From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 1—Another tender offering from the creators of I Love You Like Crazy Cakes (Little, Brown, 2000). Here, a mother relates her thoughts and emotions on her daughter's birthdays, reflecting on the child's birth in China ("I wasn't there, but I was thinking about you as I waited at home to be your new mother"), recalling a first birthday enjoyed with family and friends, describing how her daughter became an American citizen at age two, and so on, to her fifth birthday, which is spent at a riverbank picnic watching a colorful dragon-boat festival. The text alternates between specifics of each celebration and a scrapbook of the mother's thoughts ("…I think about how quickly your gurgles have turned to giggles. It seems like just yesterday when I met you."). Throughout, the mother preserves her daughter's Chinese heritage and includes multicultural layers in her upbringing. Dyer's delightful watercolor illustrations highlight the most touching points of the story. The birthday cakes reflect the themes and add an element of fun to an otherwise poignant book. The pictures match the pace of the text, getting brighter and busier as the years go by and the child becomes more active. The book ends fittingly with the Chinese character for "family," which "is a synonym for 'home.'" A sweet, gorgeously illustrated book that's perfect for family sharing.—June Wolfe, Bushnell-Sage Library, Sheffield, MA
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*Starred Review* The cover, featuring a birthday cake and and an Asian girl wearing a party hat, invites the reader inside. A mother's voice begins, Every year on your birthday, I think about the day you were born. I wasn't there, but I was thinking about you as I waited at home to be your new mother. Mom recalls their special celebrations, and a cake motif records each snapshot moment. On her second birthday the girl becomes an American citizen; on her third, they fly a kite; on her fourth, she's given a puppy; and on her fifth, she and her mother have a picnic and watch the Dragon Boat Festival. Delicately expressive watercolors capture the girl's excitement and happiness. Beautifully designed with framed scenes and boxed sequences of her growth, this loving portrait of a single mother and an adopted child gently accentuates the importance of incorporating the child's culture into her new life. On the last page the Chinese character for family is painted; it is a synonym for home. In the same way that Amy Erlich's Zeek's Silver Moon (1972) broke ground depicting an unconventional family that reflected the times, this topical story, based on the author's personal experience, will be welcomed by families of all kinds adopting an Asian child. Cummins, Julie
About the Author
Rose Lewis, author of I Love You Like Crazy Cakes, has a Master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University. An accomplished still photographer and award-winning producer for WCVB-TV in Boston, she now manages relations for the Lahey Clinic. She lives with her daughter (upon whom her books are based) in Massachusetts.
Jane Dyer is the acclaimed illustrator of more than 40 books, including her own anthology, Animal Crackers, the Little Brown Bear books, as well as the best selling picture book, I Love You Like Crazy Cakes by Rose Lewis. She also lives in Massachusetts.
