Happy Birthday, Alice Babette - by Monica Kulling (Hardcover)

About the Book

"It's Alice's birthday! But her friend Gertrude seems to have forgotten. No matter, Alice goes out and enjoys her day just the same. A beautiful spring afternoon in Paris--what could be better? Little does she know that her dear friend has a few surprises up her sleeve"--Amazon.com.

Book Synopsis

It's Alice's birthday! A beautiful spring afternoon in Paris -- what could be better? Little does she know that her friend has arranged some surprises!

It's Alice's birthday! But her friend Gertrude seems to have forgotten. No matter, Alice goes out and enjoys her day just the same. A beautiful spring afternoon in Paris -- what could be better? Little does she know that her dear friend has a few surprises up her sleeve.

While Alice spends the day walking around Paris -- riding a carousel in the park and watching a puppet show -- Gertrude turns her attention to the kitchen. She is determined to make a lavish dinner with all of Alice's favorite things and write a poem to match the occasion.

But the lure of the perfect poetic line proves to be too distracting, and just as Alice's day takes an exciting and unexpected turn, Gertrude's big dinner falls all to pieces. The poem turns out beautifully, of course, but the house is a bit of a mess. It's a good thing Alice doesn't mind cleaning up. And that she has such a good brownie recipe for their guests.

Inspired by the lives of artist Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, Monica Kulling's warm and whimsical narration is perfectly balanced by Qin Leng's bright and energetic illustrations. This is a sweetly joyful story of love, friendship and creative inspiration.

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.7
With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.3
Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.

Review Quotes

[P]rovides an enchanting glimpse into the Parisian life of the two women and their fondness for each other and life in general.-- "CanLit for Little Canadians Blog"

[A] sweetly joyful story of love, friendship and creative inspiration.

-- "The Canadian Children's Book Centre"

[A] birthday surprise upturned and righted is always cause for delight.-- "School Library Journal"

[G]ive[s] kids a sense of what respect looks and feels like without ever resorting to the word itself.-- "Quill & Quire"

[T]he most palatable parts of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas's lives provide rich inspiration for this charming story of friendship.-- "Globe and Mail"

A rose is a rose, and loving friendship is loving friendship, as this sweet celebration makes clear.-- "Kirkus Reviews"

All . . . can enjoy Qin Leng's air ink and digital-color illustrations of April in Paris and the affectionately funny portrait of a legendary friendship.-- "The Horn Book"

Author Monica Kulling and illustrator Qin Leng invite the imagination into Gertrude and Alice's world through a tender fictionalized day in the couple's real life. ... The sweetness and sincerity of their love rises above the language and radiates from the story itself.--Maria Popova "Brain Pickings"

Leng's airy ink drawings bring just the right chic Parisian energy to this odd-couple story.-- "Publishers Weekly"

The cartoonish, fine-lined ink illustrations . . . capture the sunny energy of a Paris springtime.-- "Booklist"

This rendition of the domestic arrangements of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas is charming and funny, due in no small part to Leng's light colours, loose lines and gently comic sense of character.--Deirdre Baker "Toronto Star"

About the Author

Monica Kulling is the author of over forty books for children, including the popular Great Idea series, stories of inventors. The third book in the series, In the Bag! Margaret Knight Wraps It Up, was nominated for the 2012 Governor General's Award for illustration and chosen as the 2012 Simon Wiesenthal Honor Book. In addition, Monica's work has been nominated for numerous Silver Birch Express and Golden Oak awards. Her recent picture books include Lumpito and the Painter from Spain, Mister Dash and the Cupcake Calamity and The Tweedles Go Electric. Monica Kulling lives in Toronto.

Qin Leng lives and works as a designer and illustrator in Toronto. She graduated from the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema and has received many awards for her animated short films and artwork. She has published numerous picture books in Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Sweden, Hong Kong and South Korea for publishers such as Inhabit Media, Second Story Press, Annick Press, Chirp Magazine, Simply Read Books, Kids Can Press, Usborne, Mathew Price, Gallimard Jeunesse, Elephant Community Press and Dominique et Compagnie. She has also illustrated for Save the Children and UNICEF.