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Happy Birthday!

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The occasion of a birthday provide the opportunity to look back at the long days spent waiting patiently for the baby to be born, the special day it arrives, and the miraculous perfection of every stage of its growth. Soft, warm colors and cozy images are accompanied by a spare text that perfectly captures the all-encompassing love parents for their children. This birthday book will resonate with anyone who has loved a child. It is a gift that every child deserves.

32 pages, Hardcover

Published November 1, 2017

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Mamoru Suzuki

62 books1 follower

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5 stars
7 (15%)
4 stars
14 (31%)
3 stars
16 (35%)
2 stars
7 (15%)
1 star
1 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
Profile Image for PattyMacDotComma.
1,826 reviews1,099 followers
September 3, 2017
4.5★
Gorgeous little book to celebrate a child’s first birthday! Mother tells the story of how the child grew in her tummy, then hurried to come out, and was fed and loved and hit all the milestones.

“On this day many years ago, I was wondering when you were going to come out of my tummy. I had waited a long time.”

We see baby open its eyes, learn to kick and roll and crawl.


Illustration showing “And you began to crawl.”

This is followed by more great illustrations showing “You stood! You walked! And then you ran, ran, ran!”

I’m sure none of my family were running on their first birthday, but I’ll allow for artistic licence (and variation in development, of course) and say that overall, this is a lovely production!

Thanks to NetGalley and Museyon Inc for the preview copy from which I've pinched a picture. Due for publication in October 2017.
Profile Image for Carla.
7,973 reviews186 followers
October 12, 2017
This is a birthday book for a young child, perhaps a toddler. It is a love story from a mother to her child. The illustrations are soft and cute. I love the baby beginning to crawl and walk. Some may be offended by the birth and nursing scenes, but I believe that shows the love of the mother to her child. A great book for families. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley.
Profile Image for Schizanthus Nerd.
1,320 reviews314 followers
August 23, 2017
Happy Birthday! by Mamoru Suzuki is a love letter of sorts from a mother to their child where the mother recounts from the anticipation of her child's birth through to the child's ability to walk, then run. It then looks forward to when the child branches out on their own and assures the child that wherever they are their mother will always love them.

This book is intended as a birthday gift and children will love to hear about how loved they are. I expect children this book is read to who take everything literally will be eagerly waiting for the time when they gain the ability to fly as the looking forward part shows two children flying in the sky Peter Pan style. The illustrations are cute and use soft warm colours except for the end of the book when the Darling children follow Peter Pan to Neverland.

I received an ARC from NetGalley (thank you very much to NetGalley and Museyon Inc. for the opportunity) in exchange for honest feedback.
Profile Image for Deepika.
248 reviews87 followers
November 27, 2017
It's just not enough to say 'Happy Birthday' if your children do not ever become tired of listening to stories about how many hours their mums were in labour, how the babies looked, and how long did they take to crawl and walk and run. It might be a great walk down memory lane to keep them in your lap and relate the stories, but the experience could only be sweetened if there is a book with thoughtful illustrations to complement your story, and that book is Happy Birthday.

I have the book. Now where do I go for a baby? Fine. *calls her four-legged friend Anu Boo* :)
Profile Image for Tara.
1,244 reviews
August 28, 2017
I received this arc from Netgalley for an honest review.]
The mother tells the story of how the child grew in the womb and then began to grow. Beautiful illustrations help tell the story of a boy growing to his first birthday.
Profile Image for Krystal.
390 reviews24 followers
August 23, 2017
This heartwarming tale explores birthdays from a child's beginning out of the womb towards more independence.
Profile Image for Donna Maguire.
5,727 reviews126 followers
November 1, 2017
This is a genuinely heart warming story that explores a child's first year from it's birth to celebrating on the day - it is a lovely idea but wouldn't work for my daughter as sadly I had to have an emergency caesarean section and couldn't nurse as she was poorly and in the baby unit at hospital - but for other mums would be nice to tell their children about their journey.
Profile Image for Suzanne.
2,268 reviews46 followers
September 23, 2017
Happy Birthday belongs in that group of comforting books like The Runaway Bunny. The swirling backgrounds and the simple, uncluttered illustrations are soothing and easy on the eyes. The sparse text keeps the pages clean and uncluttered in their presentation. The whole creates an homey effect of simplicity. The narrative is a chronological account of a baby's birth and growth, showing milestones such as rolling over, walking, and running. The family dog and cat are included in some illustrations, and the mother appears on a few pages, but the focus is on the child. The message that the child has been loved from the beginning and always will be, "It doesn't matter how far you go; I will love you. Always."

The subdued palette of the background seems to encircle and cocoon the baby or child that appears on each page. And the cat seems patient with the baby rolling over and hugging it, while the dog is ready to play with its tail wagging at the crawling tot. Each scene is reassuring and warm. Some school libraries may have parent concerns over the page showing the baby nursing at a bare breast; they will have to take their community into account when deciding to order the book, but the image is tastefully done.

This is a book that parents can read with children, give as a birthday gift, and it can become a treasured keepsake through the years.

I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
Profile Image for O. D. Book Reviews.
156 reviews38 followers
May 21, 2020
This is a cute book that shows the unconditional love between mother and child, is full of beautiful illustrations, and has a sweet and simple message. The message is that the reader is loved on this (their birthday) and every day. This children's book would make a nice gift for a small child on their birthday. The illustrations are really precious and though the e-book version I was given for my review had some issues with displaying them, I bet as a physical book, with the images filling the page it would be absolutely beautiful. I can't really picture what it would look like properly formatted, but I bet it's nice. 

My only issue with this book is that sometimes the phrasing of things sounds a little off. It isn't an issue with the grammar exactly. It just sounds weird to me which was distracting. Maybe I was just confused about the imagery of the children flying away at the end, because everything up to this point was far more literal and reality-based. I think some people will be put off by one image that features breastfeeding and others will like it as a sweet memory of mommy-baby bonding time.

Overall, a cute book with great art and an affectionate message. If you are a new mom like me, I think it could also be fun to add in your baby's milestone dates to the pages where it says "began to crawl (walk/run)." Kids would probably get a kick out of that as they get older.

I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.
Profile Image for Storywraps.
1,968 reviews39 followers
September 8, 2017
This book is a love story from a mother's heart to her little son. It tells of her anticipation of his arrival and the nurturing and love she bestows upon him as she watches him grow. She tenderly nurses him at her breast and soon he becomes mobile, more independent and curious about his world around him. He then takes flight as he seeks out his dreams and his destiny in life.

She ends her beautiful narration by saying...

"It doesn't matter how far you go,
I will love you.
Always."

Unconditional love is always in her heart towards him and she has confidence in his happiness as he soars into the sky leaving her behind. The two cannot really be separated because their hearts will always be linked with a precious bond of love that can never be broken between the two.

This is such a simple book but the message is profound and indelible. The colour pallet chosen is warm and cozy inviting the reader to join in their lovefest. It enriches the uncomplicated text visually as the mother's very special and heartwarming story unfolds. I highly recommend this book. It would be a perfect book to give to a new mother as a gift as she welcomes her new child into the world.
Profile Image for Adrienne.
2,095 reviews16 followers
September 5, 2017
This is a celebration of the love between mother and child, as, on the child's birthday, the mother recounts waiting for the child to be born and then watching the child grow, ending with the message that the mother will always love the child.
I think the message is beautiful and the illustrations are sweet, warm, and soft. However, the delivery of the text and the illustrations sometimes felt a little off to me--for example, on the second spread, the text reads "every year a special day comes around" and there's a picture of a dog scratching his ear with his hind leg...and while it's a cute dog, what does that have to do with anything? I don't think things like that will bother children as they are read this book, but adults reading it to them might be a little put off.

I read a copy of this book via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Profile Image for Richelle Zirkle.
2,245 reviews16 followers
September 6, 2017
This cute story would be appropriate for a child on his or her first birthday. It would allow parents to express how they waited with happy anticipation for the child's birth and celebrated each first year milestone. The illustrations are okay. The color scheme is muted and has a soft memory-like quality. My first issue with this title is that the child it's intended for isn't really going to appreciate it in my opinion. I also thought it was strange that the child would "fly away" someday. Of course, an adult understands the phrase, but perhaps it would have been better if the illustration showed a young adult going off to college instead of two small children looking like they have leapt from a building and are flying through the air.

I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Profile Image for Autumn.
2,380 reviews48 followers
October 28, 2017
http://kachildrensbookreviews.blogspo...
We received this book to give an honest review.

A very cute story with very good pictures that tell of how your birthday came to be. From the time you were born to the time you crawled and so forth. Happy Birthday! Is very fitting for this story. There is too many words to the page and I think that is perfect for the younger kids because they mostly like to look at pictures. Now the only thing I will say about the book that may ask questions is the part where the mom is breastfeeding the baby. Now it doesn't bother me at all and I am all for it, but for some people it may.

I did like the ending where it says "Fly wherever and with whomever you would like! It doesn't matter how far you go; I will love you. Always." This is the perfect way to end this story.
Profile Image for BookishOwlette.
145 reviews4 followers
October 31, 2017
One Line Review: An elegantly written journey to and from a loved ones heart.

This is such a heartwarming, and sweet story. It is clearly meant to be read out loud to your kid, or baby siblings.  I love how nothing is really sugar coated in this book. Even though it is made up of short lines and mostly illustrations. It doesn't fail to discuss more realistic things that you normally wouldn't find in a children's book. Like starting out from the womb and making their way out into the world. She even mentions pooping! I'm sure that'll make them laugh! At first, I was really surprised by the nursing scene. Only because I've never seen it in a kids book before but I am completely on board with it.

I can easily see gifting this to early mothers to start as a birthday tradition.
Profile Image for Patricia.
885 reviews5 followers
September 11, 2017
Happy Birthday is a beautifully illustrated and written book, which is styled as a mother talking to her child on their birthday and reminiscing about them as they grow.


Whilst this is a lovely book and we enjoyed it it immensely there is one glaring problem – it's designed to be read on a birthday so it was a bit weird to read when it wasn't. And as most books that kids like (and I think many young children will love this) tend to be demanded again and again it would have been better just as a story rather than aimed at birthdays.


I received this from Netgalley for an honest review.
Profile Image for P.P. Rahayu.
Author 1 book39 followers
August 26, 2017
Happy Birthday! - Mamoru Suzuki

4 of 5 stars

I got this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

It doesn't matter how far you go; I will love you. Always.


A heart-warming of children book. I started to fall in love with the illustrations--especially the cat. A simple moral value could be delivered through this book. Even though this book is really thin, I still could enjoy it.

More review about this book, visit here http://prayrahayusbook.blogspot.co.id...
Profile Image for Mary Standard.
163 reviews17 followers
December 15, 2017
This is a cute book for a mother to read to her child every year on their birthday. The cover is beautiful and immediately drew my dearest making me eager to read it. The illustrations in will keep a child's attention making reading to them easier during fidgety times. This book is an excellent choice for creating a closeness between parents and their children. It would be a great baby shower gift.
Profile Image for JG.
1,494 reviews59 followers
August 23, 2017
This is a children's illustration book which is very good to give as a gift or in lieu as a card. The illustrations are beautiful and the prose that accompanies it, although short, basically shows how precious the child was from the time of birth, infancy and the present birthday. A great gift for the toddler ages and above.

*ARC provided thru NetGalley*
Profile Image for Laura.
532 reviews36 followers
August 26, 2017
This is such a lovely book! Short and simple, it takes a look back at the memories of waiting for baby to come along and the special things that happen afterwards. As mentioned in the book's blurb, the story captures that all-encompassing love that parents feel for their children, and as such is a wonderfully heartfelt book to share and read with a little one on or near their birthday.
Profile Image for ReadingWench.
2,112 reviews13 followers
September 6, 2017
I fell in love with this cover! This book is perfect for a child's birthday! It explains how they came to be your child in a soft and gentle way. HAPPY BIRTHDAY would be an amazing baby shower gift. The mother could read this to her child every year on their birthday. This book could become tradition.

Very short book of 17 pages. The illustrations are amazing!
Profile Image for Laura.
3,343 reviews107 followers
September 14, 2017
This is a sweet book, intended for kids to look at and read about their birthday. It is simple, and lovely, and easy to understand. It is about being born, pooping, and growing.

It is also reassuring, that no matter what, no matter where you go, that your mother will love you and wish you well.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
Profile Image for Erin.
1,551 reviews11 followers
September 26, 2017
The sweet, heartwarming story of a young child's beginning in the world, told by the child's mother. The illustrations are lovely, though may not be for everyone.
I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
3,334 reviews37 followers
August 30, 2017
So sweet! I would give it as a gift to my own child on their birthday! Illustrations are wonderful!
520 reviews3 followers
December 5, 2017
Not even remotely what I thought it would be. Cute illustrations but awkward and annoying birth story about fingernails and popping.
Profile Image for Ryan.
6,089 reviews33 followers
September 25, 2017
A simple happy birthday from a mother to her child. It is about the child's birth and growing up. I do not really like the art. Much of it seems to represent a womb or being enfolded in flesh. There is a nursing scene with anatomy on display that some may find inappropriate but others will find heart warming. I suppose you could say it's a spiritual celebration of life (not a religious one). For me, it's just not my thing.
Profile Image for Poongothai.
539 reviews48 followers
May 29, 2020
Letters from a mom to her child on his birthday telling about his growth with warm illustrations
Profile Image for Bookworm Blogger.
984 reviews34 followers
August 14, 2020
A beautiful story that explains that stages a baby goes through in its first year. The illustrations are simple and lovely, the story very easy to read.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews