I thought this was a really good concept for a children's book, which ultimately fell short of my expectations, but was still pretty good. I think the story is fantastic, and is well chosen and presented to encourage empathy, and demonstrate the appeal of free choice. As a mild criticism, I felt the layout of the text made it hard to follow the conversation sometimes, in that there was little differentiation to help keep track of who was talking, if the reader took a small break to look at the great illustrations.

The Law of Birthdays is a delightful children's book that explores the concept of choice in a fairytale fashion. It helps children see that not everyone has the same type of diet when the girl in the story says she is vegan. It also brings forward the idea that all people should be able to have a choice regarding whatever they would like to eat. The illustrations are fun and the dialogue between the girl and the king are lively and entertaining. This would be a great book for a teacher to read for a child's birthday at school or daycare. My grandchildren especially like this book on their birthday Then they tell me they want something else for their birthday, like cookies or pie so I have to ready for them! ( )

It's the king's birthday and everyone must have a piece of cake. It's the law, after all! As the guards hand out cake, one little girl says "no, thanks." This polite denial sets off a string of events wherein the guards try to convince and cajole her, and the king is shocked and confused that someone simply would not want a piece of cake. He loves cake so much he wrote it into law.

Fortunately the king is willing to listen to the girl as she explains why she does not want cake and gives him an example of restricting choice in a way he would not like - no cake in the kingdom! He comes to understand her point (spoiler! 😂) and together they re-write the Law of Birthdays.

This book is a great conversation starter for a variety of topics. You can discuss food's impact on the body (mentioned in the backmatter); a person's right to make choices for themselves; the impact and importance of making a stand on issues you feel passionately about; understanding and appreciating different preferences and opinions; and so much more. Or you can just read a silly story about cake!

I would recommend this for all children's collections. Thank you to LibraryThing and Cardinal Rule Press for the Advanced Reader Copy. All opinions are my own. ( )

I was disappointed by this book. I thought I would like it, but it really rubbed me the wrong way and felt way too political for such a lighthearted topic as birthdays. I could imagine a parent getting this book for a child who has an upcoming birthday not realizing that it’s not actually about birthdays at all. It’s about personal choice and bodily autonomy.

These are valid topics of discussion, and even the target age range (4-7) isn’t too young to learn about such things, but I just don’t like the way it’s presented. It comes across as saying it’s okay to break the law if you disagree with it (at best) or (at worst) if you are just not in the mood for following it.

More specifically, I think this is a thinly veiled commentary against vaccine mandates.

In the story, a little girl goes to the king’s birthday party, and when cake is served, she declines. The royal guards balk, pointing out that eating cake at birthday parties is the law, by royal decree: “Kids attending birthday parties must have cake.” The girl goes to argue with the king about the law, saying she doesn’t want cake because it has eggs and she’s vegan, and the sugar would give her too much energy.

Then she writes her own decree saying that cake isn’t allowed for birthdays. The king says he should have a choice, and she says everyone should have a choice. The king finally sees her point and makes cake at birthday parties a choice. Then the girl changes her mind and says she’ll have cake after all.

Where I find this to be problematic is that she DID have a choice in the first place. Knowing that she’d be required to have some cake if she went to the party, she could have declined to go. Or she could have left when cake was served. She could have compromised (also an important thing to learn about) by having just a bite of cake (since she obviously didn’t actually care that much about the eggs and sugar). She could have formally protested the law, but at the king’s birthday party was neither the time nor the place to do that (so this shows a lack of discretion). He was kind enough to invite the children, and he was giving them something he himself loved, not stealing their toys or doing something else nefarious. “Pick your battles” is also something important to learn about.

Overall, I didn’t like the book. The illustrations are good, though. Now I want some cake…. ( )