Moira's Birthday

by Robert Munsch, Michael Martchenko

Moira invites grades 1 to 6 to her party. But her parents don’t know—until …

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Canada, Fiction, Humor, Juvenile, Audiobook

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Robert Munsch was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Fordham University in 1969 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and from Boston University in 1971 with a Master of Arts degree in anthropology.

He studied to become a Jesuit priest, but decided he would rather work with children after jobs at orphanages and daycare centers. In 1973, he received a Master of Education in Child Studies from Tufts University. In 1975 he moved to Canada to work at the preschool at the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario. He also taught in the Department of Family Studies at the University of Guelph as a lecturer and as an assistant professor. In Guelph he was encouraged to publish the many stories he made up for the children he worked with.

Munsch's wife delivered two stillborn babies in 1979 and 1980. Out of the tragedy, he produced one of his best-known books, Love You Forever. This book was listed fourth on the 2001 Publishers Weekly All-Time Best selling Children's Books list for paperbacks at 6,970,000 copies (not including the 1,049,000 hardcover copies). The Munsches have since become adoptive parents of Julie, Andrew and Tyya (see them all in Something Good!)

Munsch has obsessive-compulsive disorder and has also suffered from manic depression. In August 2008, Munsch suffered a stroke that affected his ability to speak in normal sentences. He has recovered enough that he is able to perform live, but has put his writing career on hold until he is fully recovered.

Reviews

[La Coccinelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who needs social media for a guest list to get out of control? Moira's parents told her she could only invite six kids. But then all the kids that weren't invited asked her to invite them, too, and before she knows it, she's invited all the kids from grades 1 to 6... aaaaand kindergarten.

The repetition and fun pictures are par for the course with this picture-book duo. I especially liked Moira's solutions to her birthday excess, though; they show some nice problem-solving skills.

Overall, this is another strong Munsch picture book, great for your collection.

Quotable moment:

The father and mother opened the door and saw grade 1, grade 2, grade 3, grade 4, grade 5, grade 6, aaaaand kindergarten. The kids ran in right over the father and mother.

[Sinem Gülen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moira is such a party girl!

[Sandra Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a fun story! This has problem solution written all over it! In each instance something comes up and Moira figures out a way to fix it. All because she wanted her whole school to come to her birthday party. I love to how there is an underlying lesson on inclusion and selflessness in this book as well.

[Little Miss and the Legomeister · Rating 2 out of 5]

That was one mighty chaotic party.

[Wetdryvac Wetdryvac · Rating 4 out of 5]

*blinks a lot*

I should never have studied economics. Not even a little bit. I simultaneously love this and am utterly appalled.

[Eileen Winfrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zany. Perfect for primary grades.

[Cindee Ketches · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute
(Need to make sure that kids know that they can’t just order a hundred pizzas or birthday cakes without thinking about who is going to pay for them).

[Stephane]

If there is one piece of advice I would have liked to receive before I had children, it's this one: be prepared for a lot of unsolicited advices, often from strangers.

And if I could pick another one it would be this: know that kids' birthday parties are HELL!

Thankfully I manage to avoid most (not all...) but we do have to have our own at some point... Kids birthday parties are noisy, messy affairs, full of screeching and crying. They chase the pets around, they break stuff and I am forced into conversations with a bunch of adults I barely know, our only commonalities being that we hate birthday parties... Its badness all around.

So this cute little story is a fair representation of kids birthdays. Too many kids, too much food and too many gifts. Fun times. Ari and Ari always enjoyed it and we read it yesterday for the first time in a while. It is a story that all kids will easily identify with.

[paige turner ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moira's planning her birthday party. She's allowed to invite six kids.

She invites 200!

That's a lot of kids. She calls places to bring her a bunch of food, but they can only carry so much, the kids go out and get more food.

The one thing I do not believe is that Moira said she couldn't possibly keep that many presents.

I WOULD HAVE KEPT ALL OF THOSE PRESENTS!

I love presents. I'm only greedy about it right now because I don't remember the last time I received a gift.

Anywho, she gets all of those kids to clean up her house, and they get to take a present home with them, which is fine I guess.

I love how the ending the rest of the pizza and the cakes come through, and she's just like "oh well, we're going to have to have another party."

I had a lot of fun with this book.

[Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first Robert Munsch book I remember reading in senior kindergarten and loved it. I used to read it to the co op teacher in our class and she was impressed!

Anyways I had birthday parties every year, but the one in this book was a highly exaggerated one, with great dialogue and illustrations. My favourite part was when Moira ordered 100 pizzas and birthday cakes after inviting the whole school to her party!

[Mike Masucci · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could give this book 6 stars I would! If you are doing this book as a read aloud, it would be very easy to get your involved. Asa teacher, you could do a birthday theme worksheet if needed. I liked the layout of the book and how certain parts were more emphasized than others. The pictures were very funny and the characters were great too. Overall it was one of the better books Ive read.

[Allyson Goose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny book about a kid who invites everyone to her birthday party, then how she and her parents manage the chaos. The kids shown are racially diverse, which is not always the case for books from the late 80s.

[Sayo -bibliotequeish-]

Robert Munsch was my favorite author as a grade schooler and my go-to during the scholastic book fairs.
Moira's birthday is a cute story about a little girl who goes a little wile with the guest list for her party.

[Phil J · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this very fun, silly book. The illustrations were lively and the text had just the right amount of detail. It was cool to read a book that is just about having a few laughs and not trying to be important. The author is apparently a national treasure in Canada.

[Debbie Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this for my kids who are in the school-age program and they loved it! The Silly fonts and using a different voice for each character really enhances the reading experience. A children's classic that every age will love and enjoy!

[Lee Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very detailed art, and a pretty nice story. 3/5 stars.

[Jaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

My kids loved this reading by Munsch on Tumblebooks. Predictable and fun.

[Lila Lovebug · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this to daddyo. Jan 11, 2019

[Sarah Acacia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was far more wild than I remembered

[Cyndy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A birthday party where Moira can only invite six kids, how could that be any fun?

[Moira Bindner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this hundreds of times. I read it to my daughter and do all the sound effects. It is so fun to have a book with your name in it.

[Tracy Schillemore · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can't go wrong with classic Munsch. I liked this book because the children can help make the door knocking noises and with the counting.

[readwithjesss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in 2000. I remember really enjoying this.

[Claire Pocock · Rating 5 out of 5]

fire book 🔥🔥🔥

[A.E. Chandler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably my favourite Robert Munsch book. Love the illustrations of all the food.

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book growing up and found a copy for Little One and he likes it too. 🥰

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

A formative tale of a little party girl. Who wouldn’t want 200 pizzas at their party??

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Moira invites a number of unexpected guests to her birthday party, it leads to a need for more pizza and cake. This is pretty funny and would be great for a lesson on multiplication.

[René · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un livre rigolo avec beaucoup de répétitions.

[Matt-hue Loose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Visual cacophony in the best way, WAY TOO MANY KIDS in every image!!
Well done, Martchenko!!