Birthdays: Beyond Cake and Ice Cream

by Nikki Tate, Dani Tate-Stratton

Overview

Inspired by memories of fantastic family birthday parties, mother-and-daughter team Nikki Tate and Dani Tate-Stratton researched the history of birthdays in order to answer such questions as, How much does where you grow up influence the way you celebrate getting a year older? Have people always celebrated birthdays? The more they investigated, the more they realized that there's a lot more to birthdays than cake, presents, a few games and perhaps a goody bag. They discovered there are as many ways to observe birthdays as there are places in which to do it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781459812994
Publisher:	Orca Book Publishers
Publication date:	03/07/2017
Series:	Orca Origins Series , #3
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	80
Lexile:	1180L (what's this?)
File size:	7 MB
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Nikki Tate is the author of more than 30 books, most of which are for children and teens. Her Footprints title, Deep Roots: How Trees Sustain Our Planet, received several award nominations and was named by the New York Public Library as one of 2016’s Best 100 Books for Kids. She lives in Canmore, Alberta.

Dani Tate-Stratton lives with her husband in Victoria, British Columbia, but is always plotting her next trip. When she isn’t exploring other cities, she is a graphic designer, writer, compulsive crafter and devoted dog mom.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter One: The Birth of Birthdays

• Party Like an Egyptian
• When in Rome
• Ancient Greek Birthday Festivals
• The Early Middle Ages
• What Day Is It?
• The Renaissance
• The Industrial Revolution
• Good Times or Sad?
• Big Birthday Bashes—Commemorating History

Chapter Two: Celebrating Birthdays Around the World

• Keeping Track of Birthdays
• Who’s on the Guest List?
• Invitations
• Let’s Eat!
• Birthday Gifts
• Fun and Games
• Making the Birthday Person Feel Special
• Celebrating at School
• Birthday Songs
• Stevie's Story
• Hoka's Story

Chapter Three: Milestone Birthdays

• Welcome, Baby!
• Alive and Well and Ready to Celebrate
• That’s One Big Party!
• Say Goodbye to the Past
• What Does the Future Hold?
• Coming of Age
• Growing Up Can Be Painful
• Don’t Lose Your Key!
• Time to Tidy Up!
• Respecting Your Elders
• Ana's Story
• Dani's Story

A final word from the authors
Glossary
References and Resources
Index
Acknowledgments

Editorial Reviews

"These personalized anecdotes capture the essence of what makes these celebrations special and piques the interest of the reader."

School Library Connection

Offers substantive information about the holiday and its celebration...Excellent color photographs and intimate personal anecdotes are highlights.

The Horn Book Online

"It illuminates so much, so positively, with nuggets of knowledge that many readers love to collect...Birthdays offers a solid resource, and I'd recommend it for classroom and in-school libraries as well as public libraries."

Resource Links

"The co-authors have done a thorough job of researching historical detail about birthday origins and the evolution of traditions. Photos and sidebars serve well to anticipate reader questions or extend the learning beyond what's in the main text...Some lesser known information is of particular interest...Photos are well-chosen, clear and nicely integrated with the text...Birthdays: Beyond Cake and Ice Cream is a valuable addition to the series in which several more titles are planned."

CM Magazine

"As we have come to expect, the book is beautifully designed, well-researched and will appeal to many. It is sure to inspire new ideas for an upcoming party!"

Sal's Fiction Addiction

"Birthdays: Beyond Cake and Ice Cream is a book that lives up to its title…a volume that will appeal to a range of readers…Written in a style that works for a range of reading levels, from advanced primary-school readers to reluctant secondary-school readers. The colourful photos are eye-catching and support the text…Birthdays is a highly engaging read."

Quill & Quire

"The authors...occasionally write in first person, giving the informative text a more personal, chummy tone...[C]olorful photos appear on almost every page of this attractive book."

Booklist

"The authors...occasionally write in first person, giving the informative text a more personal, chummy tone...[C]olorful photos appear on almost every page of this attractive book."

Booklist

02/01/2017
Gr 4–7—Offering an overview of the history behind birthdays, the authors use family anecdotes as a touchstone to consider traditions around the world. Personal narratives and photos from a variety of international contributors appear throughout and add insight into cultural differences. The first chapter ("The Birth of Birthdays") delves into the origins of birthdays. It relates accounts of the celebrations of pharaohs, the Chinese zodiac animals, and ancient Greek and Roman festivals. A section on the Industrial Revolution looks at how mass production led to contemporary customs. The second chapter ("Celebrating Birthdays Around the World") highlights how different traditions have formed around party invitations, food, gifts, and games. Important age milestones and cultural traditions are featured in the last chapter ("Milestone Birthdays"). Explorations of childhood rites, such as quinceañeras, bar and bat mitzvahs, and the 100th day celebration customary in Korean culture, are counterbalanced with traditions honoring elders. Included are international recipes and do-it-yourself activities. While the book is engaging, with lively stories, colorful photographs, and fun sidebars, the bibliography is insubstantial and won't be of much value to report writers. VERDICT The lack of quality references limits the usefulness of this title beyond an introductory work.—Jocelyn Charpentier, Acton-Boxborough Regional School District, MA

School Library Journal

2016-12-26
A survey of birthday customs from ancient times to today's birthday wishes on social media.The special feature of this recently launched series is the inclusion of personal reminiscences, some of which are more unusual than others. Here, the mother-and-daughter co-authors have used some of their own, with the most compelling being Tate-Stratton's memory of spending her 20th birthday in Japan, where she joined in Adult's Day, Seijin no Hi, wearing an opulent kimono and participating in ceremonies at the local city hall and religious shrine. The origins of birthday customs in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome are described, as are celebrations in many contemporary countries. Special ceremonies and parties for specific ages, such as the Latin American quinceañera for 15-year-old girls, Jewish bar and bat mitzvahs (religious coming-of-age ceremonies for 13-year-old boys and 12-year-old girls), and parties for Korean 1-year-olds, are explained. The authors also call attention to birthdays for senior adults, especially in Asian countries. The color photos are excellent, and the text is well-researched (although not much is included on African countries), but the activities scattered throughout the book are less than exciting: a recipe or two (some measurements are only in metric units), a birthday calendar project, a simple game for kids younger than the target audience, and suggestions for thinking about and reflecting on the past year and goals for the next. The intended audience may find this less interesting than educators and librarians looking for program ideas; nevertheless, a useful book. (glossary, references and resources, index) (Nonfiction. 9-12)

Kirkus Reviews