Lively, colorful, celebratory fun. ( )

I liked the book “What a Party” by Ana Maria Machado and Helene Moreau. One reason I liked the book was because of the writing. The writing followed together very well. It went through each of the child’s friends and who we could invite to his birthday. He and his mom have a brief conversation about who he should invite. “’Why not? Of course. Invite anyone you’d like.”’ Another reason I liked this book was because of the illustrations. Each illustration took up the whole page and was brightly colored. The illustrations accurately depict each cultures food. The big idea of this story is to accepting of all cultures. ( )

I really enjoyed this book for a few reasons. I really enjoyed how the book showed what it’s like having a party depending on your heritage or ethnicity, so the writing was interesting. It showed perspectives for several different races and genders. For example when talking about if Hannah came to the birthday party, she would bring cake, and she was a young white girl. Then if Antonieta and Beto, two Asian kids came, they would bring pineapple, mangos and passion fruit. It was just interesting to see what different races would bring what to the party, because it associated what different races typically eat, to what they would bring to the party. I also enjoyed the illustrations that went with each part of the story because you could tell what race each child was which helped match the food to the heritage. I think the overall message is that, no matter what race or gender you are, everyone still celebrates occasions with happiness, even if the food is different. It shows readers that different heritages and races coming together can make for a fun and diverse party and that variety is a good thing. ( )