Where's the Party? (Georgie and Friends Series)

by Ruth Chan

Overview

Georgie the cat loves throwing parties for his friends. All his parties have balloons, lights, delicious cake, and most importantly, everyone has an unforgettable time.

One day, Georgie decides to throw the ultimate bash, so he puts on his party hat and races through the city to invite his best buds... who are all too busy to come. But Georgie soon learns that you can always count on your friends to be there for you... and sometimes they might even bring cake!

With a heartwarming story and adorable art, this charming, funny, super cute picture book debut invites readers to meet Georgie and Friends—and find the answer to the most important question of the day: Where's the Party?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626722699
Publisher:	Roaring Brook Press
Publication date:	04/05/2016
Series:	Georgie and Friends Series
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Ruth Chan is a children's book author and illustrator who loves cake just as much as Georgie. Originally from Canada, she now lives in Brooklyn, New York with her cat, Georgie, and her dog, Feta, who share their real life adventures at georgietales.com. Where's the Party? is Ruth's debut picture book.

Editorial Reviews

03/14/2016
In her first picture book, Chan introduces a cat named Georgie (inspired by her own cat), who believes that "there was nothing better in the world than throwing a party for his friends." But after Georgie buys a cake and goes door to door in his Brooklynesque neighborhood to invite his friends over, he's met with a string of polite, and sometimes bizarre, excuses. "I have to make my pickles," says Feta the dog, clutching a jar of brine and looking more than a little guilty. "I can't. My shorts are too bright," says a hippo a few pages later. With each rejection, the cake Georgie carries gets smaller and smaller, but as he makes his way home, most readers will suspect that he won't be entering an empty house. Chan's ink-and-watercolor illustrations are full of playful details to enjoy (including a cameo by a certain polka-dotted elephant that fans of Mike Curato's books may recognize), and her animals' anxious expressions and lumpy-lanky bodies create a cast of friends who can be idiosyncratic and insecure, yet are confident to be themselves. Ages 3–6. Agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

Both parents and children will delight in characters’ quirky one-liners and the surprise ending—the greatest party of all. A tale of generosity and friendship best paired with cake, of course.” —Booklist

“Georgie is pretty doggone adorable . . . definitely a charmer.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Chan's ink-and-watercolor illustrations are full of playful details to enjoy, and her animals' anxious expressions and lumpy-lanky bodies create a cast of friends who can be idiosyncratic and insecure, yet are confident to be themselves.” —Publishers Weekly

“A fun and endearing offering for cake and pickle lovers everywhere and party-loving friends to share.” —School Library Journal

“Young readers will delight at tracing Georgie’s path through the aerial-view illustration of the Brooklyn-ish neighborhood, and readers of all ages will enjoy the pleasing illustrations.” —Examiner.com

From the Publisher

07/01/2016
PreS-Gr 1—Georgie is a gray tiger kitty who loves nothing better than throwing a party. So he makes a list, buys a cake, and invites his friends. Sadly, his friends all give reasons why they can't come: Lester is changing his lightbulbs, Bunny's ears are itchy, and Giraffe needs to fold his socks. His best friend Feta is busy making pickles. Disappointed, Georgie heads home. He arrives at his house to find "the most perfect party he'd ever seen." Chan's cartoonish ink and watercolor animals are candy-colored and appealing. Offbeat details, like Georgie's to-do list, his friends' excuses, and a dwindling cake, lend charm to the lighthearted story. The darkened pages when the dejected Georgie heads home make the predictable "SURPRISE" all the more delicious. VERDICT Chan's first book is a fun and endearing offering for cake and pickle lovers everywhere and party-loving friends to share.—Rachel Anne Mencke, St. Matthew's Parish School, Pacific Palisades, CA

School Library Journal

2016-02-17
Georgie the cat is eager to throw a party—but none of his friends can come! Bummer. Georgie, a true party animal, wakes up with "the best of best ideas" and rushes out to buy a cake and make the rounds of his friends to deliver invitations. But…floppy-eared Feta the dog ("his go-to party pal") is too busy making pickles, Lester the rat is in the middle of untangling a string of lights, shy Ferdinand the mole feels like staying in his storm drain, and all of Georgie's other animal friends present similarly weak excuses. In simply drawn cartoon illustrations, Chan tracks her increasingly discouraged kitty through a long day that dims into night. By the time the streetlights come on he is out of friends (and, being a nibbler, also out of cake) and so wanders wearily home—to a big, bright, joyous "SURPRISE!" that his friends had been preparing all along. The story is slight, repetitious, and predictable, but Georgie is pretty doggone adorable, and Chan makes up for its narrative simplicity with plenty to look at, playing with perspective and lighting to emphasize Georgie's increasing dejection. Not likely to be much of a surprise even for diapered cake eaters, but this uncomplicated, feel-good debut is definitely a charmer. (Picture book. 4-6)

Kirkus Reviews

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