We're having a party (for everyone!)

Narrator Lana tells dog Lemon (who is apprehensive...or is the apprehension really Lana's?) what hosting a party will be like. The predictions seem outlandish, but a vampire, an octopus, and others foreshadowed by Lana's toys show up and have a lovely time. A welcome mix of silliness and reassurance, with bold mixed-media illustrations complementing the cheery feel. Invitations and then thank-you notes add interest to the endpapers. (c) Copyright 2025. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

How do you throw a dinner party? Young Lana has some ideas. "Lemon, are you excited to host our first dinner party? Lemon? Lemon, where are you?" Lana sits on a bed in a bedroom filled with toys. Lemon the dog, however, hides under a pile of clothes and blankets. Lana reassures the pup that hosting a party is nothing to be afraid of and suggests ways to make every guest feel welcome. Lana and Lemon will have a blanket ready for Gramps, who's been known to fall asleep during dinner. The pair will be sure to introduce guests who have things in common: the astronaut and the Viking; Bigfoot and the ghost. Lana and Lemon will even provide eight napkins for the octopus and extra-long straws for the giraffe and the T. rex! Throughout the planning, the party itself, and the cleanup, Lana offers basic tips on party etiquette (take guests' coats and hats, thank anyone who's brought a gift). Childlike, mixed-media illustrations are brimming with clever details; many of the toys in the first spread will eventually be life-sized guests in the child's vivid imagination, and the endpapers feature handwritten invitations and thank-you notes. Lana has pinkish-tan skin; Gramps is brown-skinned and has a hearing aid, while his partner, Paw Paw, is lighter-skinned. Human guests are diverse. Whimsical warmth. (Picture book. 4-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.