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Oscar's Half Birthday
Baby Oscar's half birthday is full cause for celebration in this amusing tale of an urban family outing, affectionately told by the inimitable Bob Graham.
"Perfect day for a half birthday,"
says Oscar's dad.
The birthday boy waves his wet fists.
"And a picnic," says Oscar's mom.
Oscar is six months old today, but the truth is that no one can wait for his whole birthday. So there's nothing else for Mom and Dad to do but pack some sandwiches, park Oscar in his stroller, and take older sister Millie — handmade fairy wings attached — to the "half country" of their urban park for a half-birthday party. As always in the warm, quirky world of Bob Graham, the joy is in the details — a stop in a graffitied tunnel as the train rushes overhead; the expressions on Oscar's face as he watches a single leaf fall; the little half candle on his cake; and the impromptu gathering of admiring park visitors who join, one by one, in the hearty birthday song. With his jaunty watercolors full of charming surprises and a gently humorous text, Bob Graham creates an endearing, unconventional family readers will be happy to meet, and they'll be tickled to join in their celebration.
"Perfect day for a half birthday,"
says Oscar's dad.
The birthday boy waves his wet fists.
"And a picnic," says Oscar's mom.
Oscar is six months old today, but the truth is that no one can wait for his whole birthday. So there's nothing else for Mom and Dad to do but pack some sandwiches, park Oscar in his stroller, and take older sister Millie — handmade fairy wings attached — to the "half country" of their urban park for a half-birthday party. As always in the warm, quirky world of Bob Graham, the joy is in the details — a stop in a graffitied tunnel as the train rushes overhead; the expressions on Oscar's face as he watches a single leaf fall; the little half candle on his cake; and the impromptu gathering of admiring park visitors who join, one by one, in the hearty birthday song. With his jaunty watercolors full of charming surprises and a gently humorous text, Bob Graham creates an endearing, unconventional family readers will be happy to meet, and they'll be tickled to join in their celebration.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
About the author
Bob Graham
91 books84 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
An Australian children's author and illustrator. His books include Max, which won the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize Gold Award, Jethro Byrd, Fairy Child, which won the Kate Greenaway Medal, and "Let's Get A Pup!" Said Kate which won the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award
An Australian children's author and illustrator. His books include Max, which won the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize Gold Award, Jethro Byrd, Fairy Child, which won the Kate Greenaway Medal, and "Let's Get A Pup!" Said Kate which won the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
May 20, 2017
I am basically in love with Bob Graham books. This is another stellar book.
I could literally spend all day viewing the illustrations, and then doing that over and over. He gets every little detail right; it’s actually amazing. I particularly like Boris the dog’s expressiveness. I find all the pictures incredibly aesthetically pleasing.
The story is wonderful because this family is wonderful. Mother and father are both fabulous parents, and big sister Millie and little brother Oscar are adorable, as is the family dog Boris. So much here will ring true to children who come from loving families. Also of note: the father is Caucasian and the mother is African-American, so both children are bi-racial. Nothing at all is made of this, and I appreciated that.
I particularly noticed and made a point of reading this book because when I was 5 ½ or 6 ½ my mother started a half birthday tradition: making a half cake. The first year she started this, it was a delicious, wonderful surprise. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about a 6 month old’s half birthday celebration, since he’d be too young ot understand its significance. But this story worked! The rest of the family could appreciate it, particularly Millie, and the whole family was able to enjoy the special birthday outing. I love how people outside the family joined in the festivities. Here a whole cake, but only a half candle, was used. I thought I’d like this book because it was about half birthdays, a tradition many of my friends have passed on with their kids and I’ve passed it on to kids I know, all thanks to my mother. The first time is always particularly special. But I didn’t anticipate loving this book as much as I did. Given the author-illustrator I shouldn’t have been surprised.
I also loved the ending, when we find out whose birthday and which birthday comes next.
The book’s dedication, referring to the dinosaurs and fairies that the character Millie enjoys, is lovely too.
4 ½ stars
I could literally spend all day viewing the illustrations, and then doing that over and over. He gets every little detail right; it’s actually amazing. I particularly like Boris the dog’s expressiveness. I find all the pictures incredibly aesthetically pleasing.
The story is wonderful because this family is wonderful. Mother and father are both fabulous parents, and big sister Millie and little brother Oscar are adorable, as is the family dog Boris. So much here will ring true to children who come from loving families. Also of note: the father is Caucasian and the mother is African-American, so both children are bi-racial. Nothing at all is made of this, and I appreciated that.
I particularly noticed and made a point of reading this book because when I was 5 ½ or 6 ½ my mother started a half birthday tradition: making a half cake. The first year she started this, it was a delicious, wonderful surprise. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about a 6 month old’s half birthday celebration, since he’d be too young ot understand its significance. But this story worked! The rest of the family could appreciate it, particularly Millie, and the whole family was able to enjoy the special birthday outing. I love how people outside the family joined in the festivities. Here a whole cake, but only a half candle, was used. I thought I’d like this book because it was about half birthdays, a tradition many of my friends have passed on with their kids and I’ve passed it on to kids I know, all thanks to my mother. The first time is always particularly special. But I didn’t anticipate loving this book as much as I did. Given the author-illustrator I shouldn’t have been surprised.
I also loved the ending, when we find out whose birthday and which birthday comes next.
The book’s dedication, referring to the dinosaurs and fairies that the character Millie enjoys, is lovely too.
4 ½ stars
July 1, 2019
A sweet story about a family that can't wait for a baby's first birthday . . . so they celebrate his half birthday. Their enthusiasm is so infectious, before they know it, a park full of people have joined in the festivities. A wonderful time is had by all, including the reader.
Has Bob Graham ever written a bad book?
Has Bob Graham ever written a bad book?
May 22, 2012
Another wonderful book from Bob Graham. I love his work! This isn't my very favorite of his, but it's still great and absolutely adorable.
How sweet is this beginning:
"Today is Oscar's birthday.
Well, not really his birthday--
he's only six months old.
The truth is, no one can
wait for his whole birthday..."
!?!?!
Oscar's mom, dad and sister make a picnic lunch and take half way to the country (for the half-birthday), to Bellevue Hill, to celebrate. Sister Millie, dressed in homemade fairy wings with a dinosaur puppet in one hand (love the combination!) is extra-excited. It's really cute and refreshing to see an older sibling so supportive and loving of a younger one, especially a (fairly) new baby. As is often the case in a Bob Graham book, there is a really cute dog and cool, caring parents who definitely march to the beat of their own drummers. I love the special little touches that just feel like "home" in the illustrations, like Oscar and Millie taking a bath together that night, or the toys scattered about the house, even the little peek of underwear sticking up above the dad's pants as he makes the sandwiches for the picnic ;-) Also, in this case the dad is white and the mom is black, so this could be an especially nice selection for bi-racial families.
I loved how the city and nature were not seen as mutually exclusive! The illustrations and text do a great job of showing the natural beauty that can be found even in a city.
The birthday celebration itself is fun and a sweet celebration of community and of loving someone so much you just can't wait for a whole 365 days to celebrate them! :-) What a great concept!
How sweet is this beginning:
"Today is Oscar's birthday.
Well, not really his birthday--
he's only six months old.
The truth is, no one can
wait for his whole birthday..."
!?!?!
Oscar's mom, dad and sister make a picnic lunch and take half way to the country (for the half-birthday), to Bellevue Hill, to celebrate. Sister Millie, dressed in homemade fairy wings with a dinosaur puppet in one hand (love the combination!) is extra-excited. It's really cute and refreshing to see an older sibling so supportive and loving of a younger one, especially a (fairly) new baby. As is often the case in a Bob Graham book, there is a really cute dog and cool, caring parents who definitely march to the beat of their own drummers. I love the special little touches that just feel like "home" in the illustrations, like Oscar and Millie taking a bath together that night, or the toys scattered about the house, even the little peek of underwear sticking up above the dad's pants as he makes the sandwiches for the picnic ;-) Also, in this case the dad is white and the mom is black, so this could be an especially nice selection for bi-racial families.
I loved how the city and nature were not seen as mutually exclusive! The illustrations and text do a great job of showing the natural beauty that can be found even in a city.
The birthday celebration itself is fun and a sweet celebration of community and of loving someone so much you just can't wait for a whole 365 days to celebrate them! :-) What a great concept!
May 14, 2017
Reread. Even more heartwarming and lovely this time. Tears prickled my eyes again. So much love. I wish every child, and every parent, could be part of a family as patient, as creative, as loving, as this one.
February 16, 2012
Oscar is turning 6 months, so his family leaves the compact city and travels to a park for a celebratory picnic. At the park, there is a strong sense of community as everyone comments on how cute Oscar is and joins the family in singing the birthday song.
Bob Graham's watercolor illustrations are detailed, realistic, and easy to relate to. For example, when the mom is barefoot, you can see the bottom of foot is a lighter color than the rest of her skin...this is the kind of detail that helps readers to connect with and identify with characters. I also appreciate that Graham portrays this young, biracial family in a positive light. Society would like us to believe that young, biracial families are all dysfunctional but Graham challenges this stereotype and creates a loving family that celebrates and cares for each other. Great book!
Bob Graham's watercolor illustrations are detailed, realistic, and easy to relate to. For example, when the mom is barefoot, you can see the bottom of foot is a lighter color than the rest of her skin...this is the kind of detail that helps readers to connect with and identify with characters. I also appreciate that Graham portrays this young, biracial family in a positive light. Society would like us to believe that young, biracial families are all dysfunctional but Graham challenges this stereotype and creates a loving family that celebrates and cares for each other. Great book!
April 4, 2012
Ellen chose this at the library the other day and I don't even bother to peek at her books before we check them out because I know by now that once she decides on a book it is coming home with us, even if it has 8000 words per page or the coherence of a prison tattoo. There is no talking her out of it.
I started reading this book to Harry at first. The kids were a little wild and I was trying to relax the mood a little before we went up to make dinner. It didn't take long before Ellen was sitting quietly next to me, asking to turn the pages.
It's a great book. It has a very nice rhythm, and the family in it reminds me a lot of our family ("Yeah! If we were hippies!" This is John's contribution to this review.) They are kind of hippies. The Dad looks vaguely unbathed and his underwear are hanging out on more than one page. The Mom has questionable taste in shirts (or half-shirts, if you care to visualize.) But they are kind and sweet and funny, and the kids are too.
There is a moment in the park where the family is singing Happy Birthday to Oscar and all sorts of people on the hillside chime in, and it made me cry a little. And then the baby fell over and knocked over a box of dog bones and the dog nommed them all up. And that made me laugh, because, well, yeah.
Good choice, Ellen.
I started reading this book to Harry at first. The kids were a little wild and I was trying to relax the mood a little before we went up to make dinner. It didn't take long before Ellen was sitting quietly next to me, asking to turn the pages.
It's a great book. It has a very nice rhythm, and the family in it reminds me a lot of our family ("Yeah! If we were hippies!" This is John's contribution to this review.) They are kind of hippies. The Dad looks vaguely unbathed and his underwear are hanging out on more than one page. The Mom has questionable taste in shirts (or half-shirts, if you care to visualize.) But they are kind and sweet and funny, and the kids are too.
There is a moment in the park where the family is singing Happy Birthday to Oscar and all sorts of people on the hillside chime in, and it made me cry a little. And then the baby fell over and knocked over a box of dog bones and the dog nommed them all up. And that made me laugh, because, well, yeah.
Good choice, Ellen.
July 30, 2018
This idea of 'half birthday' was innovative for me. I liked it!
At the same time the story is also interesting in that the family is apparently poor but they try to manage this half birthday for Oscar who is just 6 months old. So they go to a hill near their house and celebrate it.
A great picturebook!
At the same time the story is also interesting in that the family is apparently poor but they try to manage this half birthday for Oscar who is just 6 months old. So they go to a hill near their house and celebrate it.
A great picturebook!
June 2, 2011
YOU GUYS I LOVE BOB GRAHAM SO MUCH.
You see, no one can wait a full year to throw Oscar a party. It's adorable and sweet and kind of makes me teary eyed. I'm totally throwing my child a half-birthday picnic inspired by this book.
The thing I love about Bob Graham is that his families are shown in urban settings, doing things people in cities do (walking past graffiti covered bridges, looking at traffic and factories). And the parents in this one are biracial but no one makes a big deal out of it, it's just normal life (I can only think of one other picture book, The Hello Goodbye Window,like this). The illustrations are so intricate that you can spend tons of time going over details. Oh and in some of his other books the parents have tattoos but it also isn't a big deal.
Bob Graham is my go-to picture book author for urban hipster parents, basically.
You see, no one can wait a full year to throw Oscar a party. It's adorable and sweet and kind of makes me teary eyed. I'm totally throwing my child a half-birthday picnic inspired by this book.
The thing I love about Bob Graham is that his families are shown in urban settings, doing things people in cities do (walking past graffiti covered bridges, looking at traffic and factories). And the parents in this one are biracial but no one makes a big deal out of it, it's just normal life (I can only think of one other picture book, The Hello Goodbye Window,like this). The illustrations are so intricate that you can spend tons of time going over details. Oh and in some of his other books the parents have tattoos but it also isn't a big deal.
Bob Graham is my go-to picture book author for urban hipster parents, basically.
Read
November 18, 2016This book, although you'd think is about Oscar, is mainly about his big sister, Millie. Millie is an eccentric little girl with a dinosaur hand and coat hanger, fairy wings. She's excited for her little brother's 6-month birthday. The book follows this family though the city, to the park, where they have a picnic for him. The whole park sings for Oscar's birthday. The day ends with tired babies.
This book was very neat in lots of ways. The family was more edgy than most families depicted in children's books so it would be nice to have for diversity. Some students would probably relate more to these parents. It also talks about Dinosaur Millie, who is rougher and more cranky, and fairy Millie who is sweet. This would be a good way to talk about emotions in the classroom.
This book was very neat in lots of ways. The family was more edgy than most families depicted in children's books so it would be nice to have for diversity. Some students would probably relate more to these parents. It also talks about Dinosaur Millie, who is rougher and more cranky, and fairy Millie who is sweet. This would be a good way to talk about emotions in the classroom.
March 17, 2013
Ostensibly about Oscar the baby's half birthday, this book is really a love song to urban living, and the magic that the city holds. Oscar the baby is pretty much just busy bein' a baby (aka not really doing much of anything!), but his family is excited to make him a cake and take him on a picnic.
Bob Graham's characteristic illustrations are exploding with colorful characters and lively detail. Graffiti covered railroad bridges are treated with the same loving respect as the bustling city park.
Excellent readaloud for an elementary school class discussing birthdays, or city life, or babies. Nice representation of diversity without being a Book About Diversity, too.
Bob Graham's characteristic illustrations are exploding with colorful characters and lively detail. Graffiti covered railroad bridges are treated with the same loving respect as the bustling city park.
Excellent readaloud for an elementary school class discussing birthdays, or city life, or babies. Nice representation of diversity without being a Book About Diversity, too.
February 16, 2019
So adorable! It a very beautiful book with an eclectic city family who can't wait to celebrate Oscar's first full birthday so they plan a half birthday party/picnic in their city's local park. This was recommended to me by a friend and I will certainly recommend to others - so go check it out at your local library! XD
March 22, 2021
Saving this one to remember it. Very cute story about a family celebrating their son’s half birthday. My son couldn’t figure out who the dad was first in the pictures because he wasn’t expecting the long hair! Great book with a diverse mix of characters in the illustrations.
It’s great to have these books that show families come in different shapes, sizes, and colors.
It’s great to have these books that show families come in different shapes, sizes, and colors.
October 7, 2018
Published; 2005
Very cute and happy book to read to children. It has diverse characters, including the main parents are different races giving a different look for children then most children's books do.
Very cute and happy book to read to children. It has diverse characters, including the main parents are different races giving a different look for children then most children's books do.
September 8, 2018
Didn't like it
It had some rare words
But all in all, just too long
It had some rare words
But all in all, just too long
September 18, 2019
Good stuff! A nice hippie family takes the kids to the park and the whole community sings happy birthday to the new baby. Very cozy portrait of family life.
February 1, 2020
So cute! So fun! A little family enjoys the day and the whole neighborhood wishes Oscar a happy birthday.
#kidsofcolor
#urbansetting
#momanddad
#mixedrace
#kidsofcolor
#urbansetting
#momanddad
#mixedrace
April 2, 2022
Cute story about a family celebrating their baby's six-month birthday. Everyone in the park joins in.
June 9, 2025
I celebrate my half birthday so I picked this book up. The best part of the book is that it features an interracial couple. I love representation in childrens books.
December 11, 2016
This book is so pure <3
Lovely neutral depiction of a mixed-race family.
Lovely neutral depiction of a mixed-race family.
June 27, 2014
This is a gentle, warm book about a family of four celebrating a little boy’s sixth month birthday. We are never told why this is so important, why the family can’t wait until he is one year old. That, in itself, could generate some interesting discussion.
The mother, father, sister Millie, and baby Oscar go on a picnic. When the parents light a candle on Oscar’s cake, all the people in the park who have been admiring the baby, join in singing “happy birthday.” Millie wears fairy wings throughout the journey as the family enjoys such simple gifts as the wind in the trees, the roar of the train, and the sunshine in the park. The writing is, at times, pure poetry. “Oscar frowns in the dim light – six different expressions on his face in the time it takes a leaf to fall.” and “The wind carries their song up over the hill, out across the traffic, higher than churches and factories and apartment buildings. It’s sound falls gently over the city – so faint that, only dogs can hear it. And somewhere down there, the one who started all of this… the half-birthday boy, Oscar, sits tilted at an angle, his fingers curled into Millie’s tuna sandwich. His shoulders are hunched, his head nods, and the light shines through his ears, illuminating them like little lanterns.”
This is a story infused with gentle love. It would be a wonderful book to share with a child who has a tiny baby sister or brother.
The illustrations are soft watercolors, often two-page spreads. They are simple but engaging. The mother is of African descent and the father is of European descent. At the end, each parent is carrying a well-loved, sleepy child.
Highly recommended.
The mother, father, sister Millie, and baby Oscar go on a picnic. When the parents light a candle on Oscar’s cake, all the people in the park who have been admiring the baby, join in singing “happy birthday.” Millie wears fairy wings throughout the journey as the family enjoys such simple gifts as the wind in the trees, the roar of the train, and the sunshine in the park. The writing is, at times, pure poetry. “Oscar frowns in the dim light – six different expressions on his face in the time it takes a leaf to fall.” and “The wind carries their song up over the hill, out across the traffic, higher than churches and factories and apartment buildings. It’s sound falls gently over the city – so faint that, only dogs can hear it. And somewhere down there, the one who started all of this… the half-birthday boy, Oscar, sits tilted at an angle, his fingers curled into Millie’s tuna sandwich. His shoulders are hunched, his head nods, and the light shines through his ears, illuminating them like little lanterns.”
This is a story infused with gentle love. It would be a wonderful book to share with a child who has a tiny baby sister or brother.
The illustrations are soft watercolors, often two-page spreads. They are simple but engaging. The mother is of African descent and the father is of European descent. At the end, each parent is carrying a well-loved, sleepy child.
Highly recommended.
October 22, 2013
This was a book that showed multiculture through its illustrations more than the storyline. Oscar's family is biracial, urban and lower economic class (from the pictures). His parents seem to be young and carefree, kind of hippie. The family walks to the park to celebrate Oscar's half birtday. The illustrations show graffiti on the walls in their apartment and on the walls of the community they live in. They come to the park and celebrate and when they sing "Happy Birthday" all kinds of people at the park come and join in. Amonst the crowd there are other hippes, young children, young couples, old folk, and people from different countries. There is even a women with a headdress around her head. I had trouble turning the page because I wanted to see all the details of multiculture in the pictures.
This book would be nice to read to a class because the pictures are so authentic and true to the urban community. It would be fun to point out the different things that children see and relate them to their lives. A book like this will bring light to urban lifestyles and urban communities. A lot of children outside of the urban areas do not see these communities. This book would expose them to how things look outside their own community.
This book would be nice to read to a class because the pictures are so authentic and true to the urban community. It would be fun to point out the different things that children see and relate them to their lives. A book like this will bring light to urban lifestyles and urban communities. A lot of children outside of the urban areas do not see these communities. This book would expose them to how things look outside their own community.
June 5, 2019
August 2013 - I've read this one a few times, but having a 6 month old baby I was struck by how perfect Graham's depiction of Oscar is - "six different expressions on his face in the time it takes a leaf to fall," the way he wobbles when he sits and then topples over, chewing on the dinosaur puppet, etc. I also love the idea of celebrating half birthdays with a picnic, a cake, and half a candle.
July 2016 - since Ben is really into birthdays, I got this one again in anticipation of his half birthday. He loved lots of details in the story, the baby, their trek to the park, singing Happy Birthday. When I presented him with a muffin and a candle a few days later and told him it was his half birthday, he said, "no, Oscar's half birthday!" Okay.
May 2019 - I got this again in anticipation of Eleanor's half-birthday (which we celebrated with a cake and half a candle) and goodness, I still love it. I love the family that doesn't look like most picture book families, I love the sibling relationship, I love the way a baby brings them all together, I love Graham's mastery of both the tiny detail and the big picture.
July 2016 - since Ben is really into birthdays, I got this one again in anticipation of his half birthday. He loved lots of details in the story, the baby, their trek to the park, singing Happy Birthday. When I presented him with a muffin and a candle a few days later and told him it was his half birthday, he said, "no, Oscar's half birthday!" Okay.
May 2019 - I got this again in anticipation of Eleanor's half-birthday (which we celebrated with a cake and half a candle) and goodness, I still love it. I love the family that doesn't look like most picture book families, I love the sibling relationship, I love the way a baby brings them all together, I love Graham's mastery of both the tiny detail and the big picture.
April 8, 2014
This fiction children book was written in a third person's perspective on a bi-racial family. The parents seemed to be hippies by looking at how they were dressed, where they live, and were very lenient to their daughter as she had coat hangers on her shoulders so she would look like a fairy. Their community seemed to be full of graffiti and traffic all over. It was Oscar's half birthday as in it's only been six months but nobody wanted to wait for his whole birthday; so they decide to celebrate half birthday and go out to a picnic to celebrate his half birthday with half of a cake with a half candle in the urban city.
As a teacher, I could use this text to introduce urban and suburban as well as diverse families. Students can interact with this book by discussing where they live and how their environment is or how diverse their family is or not. The author, Bob Graham is actually Australian who writes and illustrate his own books. This book was very well done with many many details especially the first page of where you can see the whole urban city.
As a teacher, I could use this text to introduce urban and suburban as well as diverse families. Students can interact with this book by discussing where they live and how their environment is or how diverse their family is or not. The author, Bob Graham is actually Australian who writes and illustrate his own books. This book was very well done with many many details especially the first page of where you can see the whole urban city.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 13, 2009
Oscar won't turn 1 for six months, but his exuberant big sister, Millie, and his hipster-punk parents can't wait that long to celebrate the little boy's presence in their family. So, the four head across San Francisco for a half-birthday picnic in the park. Graham's eye for small-child details is priceless; the apartment looks realistically cramped and messy, Millie pushes every button in the elevator and spends the entire day wearing her coat-hanger fairy wings and her dinosaur puppet. The sense of joyous love and community is almost palpable in this book; the picnic in the park turns into a communal celebration, as passers-by singing "happy birthday" and admire the baby, and at the end, the children fall asleep in the living room as their parents dance together.
May 13, 2017
Beautiful. Lighthearted. Joyful. Both my students and I love the book -- especially because so many of my students make such a big deal about celebrating their half birthdays. Plus, the book offers the added bonus of featuring illustrations that vividly and beautifully present a middle/working class, biracial family living in the heart of an urban space. (I love the details -- the graffiti in the elevator, how you can find the Mom's sandals tossed aside in each indoor image, the toys strewn about in the apartment, Millie's coat hanger fairie wings, the sharing of parental responsibilities and obvious love in each illustration.) Such a happy addition to our collection.
Originally published in the U.K.
Originally published in the U.K.
March 6, 2012
Oscar's Half Birthday by Bob Graham was an interesting book to read. I didn't quite like this read. In my opinion it felt like the storyline was all over the place. This was a hard book to stay focused and follow along. The thing I found interesting about this book was that there was an interracial couple as the parents. I found that to be neat, because in most children's books it's a parent of the same race. When I opened up to the first page, I couldn't tell if their was a father, because the father looked like the mother. I initially thought that this was a lesbian couple, but I was wrong. I also thought the story plot was not anything special because I could not relate to any of it. I think children can enjoy it, I just don't think they will remember such a book.
October 23, 2013
Millie and her parents go to the park to celebrate her little brother Oscar's half birthday because no one can wait for his full birthday. The setting takes place in a urban setting and the parents are a young biracial couple that love life, making the story relevant to many readers. I appreciated that the author, Bob Graham, has created such an original book that indirectly tells a story of a loving family through his wonderful illustrations. I think this book will be wonderful to have in the classroom because it portrays a very diverse community and family while not being overly focused on differences like in real life.
April 23, 2015
Another beautiful life-affirming one from Graham. As usual half the beauty is in the pictures. Nothing much happens, it's just a family celebrating a half-birthday but it touches gently on love, siblings, gender, race, being neighbours and sharing and does it all so gently there is nothing remotely didactic. The urban landscapes are realistic and the invitation is to find beauty between and around and within factories and railway bridges and grafitti.
I do love almost four year old big sister dinosaur-fairy! And the clothes the parents wear. Lovely book celebrating everything that is or could be right with the world.
I do love almost four year old big sister dinosaur-fairy! And the clothes the parents wear. Lovely book celebrating everything that is or could be right with the world.
May 9, 2016
Summary
Oscar is 6 months old, and his parents can’t wait for the whole year, so they’ve decided to celebrate his half-birthday. His parents pack Oscar up and his big sister and they head to the park for a picnic and cake. Eventually the other park goers join in with Oscar’s family to sing “Happy Birthday”. Oscar is biracial, and you see Oscar’s mother in dreadlocks. Very nice story recommended for any mixed family looking for picture books for kids who look like them. But even if you are not, the story is warm and the illustrations very detailed. I can imagine sitting with my youngster going through the pictures!
Oscar is 6 months old, and his parents can’t wait for the whole year, so they’ve decided to celebrate his half-birthday. His parents pack Oscar up and his big sister and they head to the park for a picnic and cake. Eventually the other park goers join in with Oscar’s family to sing “Happy Birthday”. Oscar is biracial, and you see Oscar’s mother in dreadlocks. Very nice story recommended for any mixed family looking for picture books for kids who look like them. But even if you are not, the story is warm and the illustrations very detailed. I can imagine sitting with my youngster going through the pictures!
April 28, 2011
Oscar's half birthday calls for a celebration in the park. The family is altogether and finds a nice picnic area with lots of other families from around town. They all enjoy cake and sing to Oscar, and have a wonderful day together. The books displays great family time and is very up-to-date with an interracial couple and mixed children. It is great to read to children who may be lacking diverse knowledge, as well as those who see it all the time. It will make them feel comfortable and be able to relate to something in the story.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews