If I say so myself, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!"
To Shakespeare:
"A star danced
and under that
I was born."
Hopkins has selected a variety of poems to celebrate that important day for most children, a birthday. This is a small collection, intimate and fun, with illustrations of young children's antics on two-page spreads.
Represented in the collection are poets Myra Cohn Livingston, Aileen Fisher, Rose Fyleman and newer writers Sandra Liatsos and Beverly McLoughland.
"Happy Birthday" could find itself in many hands, including those of librarians, teachers and parents - and hopefully children who make a wish: "Each year I wish I'll grow some more and every year I DO!"
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROTTEN RALPH. Jack Gantos. Illustrated by Nicole Rubel. Houghton Mifflin and Co., 1990. $11.95.
Most children put on special manners and good behavior for a birthday, but not the incorrigible Ralph, the rotten cat found in a half-dozen other humorous books by this author/artist duo.
His "not good behavior" causes Sarah to threaten him with no party. Actually, he seems to have gone too far: "Go to your room . . . and don't come down until you have learned how to behave."
This warning will be familiar to some children, and they will delight when Sarah finally relents and has the surprise party that Rotten Ralph hoped for.
Now, will parents like the poor model that Ralph sets with his disobedience and tolerant owner? Sure, they will! Rotten Ralph is good for lots of laughs, and that is what birthdays (and the other holidays Ralph celebrates) are all about.
Also good for a lot of laughs is UNCLE ALBERT'S FLYING BIRTHDAY by Sarah Wilson, Simon & Schuster, 1991. $11.95.
When Jennifer and William beg for a day off from their bathtime - since it is Uncle Albert's birthday - the parents relent and pretend not to notice.
Then the baker, having slept poorly, gets confused and uses soap powder instead of flour for Uncle Albert's party treats. When guests eat the goodies, they begin "to rise up into the air."
The image of the party guests floating with soap bubbles being expelled from their astonished mouths will delight even the youngest readers. The punchline: "I knew they'd find some way to make us take a bath!" will not be unexpected!
- Marilou Sorensen is an associate professor of education at the University of Utah specializing in children's literature.