The Mystery of the Birthday Basher (The Magical Land of Birthdays #2)

by Amirah Kassem

Overview

Return to the Magical Land of Birthdays in Book #2 of this sugary-sweet series!

It’s been almost six months since Amirah visited the Magical Land of Birthdays, which means it’s almost time for her half birthday! As that special day approaches, Amirah realizes something is not right in the birthday universe. Party invitations are going missing, people don’t feel like celebrating, and stores are sold out of birthday cake ingredients. When Amirah notices that the pages of The Power of Sprinkles are fading away before her eyes, she knows something is terribly wrong. That’s when she and her B-Buds, new and old, travel back to the Magical Land of Birthdays, where they discover that someone is determined to rid the world of birthday magic—by destroying the Magical Land of Birthdays! Can Amirah and her B-Buds restore the magic before it’s too late?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419740282
Publisher:	Amulet Books
Publication date:	10/13/2020
Series:	The Magical Land of Birthdays
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	823,671
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Flour Shop founder and Flour-ist Amirah Kassem is an artist at heart, and cake is her medium. She is the bestselling author of The Power of Sprinkles. Kassem grew up baking and sculpting with her mother in Mexico, where she discovered an appreciation for fine ingredients—and mastered the art of multisensory experiences.

Editorial Reviews

2020-09-01
Amirah restores birthday magic to the neighborhood.

Strange things are happening in Amirah’s neighborhood. She missed her friend’s birthday party because she didn’t receive the invitation. She discovers that her brother missed a friend’s birthday for the same reason. Then her magical book of birthday-cake recipes starts to fade in her hands, and when she visits the Magical Land of Birthdays in her dreams, it doesn’t feel right—the magic is missing. With some good advice from an elderly friend, Amirah knows she must trust her heart, which tells her to return to the Magical Land of Birthdays to figure out what is going on. Her B-Buds—birthday buddies who share her birthday—are hesitant, but they trust Amirah enough to follow her around as she picks up clues. She eventually solves the mystery with her own birthday magic and is crowned princess of the Magical Land of Birthdays. Amirah is a likable-enough protagonist with an enviable family and cloyingly adoring friends. Her obsession with birthdays to the exclusion of any other interests feels a bit hollow and unsatisfying. The mystery of fading books and disappearing invitations is enough to draw readers in, but the multiple trips to and from the Magical Land, both in dreams and while awake, feel disruptive enough to take readers out of the story. The multicultural cast includes children who are Mexican, Jamaican, and Japanese; Amirah’s name is Arabic.

This light tale is weighted down by mediocre storytelling and a convoluted plot. (Fantasy. 6-11)

Kirkus Reviews