The Bad Birthday Idea

This is a sweet siblings story that brought back memories of my brother and me when we were young. All Alice wants in the world is to play with her big brother, Ben. They, however, are interested in different things and Ben refuses to include her in his adventures with his robot. When Alice asks her parents for a brand new robot for her birthday, Ben is not only surprised but he also wants the robot for himself. His jealousy grows and before Alice can open her gift, Ben unwraps it and accidentally breaks the robot. His guilt is clear and he takes steps to apologize to his little sister. 

This particular book was an interesting read simply because I was unsure of how I'd use it. In my opinion, it is most definitely suited to lower elementary students and would work to teach a moral or lesson about jealousy, greed, or apologizing. 

Additionally, students with siblings would be able to relate to this book and its characters, so it could work as a writing tool by asking students to imagine that someone took their toy or that someone refused to play with them. They could explore these ideas through writing workshops and consider how Alice might have felt throughout the story. Conversely, they could attempt to understand Ben's point of view through writing, too. 

Though the book lacked accountability for Ben, I could relate to the fact that siblings do silly things to one another an they forgive each other anyways. I think that this is a positive message to send to students, whether they are speaking about siblings, family, or friends. 

The Bad Birthday Idea
By: Madeline Valentine 
Published in 2013