Princess Arabella's Birthday Hardcover – Picture Book, August 15, 2017

My wife had chosen to get this book as a gift for a family friend whose new baby is called "Arabella". (Every child should have books that feature characters with the child's own name!)We did not know the book, except for the title and the cover illustration.When it arrived we were both individually, independently, disappointed with the first few pages.********!!!!!!!!PLOT SPOILER!********!!!!!!!!This looked like a cliched repeat of the classic story of the spoiled girl (what PRINCESS isn't spoiled, of course?), who is asked what she would like as a birthday present, with the minor twist that the little girl and her family are African, apparently. (Being royalty they can hardly be African-Americans, although obviously the dark-skinned humans will appeal to an African-American audience. "Look, Mommy: she's like ME!")BUT, BUT, BUT, what a delightful surprise we both had at the end!********!!!!!!!!PLOT SPOILER********!!!!!!!!The little girl (Princess Arabella) who wants something quite unusual, and who will NOT accept any alternative, IS given into by her doting parents.By this stage the story is still feeling like a disappointment, because it feels predictable.-- Spoiled child gets what spoiled child wants,and... hardly surprisingly,what the spoiled child gets is NOT exactly what she had expected it to be.Serves her right! Doesn't it?At this point the story is poised to change from being predictable:-- HOW will the spoiled child's lack of satisfaction with the insisted-on present be resolved?-- And as the present is an unusual and interesting pet, who is clearly extremely UNHAPPY at having been given to the spoiled child, what can be done to fix this, and make the pet happy, and teach the spoiled child a valuable moral lesson?Aha!-- I won't tell you.But the funny twist-ending redeems the whole story.Young children will laugh aloud.The surprise is as good, and as RIGHT (!), as Dr Seuss's ingenious, hilarious solution to "Horton Hatches the Egg".(Not that "Princess Arabella's Birthday" has the length, and richness, and comedy of the Seuss classic: how could it? It is a short modern picture-story book, and Seuss was brilliant!)As a one-joke story it is terrific!

"Be careful what you wish for," they say--and how wise they are!Princess Arabella shrieks her disapproval of her doting parents' well-meaning suggestions for a birthday gift--until she figures out what she REALLY wants. I thought the ending was cute until I saw the stunned looks on the faces of the children--both the kindergartners and my 10-year-old granddaughter. Now I'm not sure whether the ending is cute or a little creepy, but I am sure that Princess Arabella will never be the same.

Princess Arabella had a lot of fun at her birthday party. She wanted to have another one. Her parents told her she would have to wait another year, and that someone she knew would be having a birthday in a few days. Arabella wondered who had a birthday coming up. She was excited to remember it was going to be her grandma’s special day. Princess Arabella told her friends she would bake a cake for her grandma, but her friends exclaimed they would each bake a bigger cake. The baking contest began, and it was a race to see who could make the biggest yummiest cake ever. Who do you think will be the winner?This cute read is perfect for beginners and offers young readers colorful and lively illustrations. This story celebrates family and friendship in a fun relatable way. Parents and caregivers can share this as a read-a-loud and kids can share birthday stories and favorite gifts.

Good book

I have a 4 years old daughter, mixed and she's exactely like princess Arabella.I like the characters and the irony of the stories.thank youAndrea

I look forward to gifting it to my great niece Arabella