Review by Booklist Review
As Ginger's birthday approaches, she looks forward to her party. Faced with the choice of inviting all of the girls in her class (even weird Lyla Browning) or none, she asks them all. But at the party, the classmates Ginger had wanted to include do the most annoying things: peeking during Blindman's Bluff, starting the three-legged race without her, and turning up their noses at her favorite cake. Ginger's biggest birthday surprise is that her favorite guest is Lyla, who becomes her friend. The nicely paced story creates a series of small moments that make Ginger's emotional shifts seem natural and inevitable. Created with pencil, gouache, and digital collage in a simple style, the expressive illustrations capture awkward, sad, tender, funny, and happy times with equal facility. In an early scene, Ginger and Lyla sit at opposite ends of a long couch, while near the story's end, they both sit mid-couch as Ginger opens Lyla's perfect present. A fine picture book for reading aloud.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2014 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Ginger doesn't want weird, nerdy Lyla Browning at her birthday party, but Mom insists she "invite all of the girls in her class-or none of them." When her guests play fast and loose with her party plans ("Maya and Julia stuck all the tails for Pin the Tail on the Donkey on each other"), and the birthday cake is not a hit, Ginger realizes that Lyla may actually be kind of cool. Certainly, her present is: a handmade bird's nest worthy of Martha Stewart, with two malted-milk eggs inside. In a nod to geek pride, illustrator Mann (Turkey Tot), in her debut as an author, doesn't portray Lyla as a needy, sad wallflower-instead, Lyla is entirely self-assured and independent (though she's also open to making a new friend in Ginger). Mann understands well how peers can disappoint and parties can go wrong, and her scraggly-lined drawings, filled in with washes of soft color and set against white backgrounds, give a strong sense of Ginger's emotional vulnerability and the unanticipated possibilities offered by Lyla's friendship. Ages 5-8. Agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Ginger wants to have a birthday party, but her mother insists the guest list be all-inclusive, which means including weird Lyla Browning, who smells like old leaves. No party equals no presents, so Ginger relents. Not surprisingly, Lyla's gift is odd-two small candy eggs in a homemade bird's nest. Yet when Ginger's friends decide to play party games by their own rules (peeking during blindman's bluff, pinning the donkey's tail on one another) followed by mocking the birthday cake's unusual flavor-pineapple and coconut-Ginger begins to notice that Lyla really is different, in all the best ways. Solid narration is provided by Michele O. Medlin, who slides easily between snide comments from Ginger's friends to the sweetness of the two girls discovering genuine friendship. A second track with page-turning signals is included, making this a nice complement to the hardcover edition. This is a wonderful story on kindness, friendship, and the "gift" of individuality. A top pick.-Cheryl -Preisendorfer, Twinsburg City Schools, OH (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Ginger does not want strange Lyla Browning to come to her birthday party. But when her other friends disrupt Ginger's party plans, she discovers that she and Lyla have some things in common after all. Mann infuses a simple text with humorous details and insights, and her art combines pencil, paint, and digital collage to produce a quietly complex backdrop that echoes the story. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Two opposites may not be as opposite as they imagined in Mann's look at grade school cliques and oddballs. Ginger wants to invite all the girls in her class but Lyla Browning to her birthday party. Lyla wears drab clothes and glasses, and her affection for insects (not to mention pet tarantula) is certainly unpopular among Ginger's crowd of friends. But Ginger's mom says it's all or none, so Lyla's invited too. But Ginger's friends turn out not to be the best party guests, doing whatever they want and ruining the games. At this point, Lyla is just part of the background with her ever-present magnifying glass. But that changes when she is the only one to appreciate the much-anticipated "silver-and-gold cake." And Lyla's present turns out to be the most thoughtful of alla handmade bird's nest with two speckled malted-milk eggs in the center (two peas in a pod, anyone?)and the start of a lasting friendship. Mann's pencil, gouache and digital collage illustrations keep the focus on the girls, their bright clothes and accessories standing out against the white background. The placement of characters in page composition plays a large part in getting Mann's message across, girls either center stage or relegated to the background (if they're even on the page at all!). Readers may not look at their classmates the same again. (Picture book. 5-8)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
