If You Had Your Birthday Party on the Moon

Synopsis: “If you had your birthday party on the moon, what would it be like? Blast off to an extraterrestrial celebration and find out! This cool picture book combines fun and facts to help kids learn all about outer space.  

Have your birthday party on the moon and everyone will come! After all, who wouldn’t want to ride in a rocket and celebrate for a day that lasts as long as a month on Earth? Then, young partygoers could romp in a low-gravity playground, watch candles and balloons behave weirdly in the Moon’s atmosphere, and see why the “moon angels” they make in the thick carpet of lunar dust will last for thousands of years. With each discovery, kids learn the science behind the surprise, explained in terms they’ll understand. Complete with sidebars and a glossary, this entertaining adventure is perfect for sharing at home and at school.”

Review: I love books like this – books that work on two levels. The first is the perfect story for kids who are looking for a fun story about having your birthday on the moon. The second includes plenty of sidebars and a glossary, plus a bibliography and suggestions for further reading. This additional information is perfect for those young readers who love to learn facts about the world around them.

What I really enjoyed is that the author was able to balance really well between the text of the story and adding in more information where necessary without crowding the page, giving the illustrator plenty of room to play with. I even learned quite a bit about the Moon from this fun story.

In addition, as the 2019 Summer Reading Program theme for many libraries is “A Universe of Stories” this is a perfect read aloud for a storytime for older/elementary school age kids or as a prize for completing the program! And if you haven’t heard yet, the 50th anniversary of the moon landing happening on July 20th!

Title: If You Had Your Birthday Party on the Moon
Author: Joyce Lapin
Illustrator: Simona Ceccarelli
Publisher: Sterling Children’s Books
Publication Date: April 23, 2019
Page Number: 40 pgs.