The Meanest Birthday Girl
Gr 1-3-Dana is downright mean. Because she gets to do whatever she wants on her birthday, she pinches, takes her friend Anthony's dessert without asking, and name-calls. Dana is an ornery bully until Anthony gives her a white elephant with pink toenails as a gift. It needs endless love and attention, and Dana quickly learns to care about something other than herself. When another birthday girl needs to learn a lesson about how to act on her big day, Dana knows just what to give her. Schneider's watercolor, ink, and pencil illustrations have humor and sweetness: the cover art is hilarious and there is a lovely moment when Dana is depicted lying on a hill, exhausted, and the elephant's trunk is reaching around to take her sandwich. The small details in the artwork add to the character development; the ever-present Band-Aid on Dana's knee along with the horses and unicorns that decorate her room give readers insight into her personality. However, there are also oddities in the artwork: the vacant look in the children's circular eyes can be disconcerting. While this charming early chapter book is more a story about a girl and her pet than it is about birthday shenanigans, young readers are sure to enjoy it.-Laura Lutz, Pratt Institute, New York Cityα(c) Copyright 2011.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.  No redistribution permitted.