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Big Birthday

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Big Birthday
by Kate Hosford
ill. by Holly Clifton-Brown
unpaged picture book
Minneapolis : Carolrhoda Books, c2012.

Annabelle has grown tired of having her birthdays at the zoo, every year the same thing. Now she is ready for something new and different. She has it all planned. The only thing left to do is convince her parents that a birthday on the moon is the perfect way to go. Yet she runs into trouble when her rocket ship won't start. Her parents finally give in and rent a space shuttle for them and all Annabelle's friends. When they arrive on the moon everything is fun at first and Annabelle knows she has made the right choice. Sadly, the party goes downhill from there. The candles won't light, no one can even eat cake and ice cream because they have to wear their astronaut helmets and her beautiful new party dress gets ripped when she tries it on. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea after all...there's always next year to try something new. The rhyming text is well done and makes this a fun story to read-aloud. The illustrations are colorful and unique, a nice compliment to the story. If you haven't read Annabelle's first try at being a unique individual, be sure to read Big Bouffant!
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