You Have to be Nice to Someone on Their Birthday

by Barbara Bottner, Tatiana Mai-Wyss (Illustrator)

Overview

Rosemary reminds her brother first thing: you have to be nice to someone on their birthday. But then everyone else forgets. Her parents don't even say “Happy Birthday,” her teacher sends her to the principal's office, and the awful out-of-town cousins take over the house. But then, the next morning, Rosemary learns something new about how calendars work and she gets to have her birthday all over again.

Rosemary is a pip, and the story of her dreadful day captures how humorous kids' heightened disappointments can be.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780399242953
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	03/01/2007
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.34(w) x 10.14(h) x 0.36(d)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Barbara Bottner lives in Los Angeles, California.

Tatjana Mai-Wyss lives in Clemson, South Carolina.

Editorial Reviews

What should be the best day ever turns bumpy for young Rosemary. The night before her birthday, she's so excited she jumps up and down on her bed, reminding her brother Petey that he has to be nice to her. But the next morning, things go steadily downhill. Rosemary's horrible out-of-town cousins come for a visit, Mom doesn't make her the special breakfast she expected and she takes her bad mood to school, where it gets her into deeper trouble with her teacher, Ms. Swanson. When Principal Neeble informs Rosemary that it's Ms. Swanson's birthday too, the little girl realizes that she should have been nice to her teacher, and rushes to make amends. They share cake and confidences. Bottner offers a couple more twists in her subtle tale about feelings and friendships, and Mai-Wyss's busy paintings are full of sly jokes. (Picture book. 5-7)

Kirkus Reviews