Chloë's Birthday . . . and Me

Chloë's Birthday . . . and Me

Jealous that her sister is getting all the attention for her birthday, Giselle is unhappy with all the work that is going into the festivities, but after finding just the perfect gift, Giselle gets a grip on her feelings and begins to look forward to her sister's surprise in seeing a bottle of perfume with her own name on it. PreSchool-Grade 3–In this follow-up to The Year I Didn't Go to School (Atheneum, 2002), Potter is living in France with her family. Jealous that it's her sister's birthday and not her own, Giselle nonetheless goes into town with her mother to find the perfect gift. On the big day, the family takes a trip to the beach, where Giselle decides to hide Chloë's present and nearly ruins the surprise. After the girls and their parents dig around in the sand looking for it, with no success, the younger girl finds the colorfully wrapped box by accident, to everyone's relief. The naive artwork, executed in pencil, ink, gouache, gesso, and watercolor, is colorful and interesting. The illustrations bring the setting to life and provide glimpses of the local culture. The endpapers feature some of the author's mementos, such as a ticket to the Jardin du Luxembourg, a French-English grocery list, and several paintings. A map of France on the back cover traces the family's journey to the shore. This refreshingly candid picture of a sibling relationship can be used in conjunction with the memoirs of other children's writers, such as Alison Lester's My Farm (Houghton, 1994), Patricia Polacco's My Rotten, Redheaded Older Brother (S & S, 1994), and Tomie dePaola's autobiographical series (Putnam). –Jane Barrer, Washington Square Village Creative Steps, New York City Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Used Book in Good Condition