The Birthday Swap
A Mexican American girl looks for the perfect birthday gift for her sister and ends up with a big surprise of her own.
It's the day before her older sister's birthday, and five-year-old Lori is determined to find her own gift to give. This year, Lori decides, she doesn't want to sign her name to everyone else's present. But it's not easy shopping for the perfect gift. Even though Lori knows what she would want, none of the wonderful things she sees at the Mercado seem quite right. Little does Lori know that the best, most perfect gifts sometimes come to us when we least expect them.
In this warm-hearted tale about the joys of giving and receiving, Loretta Lopez celebrates family love and togetherness through her affectionate prose and fun, colorful illustrations.
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"Birthday stories are abundant, but this one is a worthy addition." -- School Library Journal
"With bright, cheerful pictures and a wonderful surprise ending, this warm autobiographical story is... filled with celebration. There are full-page scenes of the market, the kitchen, and the family party and also playful details of the food, clothes, decorations, gifts, and piñatas that are part of the festive occasion." -- Booklist
"This delightful story... expresses both surprise and the love that two sisters share." -- Parent Council
"The surprise ending will bring a smile to the reader's face, no matter how old. A story of the deep love between sisters and the importance of celebrations. The illustrations are wonderfully alive with the colors of Mexican American life and art." -- Children's Book Review Service
"In this sweet autobiographical story, six-year-old Lori, who lives with her family in a town on the US side of the border with Mexico, wants to find the perfect birthday gift for her teenage sister, Cookie. Lopez's illustrations, rendered in gouache and colored pencils on watercolor paper, are warm and bright and inviting. The text is attractively bordered with pictures of objects commonly sold in mercados, so different from supermarkets here. Birthday Swap is a good addition to a collection about Latino families, and is recommended." -- De Colores
Commended Lists - Américas Book Award, Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs
Choices, Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
