Celebrating Birthdays with Books

Happy birthday to those of you celebrating a birthday this month!

And if you are, we’re birthday buddies!

I love birthday buddies. One of my cousins had a grandson born on my birthday, and we’ve bonded over birthdays and books! For the first 5 years of his life, I’d send him a favorite picture book. Now that he’s getting older, I send him money to buy a book that thrills him.

In return, he sends me descriptions of books he’s excited about. Last year, he told me about history books. This year? I can’t wait to find out.

Check out these children’s picture books that explore various aspects of having a birthday. Books about:

• Adventure—such as Got to Get to Bear’s by Brian Lies and Happy Birthday, Cupcake! by Terry Border.

• Birthdays outside of the United States—such as Today Is the Day by Eric Walters.

• Birthdays that don’t go as planned—such as Two Speckled Eggs by Jennifer K. Mann and Bernice Gets Carried Away by Hannah E. Harrison.

• Celebrating your unique birthday—such as my favorite birthday book (so far): Ten Rules of the Birthday Wish by Beth Ferry and Tom Lichtenheld.

Celebrate your birthday with cake and ice cream (if that’s celebratory to you), and have a happy birthday with great, great books!