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Otis & Sydney and the Best Birthday Ever

by Laura Numeroff
32p. 978-0-81098-959-7.
COPY ISBN
PreS-K—Otis and Sydney are two adorable bears who are best friends. It is Sydney's birthday and Otis throws a special surprise party inviting all of their friends. When no one shows up, Otis realizes that he wrote the wrong date on the invitations. Otis hides and surprises his friend anyway, and they spend the afternoon playing games and eating the large cake as planned. Saddened that he ruined his friend's birthday, Otis admits his mistake and Sydney reassures him that he had the best birthday ever because they spent it together. Numeroff's concise sentences create a smooth read-aloud that may also appeal to emerging readers. Muted digital, pen-and-ink illustrations help to define difficult vocabulary such as "accordion" and "harmonica" while evoking cuddly warmth in the bears' big, smiling faces. There are a number of picture books about friendship and birthday parties, including David McPhail's Big Brown Bear's Birthday Surprise (Harcourt, 2007), but this one does it with an old-fashioned innocence just right for little listeners.—Kristine M. Casper, Huntington Public Library, NY
Due to Otis's mistake with the party invitations (which oddly goes unmentioned until book's end), best friends Otis and Sydney wind up celebrating Sydney's birthday all by themselves; however, because they thoroughly enjoy each other's company, Sydney declares it's still "the best birthday ever." Skillful shading gives the illustrations a distinctive three-dimensional look, though the two bear friends are confusingly identical.
Reviewed by Kristine M. Casper , Dec 01, 2010

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