Review: If You Had Your Birthday Party On The Moon by Joyce Lapin

IF YOU HAD YOUR BIRTHDAY PARTY ON THE MOON

by Joyce Lapin

Illustrated by Simona Ceccarelli

Sterling Children's Books

Picture Book

40 pages

 ages 4 and up

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. 

MY TIDBITS

A party on the moon becomes that much better when mixed with loads of information and fun moon facts.

While this book appears to be a cute story about a birthday party on the moon, it's so much more. The author takes listeners to a trip on the moon, speaking to them as if they are having a party there with their favorite guests. While the usually party things such as balloons, cake and games are present, none of these function quite the way they do on Earth. It starts with the rocket ride, the real surprises such a trip entails (such as distance, speed and lack of gravity) before settling on the moon.

The excitement of a party keeps a light, delightful atmosphere while facts and information are dribbled in about everything from the moon's surface to its rotation to items other astronauts have left behind. While many of these facts glide right in with the story, there are extra tidbits here and there through-out the illustrations.

The illustrations are bright, fun and dance on the edge of reality. The kids are fun to watch as they party and explore, which invites young listeners to dream of bouncing around on the moon themselves. Still, the illustrations hold a touch of more realistic details to give young listeners an idea of what the moon looks like.

This is a fun book not only for moon and space fans, but a great way to introduce kids in general to some outer space information.


And here they are...

The Author...
Joyce Lapin is very active in SCBWI. This is her first book for young readers. She lives with her family in Simsbury, CT.

The Illustrator...

Simona Ceccarelli is a freelance illustrator who has worked as both a scientist and an art director. Originally from Como, Italy, she’s now based in Basel, Switzerland.