Birthdays Around the World

Lankford, Mary D.

ISBN 10: 0688154328 ISBN 13: 9780688154325

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2002

Synopsis

Feliz cumpleaños!
Maligayang kaarawan!
Födelsedag!
Happy birthday!

Whether you're in Mexico, the Philippines, Sweden, or the United States, a birthday is reason to celebrate.

But the ways this day is celebrated are as diverse as the languages above. Here is a collection of birthday customs from seven countries, carefully researched and vibrantly illustrated by the creators of Christmas Around the World.

You will find information on the history of -birthday celebrations, superstitions, and even ideas for planning your own Around the World birthday party. This fascinating book will inspire you to see this special day in a whole new light.

About this title

About the Author:

Mary D. Lankford was the director of library services for the Texas Education Agency and received many awards, among them the Texas Library Association Distinguished Service Award. Her informational books for children include Christmas USA, Christmas Around the World, and Jacks Around the World.

Karen Dugan received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Parsons School of Design. Her artwork has been called "warm" (ALA Booklist) and "vibrant" (The Horn Book) and has appeared in publications such as Cricket magazine. Books she has illustrated include Mr. Tuggle's Troubles and Mary D. Lankford's Christmas USA. She lives in North Attleboro, Massachusetts.

From Booklist:

Gr. 2-4, younger for reading aloud. Lankford adds another solid title to her collection of books about international games and celebrations that began with Hopscotch around the World (1992). This time she highlights how birthdays are celebrated in seven countries--Finland, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Sweden. On each spread, she briefly introduces a country and then explores its birthday games, food, gifts, and other traditions. A succinct introduction gives an overview of birthday history, including holy birthdays celebrated by Christians, Buddhists, and other faiths, and Lankford reminisces about her own Texas birthday traditions in a warm, personal author's note. The collection of countries is a bit odd. With only seven countries represented, why choose two from Scandinavia? But Lankford selects just the right details to engage children's interest, and Dugan's colorful paint-and-pencil pictures of joyful celebrations will easily draw children back to the text. Sure to find wide curricular appeal; its attractive layouts and manageable length will also invite browsers. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0688154328
• ISBN 13: 9780688154325
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Dugan Karen