[LM_NET] BOOK REVIEW: Every Year on Your Birthday by Rose Lewis [Ages 4-8]

[Toni Buzzeo <tonibuzzeo@TONIBUZZEO.COM>]

Every Year on Your Birthday by Rose Lewis; illustrated by Jane Dyer 
(Little, Brown, 2007).  ISBN: 978-0-316-52552-7

The mother and daughter featured in I Love You Like Crazy Cakes make 
a return in this new volume that celebrates the first five years of 
an adopted Chinese daughter's life and ends with an illustration 
taking the two far beyond those early years.  Gently told, full of 
love and warmth, the book recalls the days before the daughter 
arrived, all the way back to an evocative pair of Chinese landscapes 
(Every year on your birthday, I think about the day you were born, 
how the sun must have shone, or the moon looked so bright.) and an 
orphanage crowded with baby girls, then several slices of family life 
since.  Frequent references to the adopted daughter's Chinese 
heritage are made without comment in a way that feels natural and 
easy.  The watercolor illustrations, less bold than those in the 
original volume, are befitting of the reflective tone and the 
underlying theme of beloved memories. The importance of family is 
underscored by the Chinese character for family/home decorating the 
final page.  Recommended for all collections. [Suggested ages: 4-8]


Toni Buzzeo, MA, MLIS <mailto:tonibuzzeo@tonibuzzeo.com>
Maine Library Media Specialist of the Year Emerita
Maine Association of School Libraries Board Member
Buxton, ME 04093
http://www.tonibuzzeo.com
Our Librarian Won't Tell Us ANYTHING! A Mrs. Skorupski Story, 
illustrated by Sachiko Yoshikawa (Upstart 2006) NEW! 

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