When’s My Birthday?
by Julie Fogliano; illus. by Christian Robinson
Preschool   Porter/Roaring Brook    40 pp.
9/17    978-1-62672-293-4    $17.99

When it comes to young children, there is one day that supersedes all others: the birthday. Fogliano understands the singular focus children have for this day and captures that intensity by repeating the word birthday with a playful obsessiveness: “when’s my birthday? / where’s my birthday? / how many days until / my birthday?” Her rhythmic, stream-of-consciousness text (which displays a Ruth Krauss–like insight into the child psyche) makes this a strong read-aloud that invites the reader to practically sing the words. Robinson mixes his signature cut-paper and paint style with some more photo-collage elements — pictures of actual sandwiches, real string, etc. — giving the illustrations an added layer of texture. In them an eclectic cast of characters, both human and animal, joins in the unbearable anticipation — imagining the presents, the party guests, the food (including the all-important birthday cake) — before arriving at the big day itself: “happy happy! / hee! hee! hee! / time for cakey / wakey wakey / happy happy day to me!” The unique trim size conjures the look of a birthday card: with its tall, thin dimensions, you almost expect a crisp dollar bill to be tucked between the pages.

From the September/October 2017 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.

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