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Summary
Summary
Otis and Sydney are the best of friends. This year, Otis wants to do something special for Sydney's birthday. So he decides to throw a surprise party and invite all their friends. He mails the invitations, decorates the house, and bakes a cake, but when things don't go as planned, how will Otis make sure that Sydney has the best birthday ever? A sweet and tender tale by the New York Times #1 bestselling author of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and the Jellybeans series, Otis & Sydney and the Best Birthday Ever introduces young readers to two lovable bears who understand that friendship is the only thing needed to make any day special."Andreasen's digitally colored pen-and-ink drawings nearly jump off the page, maximizing the similarities between the two unabashedly adorable bears and frequently arranging themselves in paneled vignettes whose balance further reinforces the harmony between the two--just right for this simple story of friendship for the very young." --Kirkus Reviews "Books don't come much cozier or any less threatening than this." -Booklist
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-Otis and Sydney are two adorable bears who are best friends. It is Sydney's birthday and Otis throws a special surprise party inviting all of their friends. When no one shows up, Otis realizes that he wrote the wrong date on the invitations. Otis hides and surprises his friend anyway, and they spend the afternoon playing games and eating the large cake as planned. Saddened that he ruined his friend's birthday, Otis admits his mistake and Sydney reassures him that he had the best birthday ever because they spent it together. Numeroff's concise sentences create a smooth read-aloud that may also appeal to emerging readers. Muted digital, pen-and-ink illustrations help to define difficult vocabulary such as "accordion" and "harmonica" while evoking cuddly warmth in the bears' big, smiling faces. There are a number of picture books about friendship and birthday parties, including David McPhail's Big Brown Bear's Birthday Surprise (Harcourt, 2007), but this one does it with an old-fashioned innocence just right for little listeners.-Kristine M. Casper, Huntington Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
This banal paean to friendship introduces two good-natured, nearly indistinguishable bears who enjoy doing everything together. Andreasen's (The Treasure Bath) digitally colored pen and ink art echoes the old-fashioned tenor of Numeroff's (the If You Give a... series) story; strong hatching for shading and texture leads the eye and gives the bears' fur a dapper, well-groomed quality. In muted tones, the illustrations show the ever-smiling Otis and Sydney playing accordion and harmonica, engaging in tug-of-war, and embracing while jumping a trampoline. Otis decides to throw Sydney a surprise birthday party and diligently makes the preparations. When no one shows up, Otis realizes he put the wrong date on the invitations, but he and Sydney have a grand time by themselves-and get to share an entire cake. Despite the date mixup, Sydney reassures his friend that this was his best birthday ever, because "I got to spend it with you." The honeyed story never strays far from its warm and fuzzy core: the emotional highs are none too lofty, and the lows, if they can be called such, resolved instantly. Ages 3-7. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Due to Otis's mistake with the party invitations (which oddly goes unmentioned until book's end), best friends Otis and Sydney wind up celebrating Sydney's birthday all by themselves; however, because they thoroughly enjoy each other's company, Sydney declares it's still "the best birthday ever." Skillful shading gives the illustrations a distinctive three-dimensional look, though the two bear friends are confusingly identical. (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
(Picture book. 3-5)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Books don't come much cozier or any less threatening than this. Otis is a fuzzy little bear in green overalls. So is Sydney. Therefore, it will not shock the reader (though the bears are gobsmacked!) that they soon discovered that they had much in common. Best friends forever, Otis decides to throw Sydney a surprise birthday party. Out go the invites, in come the candles, and up go the balloons. A misprint on the invitations, however, prevents anyone from attending. Many a picture book has been predicated on the turmoil of a party gone wrong, but in Numeroff's hands, the problem's just a blip Sydney is perfectly happy to celebrate with Otis, and celebrate they do. It's a gentle lesson, though for some it will be too gentle, with Otis' professed regret coming off as a bit inauthentic. The content and style of Andreasen's pen, ink, and digital illustrations are resolutely old-fashioned, which fits well with Numeroff's storytelling. There's nothing earth-shattering in this comforting tale, but that is likely just what its creators intended.--Kraus, Daniel Copyright 2010 Booklist