The Perfect Birthday Recipe

Author: Katy Hudson

Publish Date: March 01, 2020

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Book Review

This book touched my heart. It starts with Beaver, who is a perfectionist in every sense and in whatever he does. He is thoughtful, careful and perfect. So his birthday is approaching and his latest project is to make his birthday cake. He has already planned the flavor, recipe and color of icing for every layer of his fabulous birthday cake along with how is he going to decorate them. On his birthday he is ready with all the ingredients and tools required.

His friends are surprise to see his plan and preparation. They all want to participate to make his birthday cake and they all start making Beaver's perfect cake and this concerns him since they are not perfect like him.

They end up with a cake which is perfect for them but seems horrible to Beaver. He wants to redo his cake again. He starts preparing the cake from scratch again and his friends are gone. By the time he is done he is sitting all alone with his perfect cake. Then he realizes that being perfect is good, but sometimes imperfection gives more joy and happiness in life. His friends made a cake for him which was not perfect for him in any way but they were all together and that brought happiness to him on his birthday and not the perfect cake.

This book is maybe for kids but it gives a life lesson to us adults as well. We may want to do everything perfectly and in that process, we sometimes overlook at the joy of life which is so important for all of us. Sometimes it all right to just leave perfection and enjoy the moment. It is okay to be imperfect.

The illustrations are good and the book is a good read for the ages 3+. The book is wonderful for kids who are learning to read or started reading independently since it has simple sentences and vocabulary.
Thank you Netgalley and capstone publication for the advance copy.

Synopsis:

Summer birthdays can be lonely, but not when you have great friends like Beavers! This year Tortoise, Bird, Rabbit, and Squirrel insist on baking Beaver's birthday cake, but Beaver isn't so sure. He is the ultimate perfectionist and would rather do it himself, following the recipe exactly. Will Beaver's nitpicky ways ruin his birthday and his friendships? The Perfect Birthday Recipe is the fourth and final story in Katy Hudson's best-selling set of seasonal picture books, including Too Many Carrots, A Loud Winter's Nap, and The Golden Acorn.