initially gave me half a moment's concern (the characters in this story all sport thick eyebrows and slitted eyes that make them look more than a little devious) I found the story to be warm, inviting, and just a mite bit touching. It's a beautiful tribute to one granddaughter's love of her grandmother.

Sara has a slight problem. It's her grandmother Catherine's birthday and the elder woman has made a very odd request. For her party she has made it very clear that she would like a party of "no presents". When confused by this request, Sara's mom explains that, "A good NO PRESENT can by anything from a kiss or a hug to a game of gin rummy". This makes more sense to Sara, but she has some difficulty coming up with something. After all, her downstairs neighbors know what they'll do. So do her upstairs neighbors. Finally, our heroine figures it out. She knows the perfect gift to give to her grandmother. One that will keep on giving and giving long after her birthday's past.

The book summarizes neatly the experience many immigrants went through to come to the United States. Catherine, it is explained, was known as Ekaterina and was renamed once she arrived in America. Kids are allowed to draw their own conclusions on whether or not THAT was a good idea. There's a nice bit of give and take between the neighbors of Sarah and Catherine herself. I liked the relationship between the hair stylist father and his young daughter, for example. The book seemed to display a gay father and his offspring in a clear accepting light. The pictures in this story slowly grow on you. Without reading the book they're initially a bit shocking. Characters are never more frightening than when they smile, for some reason. Yet these illustrations by Giselle Potter contain a great deal of love and affection in them. From the cut-away expansive shots that reveal what each character is doing in his or her apartment to the playful illustrations of Sara playing Gypsy dress-up with her grandmother, these are calm lovely images.

I recently read "Abuela" by Arthur Dorros, a story that is also about the close relationship between a grandmother and granddaughter. Though this story lacks the visual punch of Dorros' creation, it contains the same touching affection between two vastly different generations. For any family in which the grandparents are from another land, this book would make for fine reading. For anyone else, it's just a well-written interesting story.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gifts from the Heart, September 2, 2000

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Three Cheers for Catherine The Great! (Hardcover)

A heartwarming story for all ages about people who give the greatest gifts of all - their kindness and sharing of their unique God-given talents.