YOU HAVE TO BE NICE TO SOMEONE ON THEIR BIRTHDAY

What should be the best day ever turns bumpy for young Rosemary. The night before her birthday, she’s so excited she jumps up and down on her bed, reminding her brother Petey that he has to be nice to her. But the next morning, things go steadily downhill. Rosemary’s horrible out-of-town cousins come for a visit, Mom doesn’t make her the special breakfast she expected and she takes her bad mood to school, where it gets her into deeper trouble with her teacher, Ms. Swanson. When Principal Neeble informs Rosemary that it’s Ms. Swanson’s birthday too, the little girl realizes that she should have been nice to her teacher, and rushes to make amends. They share cake and confidences. Bottner offers a couple more twists in her subtle tale about feelings and friendships, and Mai-Wyss’s busy paintings are full of sly jokes. (Picture book. 5-7)