Synopsis
The Little Princess wants to have two birthdays, just like the Queen, which means twice as many presents every year! When she realizes how much fun two birthdays are, she decides she wants three, then four. But the more birthdays she has, the less special they are. Perhaps having one birthday a year isn’t so boring after all.
Children's Literature
The issue in this wryly amusing and gently pointed story is one with which almost every child can identify: the Little Princess wants more birthdays. After all, her mum, the Queen, has two birthdays—a private one and a public one. The Prime Minister obligingly assigns the Little Princess a second birthday, in winter "to cheer things up." Soon, two are not enough. Why not three? Four? Every day? So, every day the Cook bakes a cake, which gets smaller as time goes by. The presents the Little Princess receives also diminish, chewed gum, for instance, and no one comes to her parties because they can not afford to. Worse, she can not play anymore because she has to dress up and stay clean every day. Disconsolate, the Little Princess yearns for just one special day each year. The King produces the solution: an unbirthday on her birth date. She is so pleased, she wishes for an unbirthday every day until the maid points out that that would not be special. The economical text moves the story at a fast pace. The colorful illustrations are charming and include a sly sub-plot about the Little Princess's necklace. Children are likely to ask for this book repeatedly, and its theme provides opportunities for worthwhile conversations. Reviewer: Cynthia Levinson