Chapter Book Thursday: The Birthday Ball by Lois Lowry, Illustrated by Jules Feiffer

We have mixed feelings about this one, and we have decided it is the author's fault for being who she is. Lois Lowry has long been a name synonymous with good literature that makes you think and feel deeply, and - well - this is not that type of book.
 
It is, however, a very funny and charming story. Princess Patricia Priscilla is about to turn 16, at which point she will have to choose between three suitors, each more repugnant (and improbable) than the last. She decides to try the peasant life for a change, and begins sneaking out every day to attend the village school, under the tutelage of the handsome new young schoolmaster. You can see where this is going, right? Nothing about the story is terribly subtle, and the characters are not at all believable, but it is, as we said, funny and charming. Hand this to girls who like princess stories (or potty jokes), but don't expect them to remember the story a year later.
 
Completely unrelated favorite line: "You always knew exactly where you stood with a rat, and they were edible as well."

The Big One-Oh, by Dean Pitchford, as reviewed by Freaky

Not a brand new book, but one featured in the Scholastic Book Fair, which is going on at our library right now. I picked it up for a light read, and quickly became one of those annoying readers who keeps laughing out loud, but then tells people they have to read the whole book to understand!

Charley is a character many of us can identify with. Okay, maybe we aren't all afraid of birthday parties, and we don't generally answer the door crying and wearing a hairnet. We have all had times, though, when we felt a little out of place, a little lonely, and a lot like everything we try to do turns out completely wrong.

Charley is about to turn 10 - the "big one-oh" - and through a series of events ends up deciding to throw himself a birthday party. Some minor problems arise immediately - he has only been to one birthday party in his life, which turned out pretty badly. He has only vague ideas of what goes into a birthday party, but he does know you need friends to invite. That one would actually be a major problem, because he doesn't have any. No, this isn't one of those "gosh I had friends and didn't even realize it" stories, he really doesn't have any.

Mishaps abound as Charley sets out to make some friends, and ends up instead with a guest list out of a horror story - which just happens to be the theme he chooses for his party. The party...well, let's just say that part did not disappoint. I mean, it's not really a party until...but I can't tell you that part.

The other characters involved are sometimes stereotyped - the class bully, the drama queen teenage sister, the stressed-out single Mom - but they all have enough quirks to keep them real and interesting. Charley is real and endearing, as is the slightly odd neighbor Gary who he befriends. The book as a whole should appeal to both boys and girls, including those over the age of ten. There are plenty of disasters and groan-out-loud moments to appeal to the younger crowd, while some of the one-liners and familiar situations will appeal more to those who have 'been there, done that'. This would make an excellent read-together for fathers and sons.

Planning a birthday yourself? Check this site out for thousands of ideas: http://birthdaypartyideas.com/