Big Birthday Wishes

Written by Yolanda T. Marshall

Illustrated by Daria Lavrova

Chalkboard Publishing

978-1-771058957

40 pp.

Ages 4–9

June 2025

 

Ah, if only those wishes made by blowing out a candle on a birthday cake could come true! For seven children celebrating their birthdays all on the same day, it would be an amazing surprise.

From Big Birthday Wishes, written by Yolanda T. Williams, illustrated by Daria Lavrova

When a new baker opens in Fitts Village, his display of BIG birthday cakes and the aromas emanating from within attract many a customer. In fact, the parents of friends Elijah, Noah, Lisha, Mia, Liam, Pierre, and Adeya decide to purchase a unique cake for each child, with Mr. Mayers, the baker, promising them, "Magic in every slice!"

From Big Birthday Wishes, written by Yolanda T. Williams, illustrated by Daria Lavrova

All the kids and their families and friends come together for one big celebration. After the birthday song, each child makes a wish and blows out the candles on their cake. With that, the mayhem begins. Elijah wishes for a colossal cake that drops from the sky and overwhelms the guests and the room. Noah wishes for super leaping powers which land him in the enormous cake. For each child, there's a BIG birthday wish and a POOF! as it comes true.

From Big Birthday Wishes, written by Yolanda T. Williams, illustrated by Daria Lavrova

What do the children wish for? Their wishes are only limited by their imaginations. Some wish for copious amounts of favourite foods, others for things for playful fun, and some go for the fantastical. But with each fulfilled wish, the chaos grows until they have "created a sticky, fiery mess, making everyone frazzled and uncomfortable." Unfortunately, the parents are displeased, and demand Mr. Mayers make restitution. Mr. Mayers finds a way to make things right but reminds them all: "Be careful what you wish for..."

From Big Birthday Wishes, written by Yolanda T. Williams, illustrated by Daria Lavrova

Kids will love the ridiculousness of a story in which birthday wishes come true. They'll recognize all the crazy wishes they might make given the chance. The silliness comes out in the realization that sometimes wishes go awry or aren't exactly what you thought they might be. Just as she did in her earlier books, including What's in the Cookie Tin? and Hot Cross Buns for Everyone!, Yolanda T. Marshall taps into children's imaginations and whims, giving us a story with the spirit of mischievous and creative thinking. That ebullience of spirit shows in the art of Amsterdam's Daria Lavrova. She uses colour and shape as if they were alive, springing from the pages in organized chaos, both joyous and amusing.

I'll be celebrating my own birthday this month and I could only wish for a big birthday cake similar to those in Yolanda T. Marshall's story, courtesy of Daria Lavrova's artistic flair. For a child having a birthday, Big Birthday Wishes will be a treat to read and to spark their imagination for that next big wish. Maybe their caregivers will help them bake a cake–recipe for yogurt-almond cake included–or try one of the other activities Yolanda T. Marshall suggests. Whichever way Big Birthday Wishes is used, it will inspire children to find the magic in their birthday wishes, real or not. 

Today is the Day

Written by Eric Walters

Illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes

Tundra Books

978-1-77049-648-4

32 pp.

Ages 6-9

October, 2015 

That's Mutanu on the cover of Today is the Day, and she is bursting with joy because today really is the day.  It's the day that has been designated as her birthday and those of other orphans since their arrival at the orphanage in Kikima.  Like many children in rural Kenya, Mutanu's birthday was never noted or written down or celebrated.  But everything in her life has changed since she came to live at the orphanage, a real institution created by the Creation of Hope project.  Now that she has been there almost a year, she will be able to partake in the glorious celebration of their births.

Eric Walters and illustrator Eugenie Fernandes take the reader through Mutanu's regular day of chores–sweeping the yard, feeding the orphanage dog Rafiki, a new mother–and acknowledging the birth days of the new puppies and the new baby calf.  New lives at the orphanage–puppies, calves, kittens, kids, and lambs–are joyfully acknowledged by the girl whose new life began when her own grandmother had grown too old and frail to care for her after the child's parents died. But today, her grandmother and the numerous relatives of the children who live at the orphanage come to help the 150 children celebrate.  There are bags with gifts for each child, and party hats, and, most importantly for Mutanu, there is cake, many cakes, and the singing of the birthday song to themselves.  Mutanu's joy is boundless.

From Today is the Day, written by Eric Walters, illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes

Just like the celebration in which all revel, Today is the Day is a celebration itself.  It celebrates the children who deserve to be recognized with a birthday and a birth certificate. It celebrates the Creation of Hope project for the good work it does.  And it celebrates the hope and joy that Eric Walters and Eugenie Fernandes bring forth in their writing and artistic talents respectively.  Today is the Day is to be celebrated in so many ways.