Cooking with the Birthday Bird

PreS-K--In this story based on Dr. Seuss's 1959 classic Happy Birthday to You, the Birthday Bird flies in from Katroo--through the window, of course--to bake a cake with the birthday boy. The two bake the Katroo way, which basically means using a recipe from the Katroo cookbook in a tidy kitchen; this is no Cat in the Hat--type situation. Then the two dance and play until the Birthday Bird must fly away, promising to return the next year. Roughly 100 simple words and an easy rhyme scheme, paired with whimsical pictures that directly mirror the written text, make this book highly accessible to inexperienced readers who will likely already be familiar with Seuss's visual style and rhythm. VERDICT A must for beginning reader collections. Seuss's picture book fans will transition easily to this easy reader, which makes it a title that will surely find an audience.--Jennifer Miskec